What is a Comrade?
2 Minute Read
by Ken Barrios
Introduction
For a long time, the term “comrade” had a Cold War stigma. But over the last few years, more people have started using the term. What does this term mean, where does it come from, and how should we use it?
Below, we’ll review its origin, definition, and some observations to better understand: what is a comrade?
Origin and Definition
The term “comrade” is often associated with socialists and communists, usually implied to reference fellow party members.
But it is technically a politically neutral, military term. The English word “comrade” comes from the Spanish “camarada”, which translates to “chamber mate” or “roommate”. As the Merriam-Webster dictionary indicated, it was a reference to soldiers having to share rooms, presumably at a barracks or when out on military campaign.
This origin gives us a sense of the definition. Much like organizers, soldiers may have never met before their time in struggle, and they may never meet again after. So we could define a comrade as someone we join during a period of struggle toward a common goal.
Impermanent
The phrase “common goal” is key. An individual’s hopes, fears, and allegiances can shift over time, sometimes abruptly. This means that while organizers may share a common goal for one period of time, once that goal is achieved, or even in the process of working toward that original goal, new goals may appear which put them on divergent or opposing tracks.
In other words, just as a soldier’s tour of duty starts and ends, organizers who begin as comrades around one struggle don’t necessarily stay together. If we look at the example of civil wars, soldiers in one united army can end up in opposing armies. People are comrades as long as their goals align.
“Comrades, comrades, comrades!”
Some organizers have a very strict use of “comrade”. They will only use the term for fellow members of their organization. Or even more strictly, only for people they have organized alongside for many years. Others will refer to literally anyone on the street as “comrade”, treating it as a replacement for “mister” or “misses”.
At the 33rd Ward Working Families (33WF) office, I try to kick off every event by announcing, “Comrades, comrades, comrades!” It doesn’t matter if you are a member of 33WF, or if you’re collaborating as a member of a union or another organization, or if you’re someone who heard about the event from word-of-mouth and wanted to help out for a single day.
If you’re in that office, working with us to collect petition signatures, to knock on doors for our candidates, to collect goods for mutual aid distribution: then you are our comrade in that struggle and we are thrilled to have you.
Most people are busy enduring capitalism. The average person spends all day at work and can’t wait to use their free time to sit on the couch, party, or engage in their hobby. The average person is not looking to use their free time to do free labor for political campaigns. People's goals are often shifting even when they are willing to help. This means that every person who agrees to even one day of joining our struggle is precious. Every comrade is precious.