“Marxists should not be afraid of criticism from any quarter. Quite the contrary, they need to develop and temper themselves and win new positions in the teeth of criticism and in the storm and stress of struggle. Fighting against wrong ideas is like being vaccinated–a man develops greater immunity from disease as a result of vaccination.” Mao Tse Tung, “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People
It has been stated before and we wholeheartedly agree – criticism is a gift. While it may seem so online, RPC did not pop up overnight. Hours of meetings over a period of months, guidance and inspiration from established M-L-M Cadres, social investigations into the neighborhoods we live/work in, as well as critical evaluations of our cadre’s collective strengths and weaknesses have all led to the formation of Red Path Collective. We are grateful for the criticisms and suggestions we have received along the way.
It has been said that our collective “came out swinging” and we agree, in both words and action. We believe this to be necessary given the conditions in St. Louis both among the masses and the “left”. Though the brief nature of our writing has left some questions unanswered.
While the “Defuckboyization…” criticisms were intended to be an ongoing and detailed series of criticisms of both STL Maoism and the left in general, perhaps we will restructure these writings as longer, more in-depth pieces to answer any questions or concerns that may rise with the release of a more succinct piece.
One repeat criticism we received on our formation statement was to include specific details on concentric construction of The Party, The United Front and the People’s Army in St. Louis . This is the subject of an in-depth piece we are currently working on, but perhaps we should have touched on it in our formation statement.
Though a lot of the criticisms of the “Defuckboyization…” piece are going to be thoroughly addressed in future editions, two criticisms must be immediately rectified:
The term “fuckboy” has been called out for being too light a term for the opportunists and revisionists plaguing St. Louis Maoism. We tend to agree. The term was used initially to bring to light the frauds they are, posing as hardened revolutionaries on social media yet doing nothing outside cyberspace. However there isn’t a term heavy enough for a detriment to revolution, a detriment to the people. They are enemies – and as Gonzalo teaches, they will meet the same fate as reactionaries.
Some operational security missteps and pig work as well as their potential misguiding of the masses via online agitation will be addressed, but not through the pen.
There is an idea that a portion of the cadre are former members of the STLRC. For security reasons, we will not dive into this publicly except to say none of our cadre have ever been in STLRC. We are happy to answer any questions via secure means.
It must be said that we value and appreciate any criticisms from principled organizations, but will not give time or effort to every baseless insult disguised as criticism from members of the city’s sterile left.
– Red Path Collective – St. Louis
Red Path Collective - St. Louis 