Chomsky on Palestine

[joanna bujes]

At 09:09 PM 04/07/2002 -0400, Nathan wrote:
>Come on- the obvious difference is that Moore has used movies and TV to
>reach large audiences-- his book popularity is based on those movie/TV fans
>turning to his work.  The brilliance of Moore is figuring out how to make
>left politics entertaining to large numbers of people, something rightwing
>radio hosts have traditionally done a far better job of than left politicos.

I would also say that he succeeds...where many in the left fail...because 
he presents himself unashamedly, aggressively, as a working class slob: 
he's overweight, he wears one of those silly baseball caps, he is never 
fashionable. He never makes the working class feel ashamed of 
themselves...something that leftists often inadvertantly do by portraying 
the ideal life that the working class can achieve when they have thrown off 
their oppressors. At any rate, I have noticed that the socialist 
"idealization" of the future (aside from producing very good jokes) can 
have the indirect effect of making working people ashamed of their present.

Joanna