why we are so weak

[Liza Featherstone]

But politics is so much about hating and cheering, because those are
expressions of passion. Every good political demo has a rousing dose of
hatred and of cheering.  People get political when they feel strongly about
things and solidarize with others who share those passions. Nothing wrong
with that -- in fact, aren't all movements largely founded on common
cheerings and hatreds? When we hate and cheer some of the same things as the
majority, it make sense to say so -- we reach more people and gain more
support for our positions.

Doug would have the exact cite, but Kevin Phillips said something like
"Politics is all about knowing who hates who."

There was a great reluctance among some anti-war activists to "condemn the
911 attacks." Some local groups were very divided about the issue, strange
as that may sound. Some just didn't do it, rejecting it as pandering or
boilerplate, or objecting on ideological grounds.  But the many other groups
who shared the majority's hatred of the terrorists - and anger at the attack
- (and said so) sounded a lot less marginal at that moment.

Liza


> From: Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu>
> Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 02:09:43 -0400
> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Subject: Re: why we are so weak
> 
> Doug wrote:
> 
>> Marc Rodrigues wrote:
>> 
>>>> given a choice, which do you think "the world" would prefer being rid
>>>> of, Saddam or Bush? Who is a greater threat to "the world"? Which
>>>> population - U.S "progressives" or Iraqis who don't like Saddam - is
>>>> more or less helpless to do anything about their threat to "the world"?
>>> 
>>> that sums it up pretty good there. whats the response from the pro-war
>>> "left" crowd?
>> 
>> Why must we ape the bourgeoisie in making everything an either/or
>> forced choice binary? Why can't we hate Bush and Saddam too?
> 
> Sure we can, but all these professions of hating and cheering do
> nothing but reduce us to the level of moral and political discourse
> to which Bush would have Americans sink: "We will rid the world of
> the evil-doers."  :-0
> -- 
> Yoshie
> 
> * Calendar of Events in Columbus:
> <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>
> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html>
> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/>
> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>