Doug
>X-From_: lsalzman at aba.org Wed Jan 19 12:05:05 2000
>X-Sender: lsalzman at mail.iex.net
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 12:06:22 -0500
>To: rugosa at interport.net
>From: lsalzman at aba.org (Lorna Salzman)
>Subject: Nader attack: your posting
>
>I am very troubled by your spreading on the NYS Green forum the Henwood
>and Tom Trouble (?)' reports and slanderous attacks on Ralph Nader re the
>Multinational Monitor issue and because neither you nor anyone you
>contacted allowed Nader or anyone else to state the other side of the case.
>
>Doug Henwood of course is a hard line Marxist ideologue with whom I have
>had minimally polite but firm debates over environmental and economic
>issues. However, his fuse is short and his tolerance of dissent almost
>nonexistent. He is intelligent but intolerant. As for "Tom Trouble",
>whomever he may be, his name speaks volumes about what he is up to. In
>other words, we are not talking objectivity, and therefore credibility is
>at issue.
>
>The fact is that my personal experience with the sectarian hard line
>Leftists, and my unmoderated responses to them, have reaped me the title of
>Left baiter. But it is well established, and I have reams of stuff to
>support it, that the hardline Left will always find a reason to attack
>those who are more accomplished and respected than themselves, mostly
>because they have nothing better to do. Not least of course is that the
>best ideas of the Left have been subsumed by the Green philosophy, hence
>their seething rage against Greens, and of course against Nader.
>
>The sectarian Left has been on the anti-Nader warpath since 1996, with
>Brian Tokar and Howie Hawkins leading the pack. If they cant discredit him
>one way they will find another. It is pathetic: disgruntled dishevelled
>discombobulated disoriented disappointed deceived Leftists with no ideas,
>no organization, no principles, no scruptles, no support, no credibility,
>no status, descend like wolverines on one of the most respected
>accomplished progressive political personalities in the US. Are they afraid
>to go after people like Buchanan, Gore, Gates, Trump, or some of the
>revolting reactionaries in Congress, or the mega-capitalists sucking the
>economy dry? What about Monsanto? WTO? NAFTA? IMF?I thought the Left was
>anti-CAPITALISM. Since when have they changed direction and decided to
>ignore the real enemies? No wonder there are so few Leftists. This kind of
>stuff makes one regret the invention of email. It allows all kinds of
>ignoramuses and fanatics to post their worthless pointless venom in any
>direction their twisted mind desires.
>
>As someone who has been the victim of such irresponsible attacks myself,
>and as an observer of the untrammeled circulation of nasty rumors within
>the Green movement, I feel that this kind of slimy attack - basically
>accepting the views of a single person without an airing of all sides of
>the issue -has no place in Green work or for that matter anywhere. It is
>National Inquirer writ large. Greens should be above this kind of stuff.
>Greens should, individually and collectively, be fair and evenhanded when
>criticizing someone in their ranks. This is not to say that Nader or anyone
>else is exempt from criticism, not the least bit. But when we attack the
>mass media for purveying lies and biases and distorted news, we should not
>think that Greens can operate by a different standard. Yes indeed, it does
>seem that the Left eats its young. But on second thought maybe that isnt
>such a bad idea.
>
>I believe it is incumbent on you to either seek views of those on Nader's
>side, and circulate them on line, or publicly state that you have no
>personal knowledge of the accuracy or completeness of the Tom Trouble and
>Doug Henwood postings. And it behooves you to refrain from this kind of
>muckraking in the future. It violates in every respect Green values and
>principles. It is an abuse of the Green listserve. And it is an abuse of
>truth and justice.
>
>Lorna Salzman
>
>Lorna Salzman
>Box 775
>East Quogue, NY 11942
>718-522-0253; 516-653-3387
>fax: 718-522-0253 (call first)
>lsalzman at aba.org