Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 12:02:14 -0600
To: marxism-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu
From: rahul-AT-peaches.ph.utexas.edu (Rahul Mahajan)
Subject: Re: Critique of Trotskyism


Chris B:

>So the call from Rahul and Louis Proyect for quarantine
>remains a powerful one, because they clearly were not
>speaking just for themselves, as it was preceded by a
>number of similar opinions, and received a strong
>and (massively silent) echo. Although I am not sure
>what Rahul is now doing, the essence of the
>argument is clear: boycott the politics of abuse,
>whether the obscenities are colloquial or
>ideological.

Rahul is getting a severe headache trying to do physics and formulate
several thoughts coherently enough to put in words, and getting a sore
finger from hitting the delete key so often.

A few clarifications. First, I didn't actually call for a boycott, I merely
hinted at it. I even explicitly said I wasn't calling for one. After
reading more of the marvelous Marxist analysis of Olaechea and his
sycophants, I am now ready to propose that all people of reason take a
solemn vow, possibly with a priest attending, that no matter what the
temptation, they will not respond to anything said by that ilk. It's like
having an insult contest with a child; you can't win, because the child
will never get tired of it. Better not to start any. If anyone is worried
about losing them as a source of information, rest assured that they will
keep reposting everything that has ever appeared in the New Flag.

Second, it's not simply the politics of abuse I was talking about, although
that's part of it. After all, Ralph Dumain is fantastically abusive and
Louis Proyect goes after those he disagrees with like a pit bull. Sometimes
the abuse is even completely unmerited, as when Lou called Justin a fake
socialist over the market socialism issue (of course, MS is a crock). On
the other hand, he's one of the few people I've seen who actually lives the
concept of self-criticism, rather than simply calling for other people to
do it, like many of our recent friends. Even more important is the question
of the politics of stark, staring, raving stupidity. That is what we're all
drowning in right now. I didn't come to this list to be constantly
subjected to infantile diatribes. I'm sure just about everyone of sense has
said to him/herself "Once the volume of crap goes beyond X, I'm out of
here." We now have to assure that this doesn't happen by any means
necessary. Chris, I hope you have recognized this at long last.

Perhaps the right formulation is that we will tolerate those who are either
stupid or abusive, but not both.

Rahul




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