Trump’s UK Visit: An Anti-Imperialist Perspective

BY CARLOS CRUZ MOSQUERA

Owen Jones, the face of liberalism in the United Kingdom, has become the unappointed leader of the actions that will take place on July 13-14, during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit. The columnist — and shameless social-imperialist who has called democratically-elected Syrian President Bashar al Assad a “murderous, butchering dictator” — cannot be leading Black and Brown radicals during Trump’s visit.

Nearly 50,000 people confirmed they’ll be attending the events put on by the white boy and his politically ambiguous movement named “Stop Trump.” Rightly so, Trump represents the most obvious face of white supremacy, imperialism and capitalism. But, should we really be ignoring our differences with Jones and “Stop Trump” to join hands with them on this one?

Nah. If Malcolm X’s proverbial wolf is fittingly represented by Trump, then Jones is the embodiment of the fox. Granted, while he may be a pebble in the shoe of the U.K. conservative establishment it cannot be denied that his “socialism” is limited to U.K. borders. Jones openly envisions a government inspired by British leaders such as former Prime Minister Clement Attlee, former Secretary of State for Health Aneurin Bevan, deceased Labour politician Ernie Bevin and former Cabinet member Herbert Morrison — all of whom played leading roles in British colonial and imperialist interests.

Like his political idols, Jones is only interested in the well-being of British people, even if it means ignoring (and partaking in) the imperialist crimes committed along the way. Jones, always very consistent with his social-imperialism, was the keynote speaker at an event put on by the Jewish Labour Movement last year. An organization with close ties to the Israeli government and that actively attempts to undermine the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS.

We aren’t saying we should boycott the protests and marches because they were called by these hypocritical liberals who are aligned to “radical” social-imperialists. However, we should steer away from co-signing their banners, placards and slogans. We must make our own banners, placards, slogans, battle chants, perhaps even our own events and actions around the main marches. Coincidently, ANTICONQUISTA’s members in London are co-organizing a Latinx Bloc that will focus on anti-imperialism as a whole, rather than just “anti-Trumpism”.

From a more precise political position, we don’t just want to “Stop Trump.” There’s an entire economic system that operates despite Trump and other individual representatives of the imperialist West. With this in mind, we must carve out our own space within (or without) the currently planned protests.

Let’s stop Trump, Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel. Let’s stop U.S. and European imperialism. Let’s stop Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Let’s stop global capitalist-imperialism.