Butler on Spivak (was SZ)

[kelley]

katha, i know you don't have time, but please read the message rakesh
forwarded to me.  [same subject heading or similar[  then you might want to
check out the archives of 10/16 and a few days before where rakesh
maintained that i was an anti feminist because i didn't critique spivak and
eagleton's review in just the right way.  i responded to rakesh's attack on
me first which i felt was extremely uncalled for.  i consider offlist
flammage uncalled for to begin with and i'd say that calling me ignorant
over and over is uncalled for.  i'm defending myself against rakesh's crap.

 he's an identity cop insofar as he's maintaining that he find my list
persona confusing and not convicind as if he has some right to tell me how
to behave and as if i'm supposed to be coherent for him.  i call that
policing my identity.

At 03:49 PM 12/3/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>I just want to say I am bewildered by Kelley's attacks on Rakesh.  I
>know him pretty well personally, in real life, I mean, and have talked
>about all these issues with him for hours and hours.  He is NOT an
>anti-feminist.  He is NOT an "identity cop." Quite the contrary --
>Rakesh always opposes the "you have to be black/female/gay etc to talk
>speak about issues of blackness, femaleness, gayness" style of
>argument-- the argument of authority from identity, which, in my view,
>has been a real disaster for left politics.  
>  
>Katha
>
>