[lbo-talk] dishonest material on Portside

Charles Brown cbrown at michiganlegal.org
Wed Oct 25 14:21:51 PDT 2006


Jesse Lemisch What an ignorant and twisted comment!

^^^^^ CB: That's a bit strong. What I said ain't hardly ignorant,nor twisted. I'm starting to wonder about you.

^^^^^

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. ^^^^ CB: That's a paraphrase and explanation of what you said. What you said you posted to the list here. And it is ,to be precise:

" I CONTINUE TO WISH FOR DISCUSSION AS TO 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. 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 by Jesse Lemisch) ( More emphasis added by CB).

^^^^ CB; Both what you actually said and even your paraphrase of it above are accurately characterized by Solomon when he says "Lemisch urges the search for a connection between molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American history and other areas. "

^^^

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?

^^^^^ CB: I understand it fine. You express a non sequitur ( Do you know what that is ?). Solomon said "Lemisch urges the search for a connection between molestation and Aptheker's writings in African American history and other areas. " In your maginifcent openmindedness to hear arguments for positions at odds with your own, that's what you did.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with your openmindedness. I said Solomon accurately characterizes what you said and therefore what he said is not "dishonest material on Portside."

I do think it would be quite a stretch to say Herbert Aptheker molested his daughter, therefore there weren't really any "Negro slave revolts." But who knows. I supposed there might be a stronger case for "Herbert Aptheker molested his daughter,and that bad in him is the same reason he wrote in favor of the Soviet invasion of Hungary." But, you know...



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