By Alma, Socialist Alternative London
I was raised in a household where political discussions were frequent and open for debate. As a child, I naturally gravitated towards fighting injustice through a very early passion for feminism and later LGBTQ+ rights.
I began to see how misogyny is perpetuated by capitalism through issues such as the wage gap, reinforced by female-dominated fields being drastically underpaid. Since moving to the UK, I noticed how prevalent the subordination of the working-class is and how important and how essential services like nationalised healthcare were being neglected by the government.
I first noticed Socialist Alternative at Pride, when a comrade speaking on a megaphone and linking the ongoing rail strikes to LGBTQ+ struggle caught my attention. I then attended a meeting on trans rights being affected by the Tory government, where the link between oppression of LGBTQ+ people and capitalism became clear to me. A particularly important SA event I attended was the protest held at UCL against the prosecution of women in Iran. I felt how integrated with real-life struggle the organisation was, rather than exclusively discussing theory.
Since joining SA, I have learned about the importance of supporting trade unions and the political situation globally – through discussions with comrades in Mexico for example. I have attended more protests than I ever did prior to joining, such as one calling for a general strike and one held at the Chinese embassy.
Through my involvement in our intervention at Pride this year, I was able to witness firsthand the growing dissatisfaction with capitalism and the support for trans rights people are engaging with. The climate protest we attended also showed me how many people view the climate struggle and the class struggle as inextricably linked, with many engaging with us on the basis of our anti-capitalist protesting. In the future, I look forward to learning more from my comrades and continuing to fight injustice on a practical level rather than theoretical.
