John Maclean, born on this day in 1879, was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary Marxist, sometimes referred to as “Scotland’s Lenin”. His Marxist evening-classes produced many of the activists who became instrumental in the Clyde revolts during and after WWI. MacLean was appointed both an Honorary President of the first Congress of Soviets and Soviet Consul to Scotland in recognition of his consistent socialist position on the imperialist war and his tireless work in support of the Bolshevik revolution.
Maclean’s revolutionary politics were well-known, and in 1915, he was arrested under the Defence of the Realm Act and fired from his job as a primary school teacher. As a consequence, he became a full-time Marxist lecturer and organizer, educating other Glaswegian workers in Marxist theory.
Maclean supported Irish independence on an anti-imperialist basis, describing the Irish War of Independence as “The Irish fight for freedom” and even condoning the assassination of a magistrate, Alan Bell. He saw the war in Ireland as strengthening the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, arguing that “Irish Sinn Féiners, who make no profession of socialism or communism…are doing more to help Russia and the revolution than all we professed Marxian Bolsheviks in Britain”.
MacLean was at odds with much of the British left and dismissive of the newly-formed Communist Party of Great Britain. He had already turned his back on economism and the syndicalism favoured by the Clyde Workers’ Committee, had recognised the nature of British imperialism and come to the conclusion that revolution could only come about through the destruction of the British Empire.
Maclean was also noted for his outspoken opposition to World War I, and, in 1918, he was arrested for sedition. During the trial, Maclean gave the now legendary “speech from the dock”, expounding on his position. He was sentenced to five years’ penal servitude, but was released after the November armistice.
In captivity, Maclean had been on hunger strike, and prolonged force-feeding had permanently affected his health. He collapsed during a speech and died of pneumonia, aged forty-four.
"I have taken up unconstitutional action at this time because of the abnormal circumstances and because precedent has been given by the British government. I am a socialist, and have been fighting and will fight for an absolute reconstruction of society for the benefit of all. I am proud of my conduct. I have squared my conduct with my intellect, and if everyone had done so this war would not have taken place…
…I appeal exclusively to [the working class] because they and they only can bring about the time when the whole world will be in one brotherhood, on a sound economic foundation. That, and that alone, can be the means of bringing about a re-organisation of society. That can only be obtained when the people of the world get the world, and retain the world." -
–John MacLean, from the “Dock Speech”
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Tim Walz’ autistic son, reactionaries were being incredibly ableist so defending Gus is good.
Okay. Yeah, don’t be an ableist creep guys. Dems have been really big on putting Randoms on pedestals lately so I figured it was like a brother or dad or maybe son who said something they thought ‘clapped’ as the kids say
There’s either a lot of “very special episode/teachable moment” shit in those defenses, or i’m leaping at reasons to hate Minnesotans for past crimes, so i would suggest analyzing the “defenses” with zero charity and assume it’s coming from midwesterner’s who use slurs when they think they’re in private seizing on something they know they can use to scold their enemies. Like Walz didn’t defend his son’s right to have an express emotions or make any kind of positive statement or whatever, he “clapped back” by calling one of the fox news Nazi Barbies a childless cat lady by posting something from her wiki biography about having several marriages and no children. In normal human snark that’s just a “turn about is fair play” tit for tat rebuttle for the childless cat ladies shit. In Minnesota Nice social violence as a tool for enforcing cultural norms and conformity language he screamed “shut your mouth you divorced spinster (except sub in the worst slurs you can think of)” as loudly and with as much venom as possible. This is going to drive me fucking insane, they’re an incredibly cruel and vicious people and they talk like this all the time - always circular, never direct, always in a way that seems contextually acceptable, always a knife in their other hand. Fuck that place and fuck it’s culture. Like Walz is the fucking Sauron of Guess Culture and now we’re all just going to have to live with that bullshit being in the national spotlight. I fucking hate Minnesota.