Re: [Marxism] Van Kol

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Louis Proyect wrote:
>
> Nestor Gorojovsky wrote:
> >
> > When the Nicaragua Sandinistas curse "the Yankee" in their songs, it
> > is Van Kol who they are cursing.  Now, you are Dutch, Jurriaan.  It
> > is _you_, not them, who perhaps does not very well how to draw the
> > line against the Van Kols...
>
> You'll have to remember that the Sandinistas were quite fond of Yankee
> culture. When I attended Daniel Ortega's windup election campaign rally
> in 1986 (I believe), he gave a fire-breathing speech about resisting the
> Yanqui, etc. When he was done, they set off fireworks and played Michael
> Jackson's "Thriller".
>

The word "Yankee" has a number of reverberations. One of them is
directed against nostalgia for the 'Dear Old Confederacy." Calling us
_all_ Yankees is a reminder of who won in the Insurrection of the Slave
Drivers. The word was (is) used by southern racists as nearly a synonym
for "fucking n.....r-loving carpetbaggers" etc. So to such one could
say, "Now which do you want to be, a Yankee or a traitor?" :-)

I don't know whether Nestor is familiar with the cult of Robert E. Lee
in the u.s. or not, or that many public buildings still fly the
Confederate flag in some southern states. It's pretty obnoxious. Making
"Yankee" synonymous with "resident of the U.S." is a minor way to squawk
at the obnoxiousness.

Carrol



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