Re: [Marxism] Antiwar demonstration in Washington

["Eli Stephens" <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Louis wrote: "Oh, please, that was a typo. I know who Troops Out Now is."

That's fine, although it is a mistake you repeated twice, so I doubt "typo"
is the right word. But that's hardly a major point. The major point, which
you completely ignored, was this: "Do you think this demo would have called
itself, or spontaneously assembled itself without HUNDREDS, or more
accurately THOUSANDS of hours of work being put in by the volunteers at
those organizations?" This event didn't happen DESPITE ANSWER and UfPJ, it
happened BECAUSE of them.

And then he wrote: "Well, at the age of sixty my activist days are behind
me" And then later: "I confess. The gridlock occurred because I refused to
volunteer."

It so happens I'm rather near the age of sixty myself, Louis. And it
certainly wasn't above me to stand in the middle of a street with a garbage
can collecting money, or walk alongside the march providing security, or
help setup tables to get things going in the morning. No, the absence of any
one person doesn't cause a problem. But aren't we Marxists because we
believe that the MASSES TOGETHER can make change? It's because you and a
dozen more just like you were too self-important to volunteer for the menial
tasks that those menial tasks didn't get done to your satisfaction.

Since you seem to value highly the suggestion that "there is a real need for
people who are unafraid to criticize everyone," I hope you'll similarly
value highly my criticism of you.

Eli Stephens
 Left I on the News
 http://lefti.blogspot.com



________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism