A woman holds a rifle during a security deployment in the Petare neighbourhood of Caracas, Venezuela, 15 October 2025. Photo: Rosana Silva R./file photo.
o, lonely mother, hands outstretched to all those in need—
your caress on my cheek, eyes twinkling in the sunlight
reminds me of the days I didn’t think so much,
when I didn’t fear so much, but those days are passed and now
a new future awaits us.
o, precious child, with laughter to cure the sickly,
a smile to melt any stone cold heart,
your joy and your happiness will be our driving force towards tomorrow,
as your pain, loss and sorrow are our collective heartbreak.
o, resistance leaders, guerrillas, militants and soldiers,
with your rifles, you also carry our communal dignity on your shoulders,
a weight unfairly sat on your sturdy, strong backs,
yet with honor you uphold your promise, our duty, our humanity.
o, imperialists, zionists and fascists, you arrogant fools know no limits!
You carve, crash, colonize and kill – yet birth a new life from your demonic whims –
a new soldier is born every day, faster, stronger, more angry than the last,
their sights trained steadily on your rapidly beating heart.
as you swallow your conscience, destroy your own souls,
and all that stands in front of you—
you lie, you lie right to your own face,
worst of it all, you believe it!
like the fools you are, you cannot see
the world turning towards the new horizon,
the new future,
the new tomorrow,
the new today.
By Raven’s Reflections – Dec 1, 2025
Change isn’t “coming” it is already here
It is correct to say that the world is suffering more than it ever has before; that more people are dying from starvation, inequality, homelessness, drug addiction and overdose, suicide, etc. than ever before; that more war, more genocide, more occupation and more threats continue to expand each day by the imperialist dogs— but that is not all.
While there is unimaginable suffering happening globally, there is also equally if not more examples of people coming together to end these genocides, stop these wars, and end the suffering once and for all.
Those of us who are of the belief that “nothing is happening” and “no one is doing anything,” to prevent the multiple crises unfolding from erupting and consuming us all, are blind.
This stems from primarily, a place of inaction. Secondly, from ignorance about people’s history here in the “US” prisonhouse of nations, or internationally.
From Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen and Iran, to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger; from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela, to China, Vietnam, and the DPRK, people are taking hold of their collective dignity, shaping their own realities and organizing to build a better system, for all. Most, if not all of these efforts are taking place amidst invasions, occupations, bombings, sanctions and blockades. These struggles are facing the entire combined weight of world imperialist powers…and winning!
From CLOC-La Via Campesina, to mass organization in Haiti against the Core Group/UN occupation, the IMF and the World Bank; from Abahlali baseMjandolo in South Africa, fighting for homes, education, food sovereignty, healthcare, etc. to struggles against deforestation of the Amazon.
Whether we speak of the Wet’suwet’en people’s defending their land against RCMP goons and racist “Canadians,” Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv, Venezuela training over 4.5 million popular militia recruits, or the resolute effort by individuals on reservations across Turtle Island to provide necessary food, care, housing and assistance to over 1 million indigenous peoples forced to live through misery on their own lands.
This is our evidence, the future is now!
All across the globe social movements, political parties, popular militias, encampments, conferences, sit-ins, demonstrations, mass funerals, anniversaries of independence, past wars, past massacres, all the way down to newsletters, email chains, substacks, news articles, pamphlets, bulletins, and social media posts show this evidence even clearer. National Liberation and even Socialist revolutions are once again back on the table.
Yet many of these efforts are ignored, caste aside or slandered for having chosen (in some instances) to take up arms. This practice of self-determination through armed struggle, which is enshrined in the United Nations charter as a right of all peoples, is demonized in the media, even within supposed “Left” circles.
This is because for many of us in the West, we have never actually taken part in or paid attention to national liberation struggles before. Instead, many of us have been content with repetitive and ineffective methods. Methods which still – while primarily consisting of legal, above-ground actions – led to harassment, firings, expulsions, revocation of grants, constant and often violent arrests. Additionally it led to further escalation and normalization of attacks on immigrants, refugees, migrants, indigenous folks, Africans, Asians, etc.
