[PEN-L:8700] Re: RE: Left Racism 1968/69 - 1999

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Charles,

When someone says: "I said I would not discuss it
with anyone whose mode of argument is to call me a racist", it is distortive and internally illogical.

The accusation cannot be a mode of argument, it is the proposition.  The argument on the proposition proceeds on data and logic.
No one says you are a racist because you are a racist.
The argument goes: your are a racist because of your views, actions, or attitude, and denying such acts to be racist will only internalized the person to be racist.
Will accusing someone to be democrat a better venue for discussing racism?  It would be an absurd requirement.
The initial offense usually is only slightly racist, the subsequent denial and counter charge confirm the person as racist.
A non racist would have said; I did not intend that to be racist, but of it sound racist to you, I am sorry and I will stop, because I understand where you are coming from and let me make the argument from another perspective or through another example.  Insisting that a statement that is racisticallyoffensive to another person to be the fault of the listener is an oppressive racist act, because it not only wound the victim, but it denies the victim the right to plead for ceasing and desisting.
Of course, repeating the same offensive racist acts after it has been pointed out to him is not only racist but also sadistic.

Henry


> Max:
>  Yoshie said it was hard to have a serious discussion,
> in view of the atmosphere, and I said I would not discuss it
> with anyone whose mode of argument is to call me a racist.
>
> Charles: She will correct me if I am wrong, but I think when Yoshie refers to"atmosphere" she is talking about  the RESPONSE to claims of racism, not the claims of racism.
>
> I would differentiate between saying you are a racist and saying something you say is racist. Saying something you say is racist should be as allowable ( and debatable) as you saying something someone says is "Leninist spam" or "Stalinist".  You can't declare any use of the criticism  "racist" as unfair.
>
> ((((((((((((