>> On 14 Aug 2005 at 17:15, mike larkin wrote:
>>> Do we really need the Hitler analogies? What's wrong
>>> with these people?
>
> John Thornton:
>> When the far right label behaviours and opinions they don't like as
>> "treasonous" and constantly refer to people they disagree with of as
>> "traitors" does it help their cause or hurt it? None of the accused
>> individuals are guilty of being traitors. None of the behaviours
>> labeled as such in the last few years by right-wing pundits are even
>> close to treason.
>
>> While I don't personally like the Hitler analogies I cannot say that
>> it is ineffective in arousing people. Rational arguments will not
>> always be effective. To quote Swift, "You cannot reason a man out of
>> something he was never reasoned into." Not everyone holds the
>> beliefs they subscribe to after long internal debates on the
>> strength and/or weakness of it.<
>
> right. But do you think it would be a good thing to set up a
> newspaper, in the style of the old Kansas-based socialist one, but
> named APPEAL TO UNREASON? do we really want a movement based on
> demagoguery? don't we want a movement that has a generally scientific
> viewpoint rather than one where irrationality is encouraged?
I don't mean to be coy. but there is a science of constructive irrationality.
I say it has it ALL over "chaos theory". There's a lot of very confused Americans right now, and offering them the "chaos" of a publicly obscure political "style", as opposed to something visualizable like fascism is a losing tactic.
What's wrong with public controvery?
Ward Churchill still has a job.
Let everyone take potshots at the label... Most of the traits of fascism are right here right now... Prove the point and move on. But PROVE IT. I think everyone besides O'really et al KNOWS that not all fascism is the German goosestep style.
We all REALLY need to stop underestimating the reasoning ablilty of the average person and focus on working on something they already sense... That something is very wrong in their world compared to ... 20 years ago(?), and why that might be.
Leigh www.leighm.net