The tradition of privileged male athletes, and the tradition of white men vis-a-vis Black women, etc. certainly colored people's -- as well as the prosecutor's -- reaction. That's the similarity. The difference is that, given their privileged position, they have gotten good lawyers, a fair trial, and decent media coverage after the initial blind rush to judgment among liberals. The point is that we had better keep our minds open, regardless of the accused' membership in this or that tradition, our prejudice for or against them, etc.
> Nothing is lost by saying that at least some members
> of the world left are disturbed are concerned by
> credible reports that this policy is being perpetuated
> in Nepal, and that we condemn homophobia, regard it as
> opposed to the goals of socialism and human
> liberation, and urge the Nepalese revolutionaries to
> support GLBT as well as other kinds of sexual
> liberation.
Things that can get lost are trust, credibility, reputation, and other usual things that can get lost when we make up our minds before we collect all relevant facts.
Quite often, the media that report accusations do not report retractions of them or do so much less prominently if the accusations turn out to be untrue, especially when the accused, like Maoists, are categorically disfavored by the corporate media. Now, that's expected of the corporate media. But of leftists?
Why not condemn the CPN(M) if the accusation in question against the party is proven true? Rushing to judgment now does not advance sexual liberation in Nepal or anywhere else for that matter, even if the judgment turns out to be correct. And if the hasty judgment turns out to be wrong, it will have done injustice to the CPN(M) and the GLBT Nepalese, by helping give a false impression about the relation between them. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>