Armed Struggle:

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Natural Response to Fascism

Martin Sostre

originally published i Black Hag: Organ of the Anarchis Blck Cross,
Vol 4 .3 August 1975)

biapsyjarchive org/detals/black_lag 1.3
republished in the Black Agenda Review

itps:blackagendareport.comessay-armed-strugglo-natura-response-
Fuscim-martin-sostre-1075

femages from Right On, lack Community News Servic, Black Panther

Party.vol2,mo. %, (May 172) and Dragon, Bay Avea Rescatch Collctve,

0. (September 1970

biaps:jarchive.org/detals/NPLRIghtOn 05511972
hitpejarchive.org/detailsdragon-number-z-september-1975

with whatever weapons a hand

“The guestion nw iVt are e aing t do abont his mrikrons fsion?”

One might not s i from istite, bt Martin Sostre ' cssay, “Armed Struggle
Natural Response to Fascism,” is nuanced, careful, and cloquent consideration of
politcal stategy in the context of repressive, coralitarian rule. Published in 1975 in the
maguzine Black Flig: Organ o he Anarcist Bluck Cross Sostee’s cssay is partly a
response to lefist citques of the strategies of the controversial Symbioncsc.
Liberation Army, or SLA, whose acts of assassinatio, kidaapping, and asmed-
robbery were ofien deemed vanguardist, tacticaly-l thought, and poliically
disastrous. Yer Sostee reads the theoretcal manifesto of the SLA against the real-
world politcal conditions in the United States, where ia the 19705, just as now, sct
of “repressive fascist measures” were being implemented—from restoration of the
death penalty 1o 2 system of total surveillnce to * infiltration, frame-ups,
assassinations, brutalisations, de-humanisations, behaviour modification, and

genocide.”

In ehis light, Sostre asks, what should the popalar response to fscism ook lke? If the
politcal thetoric of fscism is white supremacy and its primal politcal program is
violence, can it only be challenged via appesls to humanity, cals for reform, or
prayers for pesce, democracy, and non-violence? Sostre is also clear, howwever, that
the fght sgrinst fascism demands ot a single strategy, but a ange of stategies: the
anti-fascis response must be “mul-dimensional,” “complex,” and able to mect

peaple where they arc

Born in Esst Harlem on March 20, 1923, Martin Rammicez Sostre, was an Afro-Pucrto.
Rican revolutionary anaschist. After a shortstnt in the army and a longer period of
bustling, Sostre opencd the legendary Afro Asian Book Shop at 1412 Jefferson
Avenue in Buffalo, NY. The bookstore became 1 poliical and pedagogical refuge for
many during the urban stife and whitesupremacist warfare that rocked the ciy n the
late 1960s. In 1967, Sostee and co-worker Geraldine Robinson were arested on
COINTELPRO fabricated drusg charges. He was sentenced by an allwhite jury to
thirey o forey years in prison. Sostee spen the next decade in prison, often in soitary
confinement,regularly humilsted and tortured by guaeds.

While incarcerated , Sostre became a successful “alhouse lawyer” using legal appeals
for his own rights. He also advocated for the religious and poliical ights of all
prisoners and for the end of dexconian polices of censorship, soltary confinement,
and iovasive bodily exams. As the edicors of the North Carolina Centeal Law Review
fote in theie introduction to Sostre’s 1973 essay “The New Prisoner” Sostre was also

“the moving force hehind the formation of a prisoners union in New York Statc and

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a0 advocate of minimum wages for inmate workers.” Soste also introduced figures
like Black anarchist Lorenzo KomBoa Ervin to anarchist theory and practice. Sostre
was elessed from prison in 1976 through a combination of his own efforts and of
he Fice Martin Sostre campaign. He died on August 12, 2015 at the age of 92

Avi

fomasy with a bighly atuncd sense of both justice and prasis, Martin Sostee had
the mind of a poliical stategise. These qualiies e demonstrated in bis cssay “Armed.

Struggle: Nataral Response to Fascism.” We repiat it below.
Armed Struggle: Natursl Response to Fascism
Martin St

Sistersand Brothers

“The escalating repression by ehis predatory, racist and sexist capitalist system makes
glasingly clear o all but the mose politcally backward that the dire predictions that
U, capialisn would evolve ineo fascisn have come to pass. Restoration of the death
penalry, life sentences for drugs, ecent supreme Court rulings upholding the denial of
the sight o lve in communcs, the ight to privacy and human dignity (by granting
police the sight o acbitcarily invade peoples” persons and homes and use 2 evidence:
in coust anything seized during the illegal scarch), polce electronic cavesdropping,
infilcaion, frame-ups, assassinations, brutalsations, de- humarisarions, behaviour
modification, and genocide e some of the repressive fascst measures now being
implemented.

