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

[Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brett who are you?  This was deliciously malicious. However I reject the
comparison as there were alternatives to Australian troops going into East
Timor.  But then that is fairly old ground.  What might be new ground would
be if you would write something on how you think the intervention of
Australian troops has impacted on Australia and East Timor.  I would reply
to that and then we might be able to make some progress.

So there's a challenge to your good self.   Move beyond the cryptic heckle.

regards

Gary

At 02:57  28/04/00 +1000, you wrote:
>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