[Marxism] On. Hunter Thompson, Susie Bright, and Nina Hartley (Redone for Text Format)

["Anthony J. Kennerson" <anthonyk_6319@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

(Note to the Marxmail list members:  This is the same post that Louis
Proyect forwarded to the list earlier in response to his remarks on Susie
Bright and Nina Hartley.  I am reposting it again as a test to see if I can
post directly into the list; I have adjusted it to plain text format for
direct posting there.  My sincere thanks to Louis for his assistance on
this.  -- Anthony)

I should say first off that as a general supporter of Marxist theory (mostly
as part of a more amalgamated multi-centered movement of social justice, I
appreciate very much the debates and conversations that take place in this
mailing list...and I have only the deepest respect for Louis Proyect and the
people who post here at Marxmail.

However....as someone who also happens to be a working-class sex radical who
believes in integrating the full project of sexual liberation into the
broader Left project, I must respectfully take slight issue with a drive-by
comment that Mr. Proyect made in this list about the recently deceased
Hunter S. Thompson, in which he indirectly or perhaps unwittingly misreads
sex radical/progressive authors/activists Susie Bright and Nina Hartley on
their stated position on sex workers.  The quote was in reference to a
personal tribute to Thompson that Ms. Bright wrote to her blog last week.

Now, I have no personal issue with the debate over Hunter Thompson's legacy
as a person or his "gonzo" style of journalism. Actually, I tend to be
closer to Mr. Proyect and Alexander Cockburn (based on the assessment of
Thompson that he wrote to the CounterPunch website last Wednesday) on my
personal feelings on his legacy.

My main issue, however is in this statement which Mr. Proyect made:

"Susie, like Nina Hartley, is one of those 'sex industry' experts who take
great exception to the idea that prostitutes are exploited."

I happen to be a follower and a huge fan of both women; and while they do
indeed support decriminalization and destigmitization of sex work as a means
of allowing greater freedom and choice in the lives of those who are
involved in such, nowhere in their vast work do they ever intimate or even
imply that there is no exploitation in  the "sex industry". Indeed, their
entire lives' activism has been based on fighting to end exploitation (both
economic and sexual) from within the industry through organization and
education.

The fact that Susie happened to know Hunter
Thompson intimately and had a personal interest in his depression and
suicide -- which probably formed the basis for her tribute in her blog -- is
hardly relevant to her sex radical philosophy...unless Mr. Proyect has
decided to cast his lot with the likes of Stan Goff and Robert Jensen, who
openly embrace antiprostitution/antipornography feminist philosophy from the
Left.   (For the record, Ms. Hartley's current husband, Ira Levine (also
known by his working name Ernest Greene), was also quite intimate with
Thompson during his early days as a anti-Vietnam War activist; and his
rememberance of HST was hardly what you would call fawning, either. Some of
his comments on Thompson are accessible through this thread at Ms. Hartley's
website forum, which can be accessed here:

http://nina.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2772

Of course, those who are more supportive of Mr. Thompson are probably too
grief stricken to act rationally to constructive criticism of his
talents..which probably explains the vitriol of both writers.  But those two
only reflect themselves; they do not speak for Susie or NIna or anyone else.

I'll leave the minefield of the debate on the Left's approach to sexuality
and sex work for another day..but needless to say, I am far closer to the
sex-positive/sex radical approach of Susie and Nina than I am to the more
repressive approach of the antiporners.  We may agree to disagree; but
please, let us not be disagreeable.

Thank you for the time..and for this list.

Anthony J. Kennerson
Lafayette, LA,  USA
http://redgarterclub.bravehost.com


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