[lbo-talk] RE: how's it feel?

[Chuck0]

Doug Henwood wrote:
> Chuck0 wrote:
> 
>> No, it's a long way from being worse. It's gotten pretty bad, but most 
>> activists have no perspective on the situation, because most of them 
>> will never feel the worst effects of increased government repression.
> 
> 
> I'm editing my interview with Zizek, and listened to a bit that sort of 
> went by me when I was doing the interview. He said the danger isn't 
> really that Bush will literally institute police-state measures as the 
> bounds of what's acceptable have moved considerably. For example, people 
> talk openly about the use of torture now, a position that two or three 
> years ago would have been confined to right-wing cranks. You could say 
> the same about how anything remotely critical is now coded as 
> unpatriotic. These sorts of things are powerful, but hard to specify and 
> fight against.

I don't read Zizek, but I'll reference Tim Robbins, who was interviewed 
this morning by Amy Goodman. He talked about how right wing radio is 
inciting people to act hate dissenters. Eventually a few loose nuts will 
do something violent. A few activists may get hurt or killed by these 
people in the future. Still, most activists won't be affected, unless 
the Bush regime and his cronies can create a systemic bogeyman like the 
"spectre of cummunism."

When we see the institution of death squads, or a resurrection of state 
violence against dissenters like we saw in the ealry 20th century, do I 
think that most American activists need to be truly worried. Until that 
time comes, if it ever does, we need to ratchet up our dissent. Remember 
that at least 30% of the American population is hardcore against bush 
right now. That's millions of people who have our backs.

Chuck0