> Dennis wrote:
> "The good news is that an independent current of the peace movement,
> in reaction to the embarrassing antics of the leftists, is apparently
> growing up, especially on campuses, and has raised the slogan 'Peace
> with Justice' – meaning justice on behalf of 6,000-plus dead
> Americans. This is the way to go. It is the only way that can reach
> the overwhelming majority. Americans are a people justifiably angry at
> what has been done to them: they rightfully seek not only justice but
> vengeance – not against innocent civilians, but against the
> perpetrators of a heinous act. Americans don't want a Mideast war:
> what they want is to be rid of the incubus of terrorism.
The peace movement is making lots of mistakes right now, but pandering to the American public is not one of them. Some Americans have a right to be angry--those who lost loved ones in the attacks. The others are simply living this "tragedy" vicariously via CNN.
It seems to me that the Left is going back to the same old ineffective sign-waving of yesteryear. It's forgotten all the lessons it has learned in the past two years of the anti-globalization movement. In fact, the biggest mistake are the reformists and left sectarians who decided that they could simply abandon anti-globalization work for the "next hot movement."
After the reformists in Washington sold out the anti-globalization movement by cancelling protests last month, my friends in the Anti-Capitalist Convergence went ahead with an anti-capitalist protest which incorporated anti-war themes.
> "What is remarkable about the Left is its incredible thick-headedness,
> its dogmatic insistence on imposing its own countercultural ethos on
> movements it dominates. At the conclusion of the Town Hall teach-in, I
> was up on the stage talking to Alexander Cockburn, and Medea Benjamin,
> local leftie media starlet whose antics make her almost a regular on
> Bay Area television news programs. 'Hey,' I said, 'where were the
> American flags?' I saw plenty of banners with leftist slogans
> emblazoned all over them, but not a single representation of Old
> Glory. Ms. Benjamin didn't even bother to answer, but just sneered, as
> if the thought were so alien that I was probably making a joke.
> Cockburn, however, nodded agreement, and said 'I'm for it,' adding
> that he had always been in favor of reclaiming true patriotism from
> the War Party. Alas, I'm afraid his advice fell on deaf ears. As a
> result of that night, I began to think that, except, perhaps, in the
> case of people like Cockburn – who is really an anarchist, I suspect,
> and even had kind words in his speech for Bob Barr for standing up for
> civil liberties – the anti-Americanism cannot be taken out of the
> Left.
I don't like Medea and I'm pretty pissed off at her buddies at Global Exchange who singlehandedly sabotaged our protests, but her reaction is entirely appropriate. The best place for an American flag is either in the trash or in the barbecue. Patriotism is all about "we're better than you guys." Why do you think that sporting events have turned into patriotic jizz fests?
> "But, who knows? Perhaps a few more terrorist attacks – a few dozen,
> or even hundreds, of new anthrax cases – may shake these dogmatists
> out of their sectarian slumber. Then, perhaps, they will realize that
> they were patriots, after all, and that they really did love their
> country – right before it ceased to exist. For unless the peace
> movement begins to face up to the real issues and offers some real
> arguments against a wider war, the free and open society that was the
> United States of America may soon be only a fond memory. Racial
> victimology and America-hating just will not cut it: indeed, they will
> create a backlash against any possible upsurge of antiwar feeling, and
> set the movement up for accusations of collaborating with terrorism.
Raimondo is full of shit like the other right-wingers. If Americans think that we are collaborating with terrorists, then they can go to fucking hell. Raimondo is arguing that we pander our protest to the most racist and jingoistic elements in American society, when it would be far smarter for the Left to continue raising the questions that is has been doing so well since 9/11.
> "Furthermore, the tendency of the organized antiwar movement to go
> parading about, shouting slogans and carrying placards is an
> indulgence that serves only to give the most marginal groups maximum
> publicity: it is a throwback to an unusable past. This is not yet a
> quagmire: the idea is to prevent us from becoming bogged down in such
> a war before it even starts. But in order to do so it will be
> necessary to face an entirely new set of circumstances with tactical
> creativity, organizational openness, strategic wisdom, and above all
> honesty – or else be consigned to utter irrelevance."
This is a quagmire for the Afghanis who are dying each day from the American bombing. Only a pinhead like Raimondo would measure a "quagmire" by how many American lives are lost.
I agree with his last sentence, but I disagree with his messaging.
Chuck0