RE: Moderator's note

["Smith, Gerard" <gsmith@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've only been on the list several months now, and have read several
warnings to participants, and now someone actually gets thrown off. I have
also, as M Stainsby notes, read some pretty hostile diatribes from folks who
haven't been warned or thrown off (my good friend Jim C actually called
someone a "fucking amatuer", and I have already been personally attacked on
the list("a thousand points of crap"). No moderator's notes on either of
those. However, whenever Trotsky or Stalin are mentioned, or whenever
building a workers party is mentioned, some kind of shit hits the fan. I
quess I'd like a bit of clarification as to the purpose of this list, and
what is meant by a "non-hostile environment". Is this an academic list where
members disseminated articles of interest, and occasionaly debate
"historical cycles" and review literature, or is there some "political"
goal?

Years ago I participated in an international forum on Derrida, and all
things post-modern. The "academics" would NOT discuss any "political"
applications of post-modern theories, and were actually quite adamant about
that "rule."  When several younger members, myself included, started
dissecting post-modernism by using structualist techniques we were met with
animosity and threats. After two years on the Derridaddlelist, I decided I'd
had enough of "mastErbatory academics" and dumped them into the "delete"
folder along with my notions that such literary theories can have any
political application: give me Byron and his Romantic sacrifice.

I have certainly learned more as a member of the Marxism list in the past
several months than I learned from my entire two years on Derrida, but the
latest flare up brings back bad memories.

Gerard

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