[lbo-talk] Does BSD make sense

[Gar Lipow]

On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 9:59 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Cde Cox:
>
>> If he has written it, then he has been spitting on the graves of
>> Malcolm, of King, Stokely Carmichael, of the murdered Fred Hampton and
>> Mark Clark (and other Panthers), of the recently murdered Troy Davis,
>> and of the millions of lives that are still be snuffed out by the
>> continuing racism at the core of u.s. culture.
>
> I didn't want to go here, but I'm seriously pissed off: it amazes me that a white guy from the cornfields could lecture a black guy (in absentia) who's spent years of his life in New Orleans (where he has lots of family), Atlanta, and South Carolina on "the continuing racism at the core of u.s. culture." This is exactly the sort of empty but ego-inflating essence of these jeremiads against 'racism."
>
> Doug
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> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>

This whole conversation is a good argument for your point on racism
The argument ends up being about who is racist rather than about
whether Chomsky is right or wrong about BDS.  I will add that there
are good arguments for Boycott Divest and Sanction.

1) Scalability  - you can start small with a single retailer and build
up, something you can't do with say ending military aid to Israel -
which I supporters of BDS also support. You can make contact with
people and start conversations in a way say circulating a petition
about U.S. funding doesn't. It is part of building a movement that can
do things like effectively oppose military aid to Israel.

2) One reason this is true is the objection people tend to make to BDS
(I don't mean Chomksy, I mean people who know nothing of the issue) is
that boycotts are unfair because they target innocent Israeli's. That
is an opportunity to explain exactly what the siege of Gaze is doing
in killing the Palesitinian people, how Palestinians are "boycotted"
by Israeli control from getting fed or educated or medical care or
water. How paintings by Palestinian children are "boycotted" from U.S.
art museums. If you are circulating a petition on military aid the
conversation never reaches that point.

3) It helps delegitimatize Israel's government in a way that
petitioning for a cutoff of military aid. Note that I'm not saying
that if you won a cutoff military aid it would not be better than a
boycott. I'm saying a boycott (as part of a strategy that also
involves pusing for ending military aid) is more effective than a
strategy that does not include a boycott. And Israel seems to agree.
They are spending a hell of a lot more money fighting our little
Olympia Coop BDS than they spend fighting the whole Jewish Voices for
Peace state wide. That is not the put down JVP: it is to point out
Israel's own evaluation of where they should put their resources. We
have the Israeli consulate coming down here regularly to work with
"Stand With Us" against BDS. I had to give up activism temporarily
thanks to cancer followed by being behind on book contract after
recovery. But when I become active again, BDS is definitely one place
I will put my efforts.
-- 
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