I certainly agree with Chuck0 that everyone on the left has to oppose the so-called "war on terrorism" as an attempt to craft a new "red menace." At the same time we should condemn all forms of tyranny. The irony is that some critics of Bush/Ashcroft political repression are on the political right. Politics does make strange bedfellows. I think we all need to keep doing our central political work, while also spending a little time building broad opposition to attempts to limit dissent. This means that in this narrow area of civil liberties, working with liberals, centrists, and even conservatives is a tactical necessity at this time.
Chip Berlet Senior Analyst Political Research Associates Webmaster http://www.publiceye.org
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chuck0 [mailto:chuck at mutualaid.org]
> Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 11:49 AM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Kerry Embodies New Left Ideals
>
>
> Michael Pugliese wrote:
>
> > Chip on Waller,
> > http://www.publiceye.org/huntred/Hunt_For_Red_Menace-16.htm
>
> That's a very interesting article by Chip, which touches on
> much of the
> stuff I've observed about the right over the years. For example,
> Indymedia tightened up moderation of its newswires after I
> alerted the
> network to a right wing conspiracy to disrupt that
> international project.
>
> It's also clear that the "war on terrorism" is an attempt to create a
> new "red menace" that the ruling class will use to control
> dissent. The
> American state was trying to get people worked up about
> terrorism before
> 9-11, but 9-11 provided with the perfect crucible to create the new
> bogeyman of fear. It's pretty obvious if you follow the kooky
> American
> right that they are trying to paint associations between "Islamic
> terrorism" and liberals, radicals and activists. It's disturbing that
> there are some on the Left who say that they support the "War on
> Terrorism." Every leftist has to oppose this so-called war
> because it is
> actually a war on us. Remember how the capture of Hussein was
> celebrated
> as a defeat for the Left, instead of a victory against tyranny.
>
> So I'm wondering what Chip and the reast of you think about how we
> should fight back against the whacko right. We anarchists have has
> success lately in disrupting the racist right by confronting
> them with
> violence and giving them a poison pill, but how do we fight
> back against
> the "right wing extremists in suits." Give them a dose of their own
> medicine? Bait them into embarassing positions? Confront them in an
> alley with baseball bats?
>
> Chuck0
>
>
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