Chomsky on Palestine

Gordon Fitch gcf at panix.com
Mon Apr 8 12:27:11 PDT 2002


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.

joanna bujes:
> 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.

As a literally working-class person, I find working-class slobs, overweight, wearing baseballs hats, to be an embarrassing affectation or imposition. Many working-class persons are of average or even less than average weight, dress carefully or even well, and choose a variety of head coverings, including none at all. I suspect Moore differs from the run of the Left by being entertaining for the usual reasons: imagination, sense of timing, emotional aim, art in general.

And as for hats, especially a baseball hat on a certain type of person is almost as certain a manifest of duplicity as a necktie on a businessman or the lack of one on a politician.

-- Gordon



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