A Familiar Berkeley Stunt
A Berkeley-based bookstore tied to the Revolutionary Communist Party appeared on the UC Berkeley campus on April 2 with a poster depicting President Donald Trump as Adolf Hitler and a sign reading “Mein Trumpf.” It is the kind of performance that thrives in college politics, where cardboard outrage is cheaper than an argument and far easier to carry to a table. The group, Revolution Books, says it is an “intellectual, political, and cultural center” for revolution and has stores in Berkeley and New York. It openly supports replacing the current U.S. system with communism, which at least saves everyone the trouble of guessing what it wants.
What Revolution Books Says It Represents
Revolution Books is associated with Bob Avakian and the Revolutionary Communist Party, and the group has promoted what it calls “New Communism.” Avakian also has ties to the Black Panther movement, according to the group’s own history and earlier reporting. The store’s inventory reportedly includes progressive and socialist titles, along with children’s books such as And Tango Makes Three. None of that is a crime, and no one is claiming it is. The point is simpler: if a political group wants to make a case, it should make one. Dressing up a protest sign with the worst possible comparison is not deep thought. It is just loud packaging.
Campus Politics, With Extra Volume
Students said Revolution Books has appeared on the UC Berkeley campus more than once, and Turning Point USA chapter president John Paul Leon said the group has previously confronted conservative students. Leon also shared video with Campus Reform showing members saying they had to confront “Trump’s MAGA fascism.” He said attempts to talk with them went nowhere, and another student said the group would not explain why it opposed Trump. That is a common pattern on campuses now: a big slogan, a moral pose, and zero interest in the boring part called debate. Berkeley defended the appearance on First Amendment grounds, which is correct in the narrow legal sense and very on-brand for a university that treats controversy like a weather system.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.
Leave a Comment