> If the white left, such as it is, was a bit more sensitive to police
> oppression
> of the black community, perhaps Mumia's friends and family would have
> been less dependent on the RCP. I have ancient quarrels with that
> group, but they worked for Mumia when the rest of the left mostly
> ignored his case. And however sectarian the RCP may be -- it is
> not anywheres near as sectarian as any white leftist who would
> endanger Mumia's defense to make a sectarian point against the
> the RCP.
Well, if you are talking about me, then I would disagree that I'm being sectarian. I don't consider myself to be a member of the club that calls itself Left, therefore it's impossible for me to be "sectarian," which implies that I'm part of something.
We can quibble about these points, but I don't feel any guilt about raising questions about the Free Mumia movement. Criticism is a good thing, as I learned in art school many years ago. The fact that other Mumia supporters have backed my claims underscores that there ARE some serious problems within the Free Mumia movement. Clark Kissinger has indeed done some good things for the movement, but very few people are aware of his disruptive RCP background. I've had friends of mine tell me how he visited their Midwestern campus during the Gulf War and became a disruptive element in the anti-war coalition.
He's behaving himself now because he has access to the Mumia campaign's inner circle. Have you noticed how he downplays his involvement with the RCP? What's up with that?
Kissinger is just part of the overall Left problem that plagues the Free Mumia campaign. There are far too many people who use his case to get street cred for their pathetic party newspapers and groups.
I spent several years working on Mumia's case, the whole time NOT wearing my political identification on my sleeve. While my criticism of Kissinger may be politically motivated, my other criticisms of the Mumia campaign are based on my experience as an activist.
Unlike Marc Cooper, I'm not asking anybody to NOT support Mumia. I'm no longer involved in day-to-day activism on his behalf, but I do run a website. If anybody wants, I can send out the hate mail I have gotten from idiots who want the state to "fry Mumia."
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