On Mon, 28 Jan 2002, Dennis Robert Redmond wrote:
> I know what you mean, but I can't help but think that the time for
> standing down has passed (or maybe I'm just getting theological in my old
> age). The global Left has got to show some maturity, and move from being
> against things (defense) to offense, and the Big Apple is the perfect
> place to do it. It's a city which has suffered 25 years of nightmarish
> neoliberalism
I hate to be crudely empirical, but the last 8 years before this one have been economically extradinarily kind to New York City. And not by accident -- it profited in large part from the neoliberal drain. New York is where they drained the money to. For most of us the experience is not of unrelating pain, but of an astonishing run of good times that was abruptly and dramatically cut short on September 11th and replaced with a huge and daunting slump. This doesn't entirely accord with the facts (as Carl can attest), but it is how most people feel.
What I'm afraid of is that by identifying the WTC and New York as the center of globalization, and then attacking it so spectacularly, the 9/11 crew set up an irrational reflex in most New Yorkers to feel for a moment as if they were on the same side. Kind of the way liberal blacks sometimes feel defensive and on the same side with Farrakhan, even if in normal life they hate the guy, when they see attacks on him they think are outrageous. And what I'm afraid is that these feelings will end up not only limiting but maybe even mangling the resonance of these protests, like an amp with feedback.
> Whatever happens out there in the streets has to be global theater, the
> worthy successor to Genoa, world-class theater for a world-class city.
Even in avant-garde theatre, you should only insult the feelings of the audience when they're in the mood for it if you want them to applaud the show. I read you as saying the bait is just too delicious to ignore. My hat's off to the WEF. I think this was an uncharacteristically bold and brilliant move on their part, the last thing anyone would have expected them to do.
But even if my worst fears are confirmed, it won't be the end of the protest movement, just a setback that will probably make it stronger in the long run. It will just emphasize just how central tactical variety and creativity has always been to this movement, and wake up those who are in danger of falling into the old bandwagon style with better costumes.
Personally I'm sad. It's one of my fondest dreams to be able to join in one of these great protests by the convenience of subway. I thought I'd never see the day. And here it is happening at the one moment when it just doesn't feel right.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com