[lbo-talk] nuts watching nuts (smashing windows)

Jim Devine jdevine03 at gmail.com
Mon Jul 11 16:17:07 PDT 2005


me:
> > and it associates a serious issue (the opposition to corporate
> > globalization) with infantile tactics.

Chuck:
> In your liberal opinion. Do you feel the same way about people around
> the world who break windows? Or are you like many American armchair
> leftist who glorify the revolution when it happens somewhere else.
> Heaven forbid you should have to get off you butt and do something about
> capitalism in this country!

ignoring the epithets (which simply undermine Chuck's credibility), I can understand and don't denounce those who spontaneously break windows (or whatever) in righteous anger. ("Spontaneously" means without clear organization or ideology here.) An example would be the Stonewall rebellion. However, sometimes windows are broken (or whatever) for bad causes. Those are causes I don't support.

I reject this kind of tactic or strategy as something that organized leftists do, since after the first acts, it's self-defeating and merely a matter of ego-stroking. It's sort of like the macho crap that folks like Rumsfeld spew.


> These arguments against window breaking are so liberal, middle class,
> and out of style.

Sorry to be "out of style." The dominant style in the US these days is downright fascist sometimes. Did you see what the FOX commentators blithely said about the London bombings? Now, that's the style these days: macho, emphasizing "toughness" over rationality or sensitivity, etc.

---- Fox News slammed over 'callous' line

Julian Borger in Washington Saturday July 9, 2005 The Guardian

Rupert Murdoch's Fox News channel was under fire yesterday for comments by some of its leading journalists in response to the London bombs.

Speaking about the reaction of the financial markets, Brit Hume, the channel's Washington managing editor, said: "Just on a personal basis ... I saw the futures this morning, which were really in the tank, I thought 'hmm, time to buy'."

The host of a Fox News programme, Brian Kilmeade, said the attacks had the effect of putting terrorism back on the top of the G8's agenda, in place of global warming and African aid. "I think that works to our advantage, in the western world's advantage, for people to experience something like this together, just 500 miles from where the attacks have happened."

Another Fox News host, John Gibson, said before the blasts that the International Olympic Committee "missed a golden opportunity" by not awarding the 2012 games to France. "If they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares?" He added: "This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics - let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while."

Media Matters for America, a watchdog and frequent critic of Fox, criticised the comments on its website. "I think it's absolutely sickening three Fox anchors had such callous reactions to the bombings that took dozens of lives," said the Jamison Foser, of the group.

The Fox News media relations office had not responded by the time the Guardian went to press yesterday. --- JD



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