RES: a trip to North Korea

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Mon Apr 24 08:55:30 PDT 2000


Charles Brown wrote:


>CB: Doug, are you saying there some personality cults that are not
>bizarre running some countries somewhere ? What would you call the
>British monarchy ?

A bizarre personality cult. An imperial contrivance perpetuated by the media. I'm sure one could make a longer list, but those would have to be high up on it.


>A non-bizarre ( non-exotic ? foreign ? ) personality cult ? Or is
>that adjective just a gratuitous exaggeration making North Korea
>worse than some straw country ?

I agree with James Heartfield's distinction - that imperialism made NK what it is, but it's no model of development.


>So, if you are against a small country disengaging completely from
>the outside world , are you for lifting the U.S. embargo and
>removing the troops ?

Of course. Did you think otherwise?


> or what. Are you saying North Korea should yield to the demands of
>imperialism in changing its system in order to engate the outside
>world ?

No. It should do something so its people don't have to eat bark, though.


>Are you saying you can't fulfill your wishes in changing U.S.
>policy, therefore, North Korea should change its system the way the
>U.S. and imperialist countries , and social democrats want it too ?
>Or that you wish NK would get rid of its "bizarre personality cult" ?

I wish it would. I wish the UK and US would shed their bizarre personality cults too. I used to be a member of the Patti Smith personality cult, but that was 20 years ago.

Doug



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