Date: Tue, 1 Apr 1997 17:29:45 -0500 (EST) From: Siddharth Chatterjee <siddhart-AT-mailbox.syr.edu> Subject: M-I: Utica Rose On Wed, 2 Apr 1997, Zeynep Tufekcioglu wrote: > The board of moderators do not pass judgement on who's "progressive" and who > is not, unless there is a serious violation of list rules. The tragedy of liberalism is echoed in the above. Yet you yourself said " .......this is an open list and all revolutionary and progressive people are welcome". Does not your use of the word "progressive" in this sentence signify that you already have made a judgement in your mind about what the word "progressive" means, otherwise you would and should not have used it. Yet you throw up your hands and now declare that "the board of moderators do not pass judgement on who's 'progressive' and who is not..." in complete contradiction to what you (and the other moderators) implied when you wrote the list rules. What if there are right-wing reactionaries masquerading as "progressive" on this list? No clever person in this category is going to declare that s/he is such and such. Also, it is virtually impossible to provide proof of such on a mailing list. Since these two avenues are closed, what other path is open other than judgement based on observations over a period of time? To this you will probably reply that you do not believe in censorship which in itself is a noble sentiment. But remember one thing: there is defacto censorship in the major mass media of our time. There will also be total censorship if the fascists seize control and wipe all of us out. As you know, I recently received a public warning from Louis G for forwarding *one* post which contained a reply from a person you had criticized in your previous mail. Yet, Utica Rose has been continuously posting his/her reactionary remarks for weeks, and when two people (Doug Henwood and Louis Proyect) criticized this and asked her/him to go away, you immediately rush to Utica's defense. What is this if not an inability to distinguish enemies from friends. Lenin's words come to mind (paraphrase): "Only he is a marxist who not only recognizes the class struggle but also the necessity of the dictatorship of the proletariat". To which you will probably say, "this list is not a politcal party, it is not a government, it is only a mailing list, use the delete key, etc." In the end, the question is: does anything matter, is anything of importance? Anything goes? Sid --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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