Re: [OPE-L] "Let them eat ....":

[glevy@xxxxxxxxx]

Hi Bill,

Yes, you're probably right about this.  But, as Lenin and others were
fond of saying: 'good intentions pave the way to hell':  the NZ dog
food capitalist has unintentionally created a powerful symbol for
Africans of the nature of 'aid' from the advanced capitalist economies.

In a similar vein, the historical record about whether Marie Antoinette
ever said "Let them eat cake" is less important than its meaning to
social movements in France. (The record, btw, suggests that she never
said it and the quote can be attributed to -- no less a personage than --
J. J. Rousseau, written decades before.)

In my community, the NYPD years ago brought in a tank to evict squatters
from several buildings on East 13th St. in the Lower East Side.  They
claimed it was brought to the scene in case the street had to be cleared
of cars (makeshift barricades, sort of).  The point is that it didn't
matter what the NYPD said or even what the truth of the matter was since
the _symbol_ of a TANK being used to evict people was so strong that it
etched itself into the consciousness of the community (and, quite
literally, etched itself into the graphic designs of Seth Tabocman, Eric
Drooker and other artists-activists).

In solidarity, Jerry

PS: I have a first cousin who when he was about 10-years-old or so used to
love to snack on dog biscuits.  My feeling is that if there were more
snacks in the home then he would have not eaten the dog's biscuits.

In solidarity, Jerry