Even break-ins, doxing of people’s home addresses and personal information, administrative detention such as Pro-Palestinian activists in the UK who have gone on a principled hunger strike, leading to at least two hospitalizations this far, with little said by I and other folks on the Left.
Of course, this moment has also led to multiple killings of activists, organizers and grassroots leaders, here on Turtle Island and around the world. But even as assassinations, such as the recent attack by “Israel” on Hezbollah leader, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, or the honorable Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, mass demonstrations, funeral processions, all forms of collective action continue, as well as militant forms of resistance in preparation for, and response to, constant killings.
Unlike those struggles in the global majority, these struggles in the Global North have often maintained their level of action, which is ineffective, as genocides continue, war spreads and the system marches on. Those of us that are not involved as we should be have been frightened into cowardice, isolation and silence. Many are busy pointing the finger at “Bad protestors,” those who are deemed “criminal” by the State. But this is the wrong tactic.
By separating ourselves from those willing to take the risks necessary to cause a disruption in our day to day lives, we in fact put ourselves further into the crosshairs.
We do not become safer by dwindling our numbers nor attacking each other when the State says to do so. Actions which pause, damage or cripple and close weapons manufacturers, stop airlines shipping ammunition and artillery shells, and prevent further economic deals with the settler-colony, also lead to consciousness raising, deeper organization and continued actions across the globe. Therefore we must stand with and defend all those who stand against genocide, imperialism and fascism today.
If we attack or even simply ignore and go silent about the suffering of Palestine Action activists, Shine White, Mumia Abu Jamal, Water Protectors and Land Defenders, we allow those in power to cow us into submission.
As they try to pull us away from each other, we police ourselves into insignificance. We must correct this by developing new relations, new connections, joining hand in hand with those already organizing, resisting and fighting for a better tomorrow, now!
If we do not succeed, not only have we failed ourselves, but also, the Global Majority, their sacrifices and their struggles, too.
While folks complain that “nothing is being done” and wallow in self-pity, there are literal children defending their land from invasion and occupation. From every corner of the globe people are rising in unison, demanding an end to imperialism, capitalism, colonialism and zionism, once and for all.
Young kids and Elders, people from all different cultures, ethnicities, religions and nationalities – the militants, the theorists, the caretakers and the engineers, etc. Each member of society coming together to develop a path forward, new social relations, new ways of producing and distributing of goods— not simply a critique of what is, but experimenting with what could be.
In art, dance, music, theater, poetry, movies, photography, documentaries, paintings and more, resistance is alive! From the core of this Earth, the Global Majority, despair is not their driving force, revolutionary change is!
Even on Turtle Island, while many are focused solely on domestic struggles, or focusing particularly on the needs of the working class in the West, millions are organizing against the genocide in Gaza, against US threats towards Venezuela, demanding “Hands off Africa!” and more.
Wherever we look we can see that change is coming, in social norms, in politicization of the youth, in survival programs such as clinics, food pantries, day-habs, shelters, clothing drives, political education, etc. the world is changing to an extent that cannot be ignored.
One of the less visible, or less discussed changes happening is the shift from US Empire’s economic domination of the world, which is now transitioning to the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, the People’s Republic of China, and South Africa.
This now includes an additional 5 full member-states, with over 15 more “partner states.” This bloc now constitutes over 40% of global GDP (or 40% of global wealth) approximately and over 56% of the total world population.
As the US, Europe and collaborationists who work with them try to sanction, embargo, blockade and attack their way into new markets, labor sources or resource extraction, BRICS develops “win, win” agreements in trade with other Global South nations, aka: South-South co-operation.
On the ground level, sometimes these changes are hard to see. But that’s only if we don’t look very hard.
From the People’s Conference for Palestine” in Detroit, to conferences discussing reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans, to different political education and assistance programs set up by indigenous peoples, Africans, immigrants, refugees and migrants themselves, we see that change is happening every day!
