[lbo-talk] dishonest material on Portside

Jesse Lemisch utopia1 at attglobal.net
Wed Oct 25 13:18:19 PDT 2006


What an ignorant and twisted comment! I said quite clearly that I couldn't see a connection between Herbert Aptheker's sexual molestation of his daughter and his intellectual work, but I was open to, willing to listen to anybody who sought to make an argument for a connection. What is it you don't understand about this? is it your position that you never want to hear arguments for positions at odds with your own?

----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Brown" <cbrown at michiganlegal.org> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 2:50 PM Subject: [lbo-talk] dishonest material on Portside


>
>
>
>
> See below for the latest utterly dishonest material from Portside. The
> folllowing correction was submitted to Portside on October 22, but nothing
> has appeared as of October 25.
>
> Jesse Lemisch
> =================================
>
> CB: With due respect, your grammar is a bit ambiguous. You do say,
>
> "I CAN'T SEE IT".
>
> But then you suggest that
>
> " but discussion may bring out some continuity."
>
> The second part of your sentence makes Mark Solomon's commment accurate.
>
> And then again you say:
> "I CAN'T SEE HOW THESE REVELATIONS of despicable sexual behavior make
> American Negro Slave Revolts or the horrifying Truth about Hungary any
more
> true or false."
>
> Then you seem to contradict yourself with what follows:
>
> "But I am interested in what connections people might be able
> to sketch in. There might be some."
>
> CB: "Utterly dishonest" is not an accurate way to describe Solomon's claim
> that:
> " Lemisch urges the search for a connection between
> molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American
> history and other areas". You do , in fact,in the second part of your
> sentence and in your second sentence in the next case, "urge a search for
a
> connection between molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American
> history and other areas"
>
>
> (More below-CB)
>
>
>
>
> In his comment on Portside 10/22/06 [see below] Mark Solomon selectively
> omits words surrounding those that he quotes from my "About the Herbert
> Aptheker Sexual Revelations," History News Network, 10/4/06
> www.hnn.us/articles/30519.html,
> and thus precisely reverses what I said. Solomon writes:
>
> > Lemisch urges the search for a connection between
> > molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American
> > history and other areas: "I continue to wish for
> > discussion on how the attitudes expressed in Herbert's
> > awful acts might have been reflected in books like the
> > centrally important American Negro Slave Revolts and or
> > the truly terrible The Truth About Hungary." In a note
> > to Phelps, Lemisch returns to that point: "I am
> > interested in seeing what connections people might be
> > able to sketch in. There might be some."
>
> What I said, quoted below, is the reverse of what Solomon has me saying:
>
> "I continue to wish for discussion as to how the attititudes expressed in
> Herbert's awful acts might have been reflected in books like the centrally
> important American Negro Slave Revolts and/or the truly terrible The Truth
> about Hungary. I CAN'T SEE IT, but discussion may bring out some
continuity.
> I think Chris[topher Phelps] implies but DOES NOT SHOW A CONNECTION
> ... Without positing a major disconnect between the personal and the
public,
> I CAN'T SEE HOW THESE REVELATIONS of despicable sexual behavior make
> American Negro Slave Revolts or the horrifying Truth about Hungary any
more
> true or false. But I am interested in what connections people might be
able
> to sketch in. There might be some." (EMPHASIS ADDED)
>
> In other words, Solomon has turned my expression of disagreement with the
> idea of a connection upside down, and made it into concurrence with the
> idea.
>
> CB: Not really. He doesn't say you concur with the idea. He says:
>
> "Lemisch urges the search for a connection between
> molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American
> history and other areas". You do say "but discussion may bring out some
> continuity." and " "I am
> interested in seeing what connections people might be
> able to sketch in. There might be some." Those seem to be "urg(ing) the
> search for a connection ..."
>
> ^^^^^
>
> Quite a feat! Nonetheless, it's too bad that the discussion I invited
> doesn't seem to be taking place.
>
> ^^^^^
> CB: Again here you seem to want a discussion that might find some
connection
> between the two. You might want to think about what you quote yourself
right
> here on this list on this. Your expressions are very ambiguous. Solomon's
> characterization of what you said seems accurate from reading what you
just
> posted here of your own words. You first say you don't think there's a
> connection, but you then say "but" there might be a connection and you
want
> people to discuss it to see if there is a connection. Think about it.
>
>
> ^^^^^^^
>
> Jesse Lemisch
>
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk



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