>In short, criticisms should be concrete and fact-based, about the
>problems that actually exist and can be corrected. In my humble
>opinion, it's irrational to say that "the left" is a bunch of
>humorless and self-righteous losers, as is often said here, and to
>still be a leftist, unless you think of yourself as a humorless and
>self-righteous loser. Perhaps leftist critics of "the left"
>automatically exempt themselves in their minds? I'm genuinely
>perplexed.
>- --
>Yoshie
I don't read most of these 'criticisms' as dismissals of the left, but attempts to get a handle on what makes us dull (when we are) despairing (when we are) or unreadable (when we are). I don't see the problem with that.
>>I'm familiar with Chomsky's organize-by-guilt statements and they
>>just don't do anything for me.
>I don't see "organize-by-guilt statements" in Chomsky's works. I
>finally bought Chomsky's _9-11_ (NY: Seven Stories Press, 2001)
>yesterday, so I'll cite a couple of relevant passages from it;
...
>...I can say with confidence, though, that he never attributes the guilt
>of the US power elite and crimes of the US state to ordinary
>Americans; to the contrary, what he says or writes always manifests
>his great faith in the capacity for understanding, self-emancipation,
>and solidarity with others struggling for liberty that ordinary
>people do possess, be they Americans or others.
I was referring to the following from Marc Rodrigues: "i may be slightly off here, but i think chomsky is in the habit of saying something like this at a lot of his speaking events, referring to some random u.s. atrocity, either in the past or ongoing: "we were responsible for this, and by we i mean people like you and me (or the people sitting in this room)."
But I've heard Chomsky do this too. We all have a responsibility, everyone here, it's being done in our name, etc. etc. All true enough, I'm just saying it's neither the most inspiring nor interesting part of the truth. Better to tell the story of how we fought atrocity X, and gain lessons from that. Essentially, there's a choice of emphasis: "You are a group of oppressors, you must throw off your oppressive tendencies in the name of humanity." As opposed to: we're being lied to, used, and manipulated by these murderous fuckers, and everyone in this room has a direct, immediate interest in ending their rule.
Jenny Brown