Corporations like Meta use censorship to block this information from spreading. Media conglomerates continuously spread racist hate and lies, talking heads and elected officials create stores of supposed “Hamas Support Networks” in the US, with no credible evidence to support it.
They do this, all while bombing, attacking, invading and occupying foreign, sovereign nation-states across the globe.
Beyond this, most of the media we consume is centered around chaos, disarray and war. These corporations spread lies and disinformation, ignoring collective missions and the real work going on on the ground to improve the world for all. The stories, information and lies we are told are to keep us scared.
It’s the reason why the majority of our TV stations play cop shows, murder mysteries, cold case re-openings, even movies glorifying serial killers like Dahmer. In our music, our social media, tv shows, movies, art, everything in the West is meant to upkeep a ever-present fear of everything and everyone.
These stories are meant to keep us in despair and desperation, to instill fear in our hearts and to convince us, “Nothing can ever change.”
But in fact, change is happening
Outside of even organized and collective efforts, think about the people in your life who have changed your way of thinking, shared stories or experiences you’d not have known otherwise, changing and shaping the way you act, feel, think and live your life.
Think of a family member or a friend who was there for you when you needed it, or vice versa. Think of coworkers, co-students, etc. who have helped with homework, or helped you to study, bought you a meal, or taught you about themselves and their culture.
This might not seem like change, but when many of us look back on our lives we can see how conversations, experiences and relationships change our very way of being.
We see how relationships, interactions, demonstrations, political education and organization can change us from stone-hearted to compassionate. We see how these experiences encourage us to sacrifice ourselves for others. This teaches us that we can push entire communities, countries, even regions of the world into the streets to demand change. Not just this, but into organizations and political parties capable of creating, sustaining and continuing that change, in power.
Change happens every single day! From the clouds to the rain, from our commute to our conversations at the coffee spot, who we see, what we see, what we do, how we do it— it changes daily! From what time we wake up and what time we go to bed, to everything in between; from the grass, the trees, the flowers and the sky, change is happening all the time!
Not tomorrow, but today
We can see clearly that around the world, for as much bad is happening, as much suffering and struggling there is, there is equally if not more examples of people coming together to solve these problems collectively.
One of the biggest changes happening today is the unification of the global population through mass starvation, homelessness, poverty, and incarceration. From forced immigration, invasion, occupation, sanctions, embargoes, blockades, proxy wars, coups, assassinations, funding of far-right and fascist “opposition groups” etc.
The Imperialists have brought the 8 billion people of this planet closer together through their collective suffering! Now, more than ever, the global populations has more in common than it does differences.
What differences do exist are in their initial form, due to geographical, linguistic and cultural differences. These are good, these are what makes humanity so wonderful, beautiful and awe-inspiring. And in the second instance, they are due to contradictions created or heightened by colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, fascism and zionism. It is those differences which we must highlight, learn about, study the history of and see as a means to “diversify” the ways we struggle, or what we struggle for.
But we must see in these differences also a uniting mission— in short, we can’t be free until we’re all free, and free means truly free. That means landback for the indigenous stewards of Mother Earth, that means reparations for descendants of enslaved Africans. That means an end to Empires, an end to imperialism, an end to fascism and an end to zionism.
It means an end to Capitalism, but not only this, it means that we must not only be working to put an end to Capitalism, but to build Socialist projects worldwide.
Socialism is not a bad word. Socialism is the period of time between the end of Capitalism, all the way to a “classless, moneyless, free society.” This must be our uniting effort, but not our only goal.
Our goal today is to end the genocides happening across the world, to end imperialism once and for all, to put an end to zionism and it’s settler-colonial pariah state, and to put an end to fascism, forever.
“Unity,” in-roads and shared projects of change
What unites us is a lack of human dignity, a lack of control over our destinies, a constant sense of desperation, poor if any necessary resources for survival, and no options at reform or change within the existing political-economic system: Imperialism.
