Re: On Academe and the list was Re: NACLA and Colombia

[Michael Hoover <hoov@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

with all due respect Gary...

re. your claim of my inconsistency, nothing I wrote was defense of "the
academy" (a reification)...nothing I said suggested that things are
"tougher" in higher education...

re. academics subbed to list, you changed subject, I didn't say anything
about this or any other e-list...I've no idea how many academics are on
this list (only marxist one I sub to)...to be honest, I've never really
thought about it, but as I said, you changed subject...

more important matter to me would be 10 or so (is it that many?) out of
300 or so listers who post regularly (not unusual in my experience with
such lists), list culture is what those few make it...an observation,
no damning here of either posters or non-posters...

re. Lou's emphasis on political activism, 2 of higher ed folks that I know
best from e-lists have been political activists for long time (they're
among regular posters to this list)...and if we were to have pissing
match about activism, I'll place my 30 years of participation in various
struggles up there with anyone...as for this or other e-lists & political
activism, I think any relationship is exaggerated...

re. whether or not Lou is academic basher, he categorically uses "academic,"
"tenured prof" and this seems less-than-useful to me...

re. you being only academic left at your institution to consider yourself
marxist out of "nearly 20" in past, well. you seem to confirm my point...
in US, there are not now nor have there ever been many marxists
employed in schools as teachers...there are about 3,000 colleges &
universities in US & there are about 1M college & university instructors
(US labor force - employed & unemployed in almost 140M)...Accuracy in
Academia - right wing group targeting higher ed leftists - used to trot
out "10,000 Marxists" number to imply that little devils were taking
over...but if correct - and I think it's probably too high - that's 1%...

re. your detection of my pretentious, tell you what, I'll forgive you
that comment...you may not know, since I don't bring myself up much on
any lists to which I'm subbed (although I've probably mentioned it some
time or another on all of them), I teach at a community college in
Central Florida and have for 22 yrs - 8 as adjunct in adult education
program...my crime: Central American solidarity work

I've been publicly red-baited twice, first time by right-wing students
affiliated with Accuracy in Academia assigned to take my class in order
to monitor content, I was adjunct as local state university and these
people went to academic dean and local news media in attempt to have me
removed in middle of term...second time was after I'd been hired full-
time at community college but didn't have tenure, I was brought before
academic vice-prez on word of a "colleague" and parent...my crime: I
used Michael Parenti's _Sword & Dollar_, marxist critique of US foreign
policy in one of my courses...

in any event, if you're not familiar with such US institutions, I suggest
Ira Shor's piece "The Working Class Goes to College" which, if memory
serves, is in book entitled _Critical Teaching & Everyday Life_, not much
there to be pretentious about...    Michael Hoover (who, perhaps
incorrectly, took to heart Rudi Dutschke on "long march through the
institutions")