“The question novw is: What are we going to do about this murderous fascism? Shall
we continue spouting revolutionary shecori without commensurate decds and
passively stand by ike shecp while our comrades are framed by the gestapo police

Kidnapped off the strcets and murdered one by one? Must we passively wait our tum,

0 be led 0 the oppressors” cages, brutalsed or murdered? Or shall we oppose the
choking fascist oppression which i allowed to continue encroaching on what is e of

our personal freedoms will evenrually convert usinto de-humanised mindless robos?

The answer i obvious. Indeed, to defend ourscves by all means necessary against the
destruction of our human rights and personhood not only is the natuel ight 0 sclf-

defence buta human dury.

By what means then shall we resist the fascist oppressors? The answer t this is

detcrmined by the means employed to press us. Our oppression is multi-dimensionsl
Jos

all other means decmed necessary by the criminal ruling class to mainain themsclves

e are oppressed economically, lgally, psychologicaly, culturally, physically and by

i power. Since oppression is muli-dimensionl, docs not common sense dicate that
resistance it be mult-dimensional with each level of oppression challenged by

commensurate level of evoluonary resistance?

For example, the fascis lies propagated by the controlled media press must be
challenged with revolutionary ruth disseminated by the movement press, tapes, films,
books, pamphiets, laflts, posters, ee. Not too many revolutionaries and miltants
will disagree with his. Oy when the same common.-sense is applied 10 opposing
fascise violence with revolutionary armed resistance do many of them become

P
horsfied. Witness the reaction of most of the movement people to SLA's
[Symbionese Liberation Army] revolutionary response to fscist epression.

The current revolutionary action of the SLA is the correet and inevitable response to
the countless Kidappings, frame-ups, brutalsations and murders perpetzaced by the
uling class members upon resistors of oppression. At long lst the individual
mermbers of this exploitative-acist-sexist system e being subjected to revolutionary
justice. As Malcolm X said, “1¢ a casc of the chickens conring home to roose” [
extend my revolusionary love and solidarity to my SLA comrades and wish them

Why then are so-called milltants and revolutionaics so horrified when armed fascst
cepression s resisted by the ssmed might of the people? Do they expect the peaple to
cevert o the turn-the-other-cheek state of the 19505 and respond to fascist murder,
sadistic brutalisation, frame-ups and tortures with passive acquiescence, love for our

fascst enemics and cooperation in our own oppression?

O i it that these horrified so-called militants and revolutonaries sce the Fberation
struggle as one dimensiona, o be fought solcy on the level of consciousness they
bappen to be on? Surely they cannot be so poliically retarded [sic] s to believe that
i a liberation serugele the eremy should be fought on only one level - that approved
by the enemy.

Itisjust s absurd to propose that everyone resist sscist oppression through peaceful
means s to propose ammed resistance for everyone. Just because I'im a revolurionary
anarcho-communist who believes in armed struggle docs not dogmatize me to
propose that cv

yone arm and go underground. Nor would 1 denounce those who
refuse to do so.

Pasadasicall, though these lefists biteerly denounce all violence by US
revolutionaries against the US ruling class, they highly praise as “heroic” the armed
violence of the revolutonaris in Afrca, Asia, Ircand, the Middle-Fast and Latin
America. The rule scerms to be that armed violence s an acceprable form of
revolusonary struggle except when employed by US revolutionaries aganst the fascst
euling class of the US. In ffcet, i's as if the role of these eft groups i to proet the.
uling class from violence and confine the liberation strugel to the boundaries of

legal activiies approved by the ruling clas.

However,the irrefutable truthis that a beration seuggle is evolutionary war.
Revolutionary war is a complicated process of mass stragele, armed and unarmed,

. srmedstapge
peace and violens,legal nd clandestine, ceonomic and politcal, where al forms of
strugle ace developed harmoniously around the asle of armed serugle. Aayone who
by o has ot grasped these basic fscts docs not know what iberation seruggle is —
o s aying to palm off seformism for heration strggle.

A distnction must be made hetween reformists and revolutionarics. Reformists sck
merely o reform through legal means, and not ovesthrow the cxisting fascist systern
“That's why they panic when the people exercise their right to armed self defence
agins the genocidal violence of the fascse ruling class. Revolutionaris seck the
complte vethro of the fascist system by all means necessary including armed struggle.
Revoluionaries seck, morcaver, to subject to peoples’ justice individual mermbers of
the ruling class for their many crimes against humanity.

“The spreading of the Fst and West cossts of the philosophy of subjecting members
and agents of the rling clas to people’s fustice attests to horw widespread this
revalutionary concept has become. It can never be erased from the consciousness of
the people, the revoluionary clock.

Atlong last the peoples’ armed force has cmerged within the Usited States to oppose
the gestapo of the ruling class. The balaace of power has radicaly shifted. Gone
forever are the days whe fascists could prepare every conceivable crime with
impuiy. The price of oppression has been raised and shal soon become probibitve.

“The stolen billions of dollrs possessed by members of the criminal ruling class shall
Soon become lability. They'll be forced to convert their maasions into fortresscs
protected by round the clock armed guards and electronic protective devices. Every
venture outside the besicged fortress will reqie escorts of armed guards, Even this
will ot guaranee safey. For revolutionary justice shall salk the fascse criminals at
every turn. Alrcady the people’s smy has sen shivers of fear through the spine of the
criminal rling class who clearly recognise the signs as meaning the beginaing of the
end.

Conversely,the people’s armed self. defence force has created new hope in the hearts
f the oppressed — particulaly revolutionary comrades held hostage in fascist prisons
Serving long sentences. Soon the fascise rling class will be forced to free these
prisaners of war in exchange for captured mermbers of their own class.

“The denunciation of the SLA by the movement pressis indistinguishable from that of
the ruling class. Indeed, some movement papers quoted statcments from the
controlled press to support their claim that the people rejcted the kidapping, The

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criminal uling class rubbed their hands i glee and publiised horw divided the left
was over the SLA. Ech left organisation secmed to be competing with the orhers for
legitimacy by denouncing the SLA. I was uterly disgusting, reacdionary and
opportunisic.

Nor were the denunciations made in a sprit of construetive critcim by fellow
comeades. No attempt was made by the movement press to publcise the SLA's
programme, analyse it and poiat out where it was erroncous. The criicism was
deliberatel hostle and designed to solate the SLA by poisoing people’s minds
sgainse them,

Conspicuously absent from the denunciations of the SLA i the movement press is
any discussion of the role of armed strugele. The impression given is that armed
struggle is not an essential past of the revolutionary struggle, that revolugionary
violence is something repulsive which should be shunned. The lefe movement press
would have one believe that o overthrow: the criminal raling class we have merely to
organise mass movements, demonstrtions, protest and repeat revolutionary slogans.
Even after Chile the lates of a series of tragedies where thousands of defenceless
comades were slaughtered because of the criminal refusal oflefistleaders to arm the
peaple against the armed might o the ruling class)the movemeat i the Usited States
still follows the same ill-fated line of Allende — 25 evidenced by the bitter
denunciations of the armed action of the SLA.

Most movement orgarisations are so busy following their dogmatc parey incs,
repeaing revolutionary clches and downing other movement groups that they're

nable to see the sel-cvident. Were their natursl poveers of perception and

consciousness not sulified by party-lincism they would know that a revoltionary
liberation movement must deal with the enemy concurzently on all levels,including
semed violence. Otherwvise when the inevitable showdown with the rling class

comes,the revolution will be lfe defenceless and the lives of our beloved comrades

ncedlessly sacrificed.

The SLA is the armed resstance of the people to the exploitative, racist nd sexist
fascism which i now upon us, Al esistors of oppression, on whatever level of
conscience they may be, should rejoice a the SLA's existence,at their successfl
decds and the fear they put in the heacts of the criminal ruling class, 16 thercfore the
dury of usall 10 support by all means necessary, our SLA comrades. We must close
canks with them and give them the support they nced. Ler's not fllfor the malicious
A

lies spread by agents of the FBI about the SLA which arc designed ta solate the S
from the people to make it casir to capture and murder therm,

s srmedstapge
Ihave carefull seudied the Declaraion of the Revolutonary War and the Symbionese
Liberation Army and find it generally sound. It incorporates much of our historical
revolutionary expericnce. believe that the Symbionese Liberation Army has one of

the most advanced revolutionary progeammes for iberation in operation within the

United States of America,
“The SLA represents the greates challenge to fascist power because i objectfis the
cleus of the people’ army which as istory shows is necessary to deliver the death

blonw to the military arm of the fascist parasiic class.

Your comrade in sl

Martin Sostre

Martin Sostre, “Asmed Strugle: Natural Response to Fascism,” Black Flag: Organ of
the Anarshist Black Crss, vol. 4 no. 3 (August 1975)
"NMost movement organizations are
50 busy following their dogmatic
party lines, repeating revolu~
tionary clichés and downing other
movement groups that they'Tre un-
able to see the self-evident.
Were their natural powers of per-
ception and consciousness not
stultified by party-lineisam they
would know that a revolutionary
liveration movement must deal
with the enemy concurrently on
811 levels, including armed vio~
lence. Otherwise when the inev—
iteble showdown with the ruling
class comes, the revolution will
be left defenseless and the lives
of our beloved conrades needless—

1y sacrificed.! yor4in Sostre

srmedstapge
Prp—
IN 4 SOCIETY WHERE THE LAW UPHOLDS
EXPLOITATION, AND ORDER SUPPORTS

INUSTICE AND FASCISN, WE MGST BY
NECESSITY-BREAK THE CHAINS THAT CONFINE

US T0 OUR SLAVERY AND INJUSTICE.
IF WE 55 CALLED CRIMINALS PRCAUSE WE

BUT LET US NOT SUPPORT

LET US BREAK THE
THAT BIND