SYL

To the Editors of The Crimson:

As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that was attacked in two of the "Spart" letters that appeared in the May 9 edition of The Crimson. I felt it might be useful to explain why members of the democratic Left find the Spartacist Youth League so objectionable. Firstly, the Sparts are totalitarians, and secondly, they are bozos. A brief discussion with a Spart about the issue of Poland will convince anyone of their basic sympathy with totalitarianism. A consideration of their attempt to sabotage the Local 26 rally is symptomatic of the second characteristic. On the day before the rally, the Sparts distributed leaflets that attempted to link the S.Y.L. and its totalitarian opposition to Solidarity with the rally. To claim credit for an event with which one has no connection and to misrepresent its politics in such a terrible way is sleazy at the best of times. To do so when one knows that such an action might keep many from coming to the rally is frankly despicable.

It is sometimes difficult being a socialist in America. False identifications of Socialism with totalitarianism and false stereotypes of socialists as being irresponsible loons abound. These misconceptions are a real obstacle to building a socialist movement. The problem with a Spartacists is that they confirm practically every misconception about Socialism there could be. They are totalitarians, and they are irresponsible loons. I hope that their lunacy does not deter people from finding out about the genuine Left on this campus. Tom Canel '83