On Fri, 14 Aug 1998, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Frances Bolton (PHI) wrote:
>
> >I think this might be a generational thing. I'm 30, and never, ever, heard
> >about the party, except for the occasional story about my great-Uncle Joe,
> >who was a member in the 20s and 30s. I am at my parents house as I'm
> >writing, and to quote my father (just now told me) that Uncle Joe referred
> >to everyone who was *not* a member of the Party as "hoodlums, hooligans,
> >capitalist pigs, and warmongers." To continue quoting my father,
> >"Capitalist belt buckles he liked, schnorring off of welfare he liked. I
> >had to save his ass from being deported to Russia."
And Doug asked:>
> But you never heard that Commies in general were bad?
>
No, I didn't. I think this might be specific to NJ/NY working class Jews
of a certain age. Everyone had a family member who was a Party member, it
seems. So, when I heard about the Party, it was always within the context
of a story about a relative. Another good story-- Mrs. Meyerson's father
was a party member and, according to legend, he'd always harangue his
brothers about communism. The brothers got sick of it, and, holding onto
his ankles, dangled him out a 5th story window until he promised to stop.
Maybe I'm just blinded by sentimentality, though.
Frances