Death Penalty, the Labor Party, & PoliticalResponsibility(wasRe: Break...

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Wed Feb 9 14:26:25 PST 2000


At 02:53 PM 2/9/00 -0500, jks wrote:
>Don't be an idiot.
>

I guess I have no choice but to capitulate before such a powerful argument.


>
>You still don't get it.

No, it is you who do not get it, I am afraid. I said that most left wing intellectuals are not particularly concerned whether the fine points of their sooo-fuckingly-cool theories and assorted intelelctual commodities resonate with people who cannot tell the difference between Habermas and Camembert - whereas the right wing hacks bend backwards to appeal to the common sense. Then you write:


>>I will put it in caps, so maybe it will get through. THE FOURTEENTH
AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES _IS_ THE LAW. If ordinary people don't appreciate that, that's in part the fault of dummkopf intellectuals like you who pick and choose about what parts of the law you regarda s real law and what parts are only "technicalities" and not law.<<

Well, I do not claim any legal expertise, as others on this list do. I am just a mere sociologist intersted in how different social groups construct their perceptions of reality, stock knowledge as we say. And I can assure you that for most of these people "justice" means a very simple thing "you broke the law, you should pay for it."

Such a viev might be a simplistic one, and resonating with the cop mythology spread by the media, but it is a social fact. If you do not like that fact, try to change it, instead of name calling a messneger who reminds you of it. And I bet you a beer that to accomplish that you need more trustowrthy speakers than a jailed crackpot cult member who cannot produce a straightforwad and convincing story of his innocence.


>>Oh, I see, and when the lynch mob howls, we should just say that is the
wisdom of the people? ---snip ---- I thought the ruling ideas of the epoch were the ideas of the ruling class, but pardon me, what do I know. Next time I need a political opinion I will just tune into Rush, because W assures me he's got a direct line to the common sense of the masses<<

Well, you need support of that "lynch mob" to change the way things are in this country. At least Rush talks to them in a way they can understand, and surely does not call them "lynch mob," or insults their common sense.


>What a moron. Rush, and W too.
>

Or call them names.

wojtek



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