[lbo-talk] What Is Red-Baiting? (was Re: Justin and Dennis)

[mike larkin]

--- Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu> wrote:
> At 4:03 PM -0700 9/23/03, mike larkin wrote:
> >  > In my opinion, red-baiting diminishes the value
> of
> >>  this listserv
> >
> >The problem is that ANSWER types attack any
> criticism of them as 
> >"red-baiting,"
> 
> My objection was not to "any criticism of ANSWER" or
> any other 
> socialist organization for that matter, but to the
> habit of 
> insinuation a la Michael Pugliese's posting that I
> flagged:
> 
> At 1:14 AM -0400 9/23/03, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> >At 2:56 PM -0700 9/22/03, Michael Pugliese wrote:
> >>What Dennis, Nathan, Thomas Seay, me and others
> argue is not that 
> >>one should abstain from attending but, draw, 'er,
> "lines of 
> >>demarcation, " between cadre like Yoshie that work
> with and 
> >>pressure other coalitions like UfPJ, to build a
> united front w/ 
> >>such Stalinist formations, whose conception of
> socialism is what 
> >>the young Marx called "barracks communism".
> >
> >I suppose that some American leftists will be
> forever prisoners of 
> >the rhetoric of the Red Purge, which insinuates
> that so and so is 
> >secretly a card-carrying a member of such and such
> (CPUSA back then, 
> >WWP now, something else in the future).
> >
> >Just out of curiosity, what organizations of which
> do you think I am 
> >a "cadre"?
> 
> It is surely unnecessary for anyone to imply that I
> am secretly "a 
> cadre" of WWP to criticize WWP or my support of
> particular 
> demonstrations initially called by ANSWER or
> anything else.

True, but over and over again, sectarians get caught
with their hands in the cookie jar after announcing
they NEVER do any of those terrible things and how
dare you accuse them.

It's not the 1930s, and these days this type of
behavior is more entertaining than threatening. Around
here the Quakers run the show--they're much "tougher"
than they look-and they do a fine job of keeping
things open. Plus they are wonderful people. It's
always nice working with folks who actually walk their talk.

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