Debbie Nathan (was Re: Lenin & Gramsci contra Weber)

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lou:

>I should mention that Doug Henwood defended NACLA against my critique sort
>of. He said that under the direction of new editor Debbie Nathan, it had
>become "smart" and "lively". Great. Next thing you'll see perfume ads. Only
>a day after he mentioned her name, did a bell ring. Debbie Nathan was the
>author of an infamous Nation Magazine article on maquiladora's that
>constitutes a key element of Henwoodism. She wrote that women had become
>liberated by working in the maquilas because the job not only gave them
>financial independence but sexual emancipation as well. This turns out to
>be their right to see male strippers after work in places like Guadalajara.
>What Nathan did not mention is that the maquiladoras had become a major
>scandal since psychopathic murderer-rapists had preyed on young women
>returning to their shacks on dark roads after a day at work. Nathan did not
>mention how supervisors were sexually exploiting these young women as
>welll. All that mattered to Henwood is that they were getting away from
>"rural idiocy". Some people should be prohibited by law from citing the
>Communist Manifesto.

Are you _aware_ that Debbie Nathan wrote "Death Comes to the
Maquilas: A Border Story," _The Nation_ 13 January 1997, pp 18-22
(about the violence women face in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, including a
spate of murders & a high incidence of rape)?  Her article is listed
as part of the resources by the Maquila Solidarity Network (at
<http://www.maquilasolidarity.org/resources/maquilas/maquilas.htm>).
It is included in an anthology on Maquila labor entitled _The
Maquiladora Reader: Cross-Border Organizing since NAFTA_, eds.
Rachael Kamel & Anya Hoffman (American Friends Service Committee) as
well.

Nathan also wrote the following video:

*****   The Time Has Come! An Immigrant Community Stands up to the
Border Patrol

Produced by the El Paso Border Rights Coalition
1996. $20.00.
Discounts available for grassroots individuals and organizations.

Despite a few bizarre camera shots, this film offers an interesting
account of Bowie High School's successful campaign against Border
Patrol harassment and abuse, which resulted in a court order
prohibiting El Paso agents from stopping people based on the color of
their skin.  The video ends with a discussion of citizens' right
vis-a-vis the Border Patrol, and what steps can be taken to combat
further abuse.  Written by border journalist Debbie Nathan, "The Time
Has Come" is a useful resource for communities still facing Border
Patrol misconduct and for agents seeking to improve community
relations.
Border Rights Coalition: (914) 577-0724

<http://www.irc-online.org/bordline/1997/bl35/bl35revw.html>   *****

Also see Nathan's article on opposition to the militarization of the
border at <http://www.afsc.org/border/epherald.htm>.  Here's another
article by Nathan at
<http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/feature/border/labor/dnathan.html>.

It seems to me that Debbie Nathan's work is an impressive body of
feminist solidarity journalism.  Based upon what I've found, I'd have
to say you misrepresent Nathan's work.

Yoshie