[lbo-talk] Writers' strike

Jerry Monaco monacojerry at gmail.com
Sun Jan 13 01:22:12 PST 2008


Jordan said about the writers' strike:: "I really don't give a hoot one way or the other, and I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a lot "less TV" during the strike; I'm not even particularly bothered that non-union folks are out of work because of it." ... "I feel that the amount of time and effort that has been spent on this issue is out of proportion to it's position in my world." [With _his_ world.] ... "Maybe that makes me some kind of Corporate Tool, but really I think it just makes me someone who really doesn't give a flying fuck about TV."
>>>
JM: In other words because he doesn't watch television he doesn't give a damn about a strike in a major industry. He is indifferent. He doesn't want to think about the issues. Fine.

But, as I said, the logic of his position is that if he doesn't give a damn about the industry itself he doesn't give a damn about the workers in the industry. He won't pay attention. He claims that he is not anti-union. But this is precisely an anti-unino positiion, and he should be honest enough with himself either to give it up or to own it. As I said, "The logic of Jordan's position is that if he didn't eat chicken he wouldn't give a damn about a strike in a Mississippi Purdue chicken parts factory." Where and how is that _not_ the logic of his position?

Excuse me, but I am a very Jesuitical Marxist-trained ex-Catholic, and I was always taught to look for the "logic of a position". I may be wrong about why the Hollywood labor struggle is importantw but Jordan never says why I am wrong. He only says he doesn't care. But no matter what saying something like "I don't give a flying fuck" about workers on strike because "I don't care about the industry" where those strikers work is the kind remark I would expect from a person who is anti-union or super-capitalist. It is not the kind of remark I expect from a person who is in some way "left" enough to communicate his/her positions on a list called the "left business observer."

Jordan, I am not putting words in your mouth. I am only quoting your words. Perhaps I drew the wrong conclusion. But this is what you wrote. Perhaps in typing your thoughts into an email you misquoted yourself. It happens.

Jerry

On 1/12/08, Jordan Hayes <jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com> wrote:
> Jerry says:
>
> > The logic of Jordan's position is that if he didn't eat chicken
> > he wouldn't give a damn about a strike in a Mississippi Purdue
> > chicken parts factory.
>
> Jerry has stepped off the deep end into the realm of speculating out
> loud, putting words into Jordan's mouth. He's done it twice now, and
> both times he's been dead wrong.
>
> The subject was WGA writers; he projected to other unknowns; then he
> speaks of logic.
>
> Ok, whatever.
>
> /jordan
>
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>

-- Jerry Monaco's Philosophy, Politics, Culture Weblog is Shandean Postscripts to Politics, Philosophy, and Culture http://monacojerry.livejournal.com/

His fiction, poetry, weblog is Hopeful Monsters: Fiction, Poetry, Memories http://www.livejournal.com/users/jerrymonaco/

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