Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 18:25:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: louisgodena-AT-ids.net (Louis R Godena)
Subject: M-I: Re: The list revitalized?  



Hugh writes...


>Considering that  the rumpus all started with what were considered
>non-political vituperations of a purely personal kind by one subscriber
>against another, perhaps the moderators could let us know in what sense the
>following post is NOT non-political vituperation of a purely personal kind:


...And quotes Louis Proyect:

>>>You should have gotten struck by lightning, you moron. Who gives a rat's
>>>ass? I didn't expect you to be as
>>>superficial in your reply as this.Did you see your reflection in a
>>>mirror, you
>>>vampire creep. You are Rush Limbaugh. Heartfield thinks that the crap that
>>>comes out of his brain is "controversial".This LM is about as unsavory a
>>>bunch as you are going to find.
>>
>>>If Heartfield had a brain instead of a big mouth,his outfit is made up of
>>>slugs 


While Louis Proyect has been asked to avoid this type of language in the
future, his post differs substantially from those that resulted in the
departure of Jerry Levy, *et al*.  For one thing, Mr Levy repeatedly flamed
his nemises on marxism-international.  In fact, an examination of his posts
reveal that he seldom wrote about anything else.  For another, Louis
Proyect's rhetoric, while inflammatory, is centered around a political
point; namely, the misquoting by James Heartfield of "statistics" "proving"
a fact that he must have known is absurd.  And, as long as we are on the
subject of misnomers, "rat's ass" in this case is a figure of speech and not
directed at anyone in particular.  "Vampire creep", "slug", etc., do not
differ substantially from the type of animism used by Lenin to scourge his
enemies. 

But, of course, Hugh is splitting hairs here to make a point.  There is a
world of difference between the occasional use of the word "moron", "slug",
"vampire creep" in a post attacking the political position of an opponent,
and the repeated, daily barrage of invective (and nothing else) that
regularly emitted from the pens of the departed Messrs. Malecki and Levy.
Hugh of course knows this, and all his jailhouse lawyering, slyly presented
as a legal brief, cannot disguise this salient fact.

Further, the moderators have no intention of being dragged into this type of
political sophmorism, which always aims, not at serious argument, but toward
Appeals to the Liberal Conscience, always on the part of those who routinely
wear their Militancy and Higher Knowledge of Revolutionary Marxism on their
sleeves.

Louis Godena,
co-moderator   




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