Marvin Gandall:
...history suggests revolutions can too easily strangle themselves through the overzealous pursuit of heretics. Michaels's "crime" was to align himself with some oleogenous critics of Yoshie and Juan Cole and it was proper for to call him to order on that, as I and others did. Then we should have moved on to more important things rather than getting involved, as we used to tell our son when he'd throw a fit, in "a game of uproar".
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I disagree.
But listen, I don't co-sign onto the “Slug Manifesto” and I surely don't want to dwell on this (there's a robot waiting to be built) but I think we need to put things in a larger perspective so people's strong responses are placed in context.
A lot of folk are fed up with what you might call the autonomic dirt toss response Michael has displayed for some time.
A positive post about Hugo Chavez? Within moments, you could look forward to a movable feast of links from obscure blogs, “news” outlets and so on describing Chavez's real and imagined errors.
Wait, let me stop here – I was going to cite a laundry list of such actions but I'm sure it isn't necessary. You get the point and the LBO archives tell the link-tastic tale in complete detail.
It wasn't simply the recent unpleasantness with MP's War Plan Yoshie or Operation Let's Help Smear Prof. Cole – it's the whole mishigas, stretching well back in list history but acquiring, in recent months, a special virulence.
I don't think anyone was trying to censor or limit debate. There was no debate to limit or censor. There was only link after link after link all designed to 'correct' our supposed hero and heroine worshiping ways.
It's tiresome to be told you're delusional about someone you – quite simply – express a basic admiration for (I like Cole's work – oh yeah? well what about this blog post from some fellow in Denver who says...). We're adults, we know people aren't perfect.
To be so sloppily instructed, again and again (and second and third hand no less – via a metaverse of links), was distracting and off-putting.
Attempts to debate only spawned more and stranger links – a fun house mirror retreat into amplified oddness. This rubbed some listmembers the wrong way.
They spoke up and maybe (maybe) got a bit too hot under the collar during the speaking.
But there wasn't a “necktie party”.
.d.
--------- "It's a simple equation folks. Prostitution, divided by Hotels, equals dead Elves."
Olly