Re: [Marxism] Problem of Blind Support

[Dayne Goodwin <dayneg@xxxxxxxx>]

        i think i understand how Yoshie's longtime work for justice for
the Palestinian people and her role with MRzine contributed to her strong
and immediate interest in the accuracy of the Sheehan quotes in question
here.  i am persuaded that Sheehan spoke the second sentence but assume
that Sheehan is right is disputing that she wrote the first sentence.
Sheehan referred to the first sentence in differing with the interviewer.

        i appreciate Yoshie's work informing us here on this list.  I
assume everyone agrees that we builders of the anti-war movement have no
interest in weakening Sheehan's credibility and good work.  At the same
time we all probably agree with Yoshie's understanding that a continuing
line of attack on Sheehan from supporters of U.S. imperialism will be on a
charge of "anti-Israel," "anti-Jew" - the usual b.s.

        i don't think that the request for Yoshie to put her concern for
accuracy into a larger anti-war movement building context has anything to
do with "blind support."  That is the typical debating tactic of
exaggerating your opponent's position to a ridiculous, indefensible
extreme.

Dayne


On Thu, 18 Aug 2005, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:

> My exchange with some of the marxmail subscribers, in my view,
> demonstrates the problem of demand for blind support.  Ironically,
> the last time when I had an exchange like this one, it was the
> question of Palestinians, terrorism, and conduct of revolutionaries
> in armed struggles.  At that time, some people took my remarks to be
> an indication of my insufficient regard for the cause of Palestinian
> liberation; this time, my remarks on Cindy Sheehan are interpreted as
> my desire to prioritize the Palestinian question at the expense of
> growth of the anti-Iraq War movement.  In either case, what is
> demanded is blind support for whatever the topic of the moment is,
> and anyone who refuses to be uncritical is, well, not supporting what
> needs to be supported _at all_, regardless of what she does.  I doubt
> that you can make the left grow, qualitatively and quantitatively, by
> demanding blind support for this, that, and other things (objects of
> blind support coming and going, depending on "lines" demanded at any
> given moment).
>
> Yoshie Furuhashi

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