[Marxism] A protest in suits movement

[Jscotlive at aol.com]

Tom writes:

But I'm not in favour of the rest of us dressing up artificially in  order to 
look respectable.

It doesn't "reclaim" the symbols of power,  it *endorses* the symbols of 
power, and legitimises a view of the world that  the opinions and actions of 
middle class people are more "serious" than  others.

It identifies "ordinary Americans" as being the middle class, and  
de-legitimises the rest; amd it can make it harder to mobilise working class  
people, because they'll feel out of place.
 
Reply:
 
Yes, but there is a corollary to that. Because our politics are so radical  
in contradistinction to the status quo, people we are trying to reach will use  
any excuse to dismiss us as being 'different' to them. This, whether we like 
it  or not, includes the way we dress. I recall when I first came to radical  
politics being put off because everyone at demos or at meetings seemed so  
different from me in dress, manner and in how they expressed themselves. Most  
working class people I know like to dress well. In fact, in most Scottish low  
income communities you will typically see many people dressed in designer  
clothes; this of course is directly linked to their relative poverty and a  desire 
to bolster their self esteem. So it's dangerous to think that how we  dress 
doesn't matter in terms of reaching people with our politics. It  shouldn't, 
but unfortunately in societies predicated on the acquisition of  wealth the 
appearance of wealth and status has become a fetish.
 
J