Let me say it again: One can't fight the WWP through journalism. One can only "fight" it by ignoring it and building the anti-war movement.
I could care less whether anyone in particular agrees or disagrees with this.
I can't be insulting you because I'm really not talking about you.
Mostly in fact I'm talking about the mistakes made 35 or so years ago that led to the d issolution of SDS. And hysteria over PL was at the core of many of those mistakes. I've been seeing the same kind of mistake being made about WWP on this list and (presumably) elsewhere.
Whether I am or am not arrogant is also irrelevant.
Here, incidentally, is my tone when communicating with those reached by the local anti-war mvement. I wrote the following for distribution at a "Town Hall Meeting" the gropup sponsored on Oct. 26. I didn't make it because I was out of town, but those who were there tell me it was quite successful. As Justin remarked recently, the core of the local movement has turned out to be Quakers & Commies. :-) The two get along famously.
(Incidentally, I've now been asked to write the responses to the questions posed below, but various interruptions have slowed it down. I'd be grateful for any help anyone can give.)
Carrol
********
It would be useful for B/NCPJ to prepare a series of information sheets on topics and questions which come up frequently in discussions of the wars in which the U.S. is involved. Below is a selection of possible questions. Please circle the three or four questions that seem to you most pressing. If you have additional questions you think are important, please write them on the back of this sheet.
ALSO: Someone will need to write the leaflets, and there will also be need of feedback with suggestions for improvement of the first drafts. If you are willing to participate in this process, please see the Chair at the close of this meeting to volunteer your services. To be a help you don't need to be a writer; you just need to have a sense of what kinds of information are needed.
1. How dangerous is the depleted uranium which the U.S. used in the Gulf War for armor-piercing ammunition?
2. Does opposing the War on Iraq mean supporting Sadaam Hussein?
3. What is known about Iraq's possession of "weapons of mass destruction"?
4. What connection if any is there between Iraq and Al Quida?
5. What are the interests in the Mideast of oil companies with which Vice-President Cheney was connected?
6. To what extent did the invasion of Afghanistan reduce (or increase) the danger of terrorism in the U.S.?
7. What are the living conditions now of the people of Afghanistan?
8. What was the U.S. role in the Iraq-Iran War of the 1980s?
9. Who are "The Settlers" in Palestine, and what is their legal status?
10. How did the bombing of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities in the Gulf War impact the lives of ordinary Iraqis, then and now?
11. Why has the U.S. been bombing Iraq for 10 years?
12. How will a war in Iraq effect the lives of the Kurds in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran?
13. Assuming the U.S. overturns Sadaam Hussein, what will be the short and long range results for the Midease? For the United States?
14. What will be the effect in other Muslim nations (Mideast, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, parts of the Phillipines, of a U.S. army stationed in Iraq, following a destructive war?
15. Will conquering Iraq reduce, increase, or not affect the likelihood of terrorist attacks in the U.S.?
Name________________________________________________ (Please Print)
Phone _____________________ E-Mail_____________________