Nathan Newman wrote:
> No-- I mean just as Bush ignores reality to reinforce Republican rule, so
> does Chuck ignore reality to reinforce Republican rule.
>
> Movement building does not create "alternatives", since that puts the
> organizer in some god-like position of bringing new forces into play.
> Movement building is about expanding the effectiveness of existing forces
> through coordination.
>
> But Chuck is an anti-coordinator; he glorifies individualistic action at
> the
> expense of coordinated action and message. That's not movement building,
> just media propaganda.
-Hmmmm, I guess that now that Nathan has insulted me twice this weekend I -had better take the bait. -Nathan's characterization of me is just plain silly. I'm an anarchist -who is opposed to representative politics. Nathan should know that. I've -spent much of the last 20 years of my life building an alternative to -politics as usual, or, capitalism as usual. From where I sit, I'm pretty -happy with my accomplishments.
Chuck-- I didn't say you did nothing useful, just that what you do is not movement building. It's the promotion of your own networks in a way that undermines useful coordination of broader forces.
You yourself often attack the idea of coordinated movements in favor of different groups doing their own thing. You attack others for demanding any group subordinate its own goals to a joint message and instead demand the right of groups like the Black Bloc to promote its own actions and message, regardless of the desires of other groups.
That's an anti-coordination position. You may want to defend it, but don't pretend you don't hold it.
-- Nathan Newman