From: jonathan edward sterne <j-stern1 at students.uiuc.edu> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
Thanks for writing, Margaret.
On Mon, 29 Mar 1999, Margaret wrote:
> Okay, murderous repression could certainly be a
> problem(!), though i'd reckon moreso when/if (a) we get
> to the point of being a serious threat or (b) we do
> something that can be plausibly used as justification.
We have been a serious threat in the past, that's precisely the point. The reason the left feels so ineffectual inside the US is that the moments where it's been most effective have been precisely the moments of greatest government repression. That doesn't mean giving up, it means recognizing that we have been and can be effective again, but that we should also be ready for the costs of success.
> Are we just screwed, then, and should admit it and go
> home?
Of course not.
> >2) The have more channels of communication than we do. How can you
> >disseminate democratic ideas without a democratic media?
>
> We have the Internet, lamp-posts, laser printers, and
> our feet. 'Each one teach one', sort of thing?
And that's what we use now. But I think the left needs a clear media strategy along with everything else and has to either a) forge massive media networks on par with those of the right or b) actively fight to democratize existing media networks. I think a combination of the two approaches is probably best, but lampposts and the internet (which is hardly a bastion of leftism--and hardly a democratic medium) aren't enough.
> >While I do think a little soul-searching on the left is always a good
> >thing, I also think it's foolish to blame ourselves when we're clearly the
> >underdog here.
>
> I would probably agree with you more if i felt that we
> actually had a program and were being suppressed in
> putting it forward. My problem is that i don't see
> any sign of a credible program, anywhere. Do you know
> of one?
I see many credible programS. The key here is plural. I'm not talking about one unified national or international left movement because at the moment, there isn't one. But there are smaller groups doing good things for people in their own ways, and a lot of them. None are ideologically pure, but if one gets past knee-jerk orthodoxies there is much for any one of us to do. And I think that's the big thing. Organizing, educating, getting people involved. There's no big secret to it, and a top-down platform at this point would be meaningless without much greater participation. I mean, I've got my idea and you've got yours, and we can talk about them here, but the real point is for all these heterogeneous groups to work alone and together bringing people into contact with one another. That's how you build a movement.
> >I
> >think if you ask basic questions about right and wrong, most
> >self-identified leftists would agree on the answers. The challenge is how
> >we get to right from wrong.
>
> Agreed. So how do we?
Organize, organize, organize.
> So is it all inevitable, then, do you think? _Are_ we
> all just implicitly congratulating one another on how
> Evolved we all are compared to the Lumpenproletariat?
> Are most folk in the Left and this list just ...um,
> 'parlor pinks' i think was the term? Ready to
> criticise but not plan, tear down but not build?
Honestly, I think this kind of discussion quickly degenerates into the verbal equivalent of pants-dropping. I've got a long history of activism with local groups. I know others on this list have similar histories in their communities. I make my living as an academic, so I see the "parlor pink" side of it too. I just wonder what people expect out of internet discussion lists. Internet access, fluency, and interest are all marks of a certain kind of social privilege. i would expect those of us on the list to be privileged in one way or another. I would also expect that since it's a discussion list we would, well, discuss. I come in with the assumption that people are here in good faith. That's enough for me online. On the other hand, if you show up to my union meeting and criticize, I'll expect you to be part of fixing the problem you identify.
Best, --J