Blog for Peace and Freedom

I felt the earth quake on Sat. 1-9-10, when Tom died. The whole state felt it.

Truly a great loss to the cause of socialism.

Tom was one of our founding members & he always was able to disagree, without being disagreeable.

I am truly sorry he died so young.
72 is not old in our book, since I am about to turn 69 myself.
How many have we lost in the last year?

Tom will be impossible to replace.

My condolences to you Marsha.

Paul Kangas
Youtube: paul8kangas

old is good. Old is VERY good. The older the better! Please do not accept the standards we hate.
Norma

I first got to know Tom in the late 1970s, when we worked together on an annual conference of leftists at west coast universities. Surrounded there by people who talked obsessively about unifying theory and practice, Tom just did it. He never hesitated to speak his mind, but always did so without divisiveness. Much of my understanding of what it means to be a socialist and an activist was shaped by his example. And much of my knowledge of the history of the left is derived from his encyclopedic (and legendary) command of that subject. Tom’s sense of humor was equally legendary. He always seemed to delight as much in the punch line itself as in its use a weapon in the struggle for economic and social justice. He will be missed even while his life continues to inspire us.

Presente Tom Condit. Tom was a leader in the Peace and Freedom Party. He will be missed by his comrades. I understand that he was active until last week even though I know of his condition for quite some time. If you would like to reward his struggles, continue them. Organize and help build a party that is dedicated to democracy, environmentalism, feminism, racial equality, and socialism. Peace and Freedom Party was the organization he spent some 40 years building. Let’s continue in his footsteps.

Tom and Carol

As I was reading the sad news on Jan. 9 of Tom Condit’s death, I received a phone call that long-time Venice P&F member Carol Berman had died that day.

Carol wrote for the Free Venice Beachhead, the community newspaper that was founded 41 years ago by the Peace and Freedom Party, and is still going strong. She wrote under the name she had been born with, Carol Fondiller. Her many articles were always in defense of the poor, and were laced with humor and caustic comments about the oppressors. She was our socialist Molly Ivins or Dorothy Parker. The last eight years of her writings are on line at http://www.freevenice.org

Carol (as Berman) once ran against Tom Hayden for the 44th Assembly District. Carol would take a backseat to no man, or landlord. Her main issue was low-income housing. She devoted her life, since the early 60s when she came to Venice, to the struggle for peace, freedom and justice. She believed a decent home was everyone’s right, and she fought for it.

Tom Condit was erudite but not arrogant. He was forceful in his commitment to socialism, but not overbearing. His great talent that many of us should learn, especially those in leadership positions, is to be mannerly and respectful to those with whom we disagree.

In the early days of email, Tom was The Voice of the Peace and Freedom Party. His email list was one of the earliest political lists that I’m aware of. Unlike others, he didn’t wear out his welcome with too many messages. I always looked forward to reading what Tom had to say, or what he felt others had said that was of interest.

If I were religious, I’d think about Tom and Carol waiting in line together for processing into socialist heaven. I can almost hear them discussing the state of the movement, perhaps politely arguing (Carol shared Tom’s talent for keeping friends while she disagreed with something they said), but ultimately agreeing that a life of struggle is its own reward.

Jim Smith

For some more remembrances of Tom, see Ballot Access News. (Minor note, the headline there gets one detail wrong; Tom was actually involved in Peace and Freedom for it’s entire 42-year history to date.)

Today the San Francisco Chronicle published this tribute to Tom.