Date: Sat, 5 Apr 1997 18:46:25 -0500 (EST)
Subject: M-G: Re: M-I: Re: A clearer view?



Just an observation. When I first came to this list I noted early a
certain hegemony. First, I was assailed by the (marginal) Stalinist crowd
for my stand on historical materialism contra dialectical materialism.
Okay, they were quickly revealed as not the powers that be on the list. I
didn't think they were to begin with. They were tolerated, I suspect,
because they were honest about their position, and those who sought to
hide their tendencies in this direction let the daring speak their minds
for them. Even though they were defended aggressively, their personal
attacks (not against me) brought suspensions and eventually self-removal. 
Good riddance. Then I started needling in on the dominant voices, calling
them down on their stale, empirically voided concepts and poor theory
work, and this brought their wrath upon me. This or that "authority" was
going to be sicced on me, and I was a fascist. Whatever. This is beside
the point. Here is the point. The longer I stay on this list, and the more
I learn about the different people, their histories, their personalities,
and different theoretical capacities, the more I am discovering that those
who have been excessively marginalized over the past couple of months,
those whose names are called in denigrating tones, those names I came on
the list having never met, wondering their positions (which must have been
crackpot judging from the way the majority was treating them), those
people who have (strangely) become a "camp" all to themselves (put there,
I stress), a "camp" of misfits, are actually the only consistently
sensible ones here, and if they comprise a "camp" at all it is because
they are independent thinkers who are not intimidated by the machinations
of those self-important people who think they really have some sort of
angle on social reality. The theoretical work on this channel is often
shit; I can't say much about who is practicing what the preach or not
because we all here talking. But I can certainly say that those who think
they know it all know too little and ought to get their shit straight
before they go and shit on those that challenge their egos, because in the
end their shitting on themselves. The dynamic here is a bunch of pompous
assholes characterizing everybody else as pompous assholes. No, Louis, I
am not "one of us." I understand the world a bit better than that "us" do.
I like the way so many of "us leftists" act in such understanding and
inclusive ways. I like the unity that is being build by "us leftists."

Sincerely,
Andy Austin




     --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---