[lbo-talk] the World Can't Wait

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Mon Aug 15 08:20:49 PDT 2005


Jim Devine wrote:
>
> Appeals to unreason -- calling people
> "traitor," "fascist," etc. when it doesn't make sense to do so --
> helps to create a (new) irrational society.

Such labels, in any case, belong in the same category as "There may be fleas on the referee / But there ain't no fleas on us." That is, they neither catch the attention of new people nor deepen the understanding of those who have already been reached. They merely (for right-wing pigs but not, really, for leftists) make one feel good about a fixed position. Cheers for leftists to raise morale and to underline solidarity go like this (and I'm DELIBERATELY PICKING SECOND-RATE examples, not the really beautiful ones)

Shall we still be slaves and work for wages? It is outrageous -- has been for ages. . . .

Organize! O toilers, come organize your might; Then we'll sing one song of the Workers' Commonwealth Full of beauty, full of love and health.

Onward, Christian soldiers! Rip and tear and smite! Let the gentle Jesus bless your dynamite. Splinter skulls with shrapnel, fertilize the sod; Folks who do not speak your tongue deserve the curse of God.

One Two Three Four We don't want your fucking war.

Hey Hey LBJ How many kids did you kill today?

And so forth. Yelling fascist isn't even third-rate cheer leading and shows a lamentable lack of imagination in crafting useful agitational slogans and headlines.

Carrol



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