>i think the issue, in general, is ridiculous and the context within which
>it was raised even more so. how ludicrous can it possibly be to take an
>accusatory tone toward lurkers by insisting that they have no right to be
>silent. such a pronouncement, as you know from your response, has no
>respect for the many contingencies that keep people from posting. and much
>of it has little to do with their cowardice or lack of stamina. again, ken
>lawrence was right on.
Our contemporary leftists often mention the specters of Stalinism, authoritarianism, etc. If they are serious about guarding left politics from such specters, however, they must all give up the "right to be silent." When politics is a spectacle for the majority, political freedom is practically absent, because it remains unexercised. It is the habitual silence and lack of participation which prepare people for autocratic rule. BTW, this is why it is especially important to liberate women from the gendered & privatized burden of labor of social reproduction; unless liberated from it, women can't participate in politics on equal terms with men.
Yoshie