RE: In Defense of Elian's Rescue: a response to Barry Schier

["Brett Kuskopf" <c9803780@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The question of the use US Federal agents to bring Elian back to his father
seems to have been less of a stumbling block for the left in the US and
Australia than was the issue of UN troops intervention into East Timor.

Perhaps just as Elians kidnapping created a line between Left liberals and
marxist then the issue of UN troops in East Timor distinquished between
Marxists who are able deal with events at hand and marxists who like to deal
with events as they would like them to be.

Brett Kuskopf

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:owner-marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Gary MacLennan
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 2:18 PM
To: marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: In Defense of Elian's Rescue: a response to Barry Schier


I just want to put on record my agreement here with Lou and Mark and of
course Jose's fine post. There is a line between Marxists and Left Liberals
that events like Elian's rescue show up very clearly. Left Liberals  and
anarchist minded critics of capitalism lose sight of the obvious at times
and become anguished about the trivia.

I have been looking very carefully at the footage of Elian just before his
rescue.  To my mind and I have a deal of experience here he seemed a deeply
disturbed child.  In any case the obscenity of what his great uncle and his
daughter were doing to the boy was palpable.  The main point was to get the
child out of their clutches before they did more harm to him.  If that took
the INS and armed raiders so be it and quite clearly there was no
alternative.  To imagine that the Miami mafia would have yielded to
friendly persuasion is plain rubbish.

The use of photo taken during the rescue and the weak defence of the INS
actions by Reno have all lent credibility to the cries of anguish from
liberals and do-gooders but Marxists should know better. At times we do
have to use the bourgeois state. Purists should think back and ask what
would have happened in Russia if Lenin had refused to get on the train
because it was German!

regards

gary