Yoshie's Points about Chomsky

[Borba100@xxxxxxxxxxx]

In a message dated 09/07/2000 8:00:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx writes:

<<
 We can't rely upon Marxists who reject a "pox on both houses"
 rhetoric alone to generate an anti-war movement; we need Chomsky &
 the Z-net crowd, Greens, religious lefties, etc. for a bigger
 movement, and we can't realistically expect them to change their
 minds through such impersonal media as e-mail debates. >>

Dear Yoshie,

A number of thoughts on this.

First, you will notice from one of the emails I posted, that last year
Chomsky wrote to me saying he was amazed at the level of demonization of
Milosevich and that even the NY Times admitted this was needed to mobilize
pro-war opinion.

Thus he was not ignorant of the role of this demonization due to having the
wrong political philosophy.  He (and the non-Marxist NY Times!) understood it
perfectly well.

That he proceeded to demonize the Serbs can't be explained by his philosophy.
 There are Marxists who demonize the Serbs and there are conservatives who
don't.

Chomsky's influence is on leftists, marxist or not.  I do think they (and I)
can be influenced by internet argument.  I've already received some comments
from people who have changed their minds about what Chomsky said - and what
is true - from reading this debate, people who cut their teeth on his books
and thought he could do no wrong.  Now they are thinking - good for them and
good for Yugoslavia.

I feel that a mass movement should be defined by the abuses it fights
against.  Let's involve anyone of any political bent who agrees with the need
to fight against the attack on Yugoslavia. But demonizing the victims of
abuse, such as the Serbs (whether by intent or for some other reason) cools
anger and weakens the fight against the abuse.  It is a Trojan Horse.

Chomsky's gives leftists, marxists or whatever, the impression that the Serbs
are getting what they dished out.  Nobody will fight to defend monsters.

I believe the way to build the antiwar mass movement is to expose the lies
that convince ordinary people (and leftists) that the Serbs are evil.  This
has nothing to do with using Marxist phrases.  The supporters of US policy
are not "the right wing" or "non-Marxists".  Supporters and opponents are all
over the map.

The internet is one of the ways we can expose lies, such as Prof. Chomsky's.

Get out the truth and expose lies and liars. This is how we built the
movement against the war in Vietnam, and to the extent that we all have won
people to oppose the attack on Yugoslavia, this is how we have done it.

Best regards,
jared