[Marxism] A Retort on the Left and Elections

[Mark Lause]

Einde's agnosticism is utterly unmerited.  A glance at the archives
would show that I have never threatened anyone here physically and
would never do so.  Anyone who knows me knows that I would never do
so.  Not only do threats persuade nobody of anything, but it's an
utterly stupid gesture in a medium that can't really convey credible
threats.

But then again, I'm not ten years old.

As to milongonsinga's Rhett Butler-like complaint about being
insulted, the archives will also show that my responses to have been
"insulting" only in that I've underscored the inconsistencies of
milongonsinga's position(s).  In fact, I've done this with much more
concern about the writer's apparently delicate self-esteem than the
arguments merit.

As far as I'm concerned, if such characters like this want to slander
Nader or McKinney as liberals and slander their supporters in the U.S.
as promoters of capitalist politics, that's one thing...  It's nuts,
but it's something that can be argued.  But you can't do that
consistently and then turn around and and whinge on dogmatically about
the need to support Democrats.  Put another way, can you insist on
supporting Democrats and simultaneously denounce those who don't
because they're liberals and promoters of capitalist politics?

You can't expect to engage in such mental gymnastics and have nobody
on a large list of intelligent readers comment on it.

And, when called on it, a good response is not to threaten the person
who noticed those gymnastics.

I would refer milongonsinga to the archives during the election for
discussions that were frequently sharp and heated but nevertheless
done without anyone threatened to thump anyone else.

ML