Re: Letter From Pôrto Alegre

Patrick Bond pbond at wn.apc.org
Sat Feb 2 21:00:05 PST 2002


Hey comrade, I sense your irony. But really, this is the time for sharp calculations, based on knowing who friends are. That you find out through considering their principles, their analysis, their strategies, their tactics, their allies. Not whether they're physically in P.A., NYC or inside-the-beltway. You know that.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Munson" <chuck at tao.ca> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2002 4:50 PM Subject: Re: Letter From Pôrto Alegre


> Patrick Bond wrote:
> >
> > Comrade Chuck, if you want evidence of the revolutionary character of
the
> > delegation that went from South Africa (leaving NGO/academic yuppies
like
> > myself behind), let me know and I'll give you their names and
affiliations
> > offlist.
>
> But you guys are closer!
>
> > I think there's a really good chance this Porto Alegre can help identify
> > neo-lib capitalism as the enemy, which is a crucial prerequisite for
those
> > of us in Johannesburg who'll be inviting you over on the subway to the
> > August World Summit on Sustainable Development. I was most encouraged to
> > read the following from Agence France Press:
>
> I thought that capitalism was already the enemy. At least that's why
> I've been organizing under the umbrella of the Anti-Capitalist
> Convergence since last May. I always love it when the word
> "anti-capitalist" appears in the papers.
>
> > Wouldn't that atmosphere also intimidate NGO yuppies? Don't write the
WSF
> > off, comrade, just because the deplorable Marc Cooper's having a nice
> > time...
>
> Next time you are in Washington I'll have to give you a tour of the
> local activist scene. You'll understand the class basis if my kvetching
> if you saw what we have to do on sparse resources. Even the more
> moderate groups have to scrape by. You would think that NGO
> organizations with offices and resources would help out activist groups,
> but they generally don't. I don't want to get totally down on NGOs,
> since I have friends that work for them, but there are many of us who
> get upset when they spin our movement as a reformist one.
>
> BTW, I just saw a photo on Yahoo that shows Bono and Desmond Tutu
> schmoozing together at the WEF. It seems the WEF has done a good job
> this year at bringing acceptable members of the rabble inside so they
> can spin themselves off as some long convention of brainy movers and
> shakers.
>
> << Chuck0 >>
>
> Infoshop.org -> http://www.infoshop.org/
> Alternative Press Review -> http://www.altpr.org/
> Practical Anarchy Online -> http://www.practicalanarchy.org/
> Anarchy: AJODA -> http://www.anarchymag.org/
> MutualAid.org -> http://www.mutualaid.org/
> Factsheet 5 -> http://www.factsheet5.org/
> AIM: AgentHelloKitty
>
> Web publishing and services for your nonprofit:
> Bread and Roses Web Publishing
> http://www.breadandrosesweb.org/
>
> "Chuck Munson isn't like other protestors."
> -- CTV
>
>



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