----- Original Message -----
From: "Carrol Cox" <cbcox at ilstu.edu>
>
> Part of the profundity and difficulty of the struggle is _precisely_
> learning that American lives are no more precious than Afghanistan
or
> Okinawan lives. And the recent passionate arguments in favor of the
flag
> were in fact wishful thinking that somehow one could get there
without
> offending anyone or causing real trouble. Just as Chuck0's silliness
> about not allowing the flag near him stemmed from a real despair of
the
> working class and a deep awe of the cultural power of capitalism.
Even
> touching one of its symbols contaminated one. The Flag means only
one
> thing -- imperialism. But it really won't contaminate the march if a
lot
> of people in it, not understanding this, bring it along.
>
> Carrol
========== My sense was that the arguments for the flag were pragmatic because it was a polysemous signifier. And those positive aspects were worth using for strategic and tactical reasons.
Ian