[lbo-talk] paranoia

[ravi]

On Jun 18, 2009, at 12:22 PM, Doug Henwood wrote:
> On Jun 18, 2009, at 12:13 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> Eric Beck wrote:
>>>
>>> [Chavez's persecution mania knows no bounds. Anyone else aware of  
>>> this
>>> "vicious and unfounded campaign" he's speaking of? As far as I can
>>> tell, "the outside" has been quiet and cautious.]
>>>
>>>
>> Whatever ignoramus wrote this is either ignorant of U.S. history in
>> Latin America -- or lying.
>
> I realize you've got serious problems with reading, and my  
> sympathies for that, but Eric's comment was a reaction to what  
> Chavez' gov said about Iran, not anything the U.S. is doing in Latin  
> America. So maybe you could hold off on attacking things you haven't  
> read?
>

Sorry, I think Carrol is basically right (shorn of the macho  
language). "Chavez's persecution mania knows no bounds" is not just a  
comment about a specific incident (response to Iranian election  
results). If Chavez has an opinion, about exactly one situation, that  
turns out to be wrong, it wouldn't be a "persecution mania". And when  
you tack on "knows no bounds" its pretty clear that the author  
believes that this particular case is an extreme example of an  
existing ailment.

It is saddening to see us use right-wing terms like these, which are  
intended to shortcut substantial thinking.

	--ravi