I don't think that's true at all. Chuck doesn't talk much in terms of that stuff, and I think his bluster is probably a lot like your bluster about kicking ass. :)
One thing about Chuck, too, is that, after the bluster, he can often be pretty reasonable. It depends. At any rate, both C and Y do think about strategy and history. Doug often accuses Carrol of an overdeterminism that leads to a kind of giving up. But, I don't think that's what Carrol means at all. (I have to get to the library so I don't have time to flesh that out; i'll try later).
Carrol and I have talked about this issue and we've agreed that our approaches are complementary. He recognizes that we need party building and the stuff i'm talking about. I imagine Yoshie does as well. Where we disagree is that the focus must be on anti-war organizing. I disagree. However, I do appreciate what I think the answer is as to why: it's the best hope we have of building an internationally-oriented revolution. Maybe Carrol or someone who understands that argument can flesh it. Suffice it to say that, in my experience, there's some merit to this position. There is perhaps a danger that movement based on social welfare within a single nation may turn people inward, a defeat for socialism on this view.
(Does any of this make any sense. I'm typing quickly. Library calls.)
>They also apparently have never fathomed the lesson of
>the Boy Who Cried Wolf. The nasty little secret is that all three favor
>their "protest everything" mantra because it strokes their egos. All three
>of them never cease to brag about how much "organizing" and protesting they
>do.
hmmm. I guess it can feel that way. I thnk it's more what Jon said, that there's an assumption that, those people who don't talk about it, are somehow lazy asses who never do anything.
I admit, I don't like Chuck's bluster about trashing the streets. It's too macho for me -- and I lift weights, do kickboxing, and LOVE powertools. :) But even he doesn't think it's all about trashing the streets. he just gets carried away.
OTOH, I identify with Chuck. Some days, I feel just like you: i want to kick some ass. :) I remember the feeling of power (and terror) I felt the day, many years ago as a young mom, I knew I would be willing to die to keep the state from siting a radioactive waste dump -- anywhere. It was just something that came over me--probably feeling very protective as a new mom. probably feeling very angry at the way government officials and cops felt they could just do whatever they wanted b/c they had the guns. pissed off that they chose us because they thought we were all dumb farmers. but, mostly, it was thinking about this life i was responsible for and, as i mentioned awhile back after the election, the crystal clarity of that moment when you realize you are part of something much bigger than yourself, that you owe the past and the future. ( hee. i think that, if we were Durkheim fans, we'd talk about altruistic suicide now, eh?)
anyway, library calls.
k
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