[lbo-talk] losers [ was: Lyndie England

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Sep 30 08:37:07 PDT 2005


Victor:
> You could have written this about the "ideas" of the American left
some
> 35 years ago.

This was tongue-in-cheek, Victor, a mockery. You are attempting a serious analysis of the problem, and that is a big mistake on this medium. Many people who post to this and many other internet lists are more interested in sniping from behind the corner or hammering down party lines than engaging in a bona fide discussion. I have no way of knowing if these folks are like that in their everyday lives (I hope they are not) - but there is something about this medium (perhaps anonymity?) that encourages this kind of behavior.

I spent most of my life around lefties of various stripes, did my share of marching and protesting , and finally am getting fed up with the stale mantras repeated like a broken record over and over again. It gets on my nerves because it really undercuts the only social connection I have in this country (I personally cannot stand GOPbots, and have little in common with most of 'ordinary' suburbanites), and also because these mantras are disingenuous - if they were told by someone else, they would be denounced as double standards, if not worse.

So every time I get on this list I promise myself not to get engaged in these meaningless shouting matches (there is plenty of good stuff to read here besides that) - but somehow end up being drawn to them. I guess I need to do a better job picking up fights that are really worth fighting.

Wojtek



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