Our only option is to organize ourselves, educate ourselves, develop struggles and movements which push people into action. Our goal is not to “save” anyone, but for each of us ourselves to take part in our own liberation, our own freedom, our own dignity.
It is us, we, you and I, all of us— we must take action, we must demand change not from those in power but from ourselves. Revolutionary, systematic change will only happen by our own hands, feet, arms, legs, eyes, mouths, voices and bodies standing up, being put on the line, sacrificing what we must in order to take control of what we deserve: Humanity.
What we all must be doing is not only involving ourselves in our own struggles, but also working in unison between our struggles. We must be working together to find in-roads and connections between our efforts, so that no one people, group or nation is fighting alone. This is the true nature of anti-imperialism, this is the true nature of Internationalism!
We must find ways to work in tandem, rather than against one another.
We must support those imprisoned, tortured, beaten, humiliated and insulted in public. We must stand with the political prisoners of all liberation struggles, from the Palestinians and Lebanese, to the Republic of New Afrika comrades, Black Liberation Army and Black Panther Party members. We must stand with those incarcerated for their political actions, aka: Political Prisoners, as well as those politicized within the prisons, aka: Politicized Prisoners.
Al-Aqsa Flood, an act of revolutionary resistance aimed at prisoner exchanges with the Zionist entity, exists within a long line of “prison breaks” which have all been inherently a part of all national liberation struggles and revolutions worth their weight. If we do not stand with the prisoners, such as Mumia Abu Jamal, Kamau Sadiki, or Shine White, who will stand with us when we become prisoners ourselves?
This is where true unity is developed, at the heart of the struggle, with Political Prisoners, or what George Jackson once called “the real Dragons.” When we stand with them, we stand with one another.
Whether it is in Palestine, where over 10 different factions, some who previously fought each other, working together to not only defend their land, but to develop a Unity government, post-Liberation.
Or whether it is in Venezuela, where anti-PSUV protestors have now joined the Communalist efforts and popular militias. In Nicaragua, former Contras work in the Sandinista government, self-critiquing and correcting their past behaviors through self-sacrifice and collectivism.
We can see also here on Turtle Island a developing “Red-Green Unity” between Muslims and those on the Left (though not to the extent needed), as well as co-operation between indigenous organizations, African organizations, immigrant, refugee and migrant organizations, prisoners movements, homeless movements/groups, and larger, Left, Socialist organizations.
But more needs to be done, every day.
While I sit here and write this, while you read this, millions are organizing themselves in Women’s Federations like in Cuba, or in unions such as the Dockworkers in Italy, teacher’s unions such as in Chicago, ICE watch networks, immigrant rights networks, self-defense classes, political education classes, and of course, social movements and political parties aimed at overthrowing the system as it exists and bringing into existence a new one…
Revolution
It is a scary word, no?
But revolution means more than bloodshed or violence, it means completely reinventing. Revolution means education, it means healthcare, it means housing, it means jobs, because all of this and more will be demanded by those taking part in it.
Revolution is more than the violent overthrow of the oppressors, it also includes the construction of a completely new society, a new political-economic system, everything that comes after this uprising, as well.
And, we are not witnessing revolutions for the first time!
Almost every nation in the world has had revolutions!
Though some have been stopped in place, co-opted by external forces, or overthrown with help from the NATO-Imperialist nations, this was not a “failure” of these projects, alone. This is due to imperialism. These projects are overthrown as a means of furthering the process of imperialism, colonialism, extraction and exploitation. Controlled by external forces, operated through internal, bribed or blackmailed “opposition groups” aka: far-right and fascist groups, this is in fact proof that these projects are a real threat to Capitalism-Imperialism.
It has never been more clear: Our time is now, change is already here and we have nowhere else left to run.
We are tired, beaten, abused, undignified, humiliated and discarded. We cannot allow this to continue for even another day. If we don’t believe change can happen it is time we open our eyes and take in the new world, right in front of us all! We have the numbers, we have the shared interests and we have little time to waste—now stop reading, go organize!
