Irrelevant grandstanding

[Terrance]

Mike Weaver wrote:
> 
> I live in that part of England where the racist British National Party has
> been gaining local council seats. We had race riots in the region last year
> stirred up by white aggression against the Asian communities. I read the
> letters in the local papers which reveal that continuing polarisation
> between parts of the white communities and their Asian neighbours.   I see
> the Left in the form of local trade unionists,  socialists and community
> organisations giving support to the minorities. I see the Right in the form
> of the BNP and others blaming their woes on immigrants, rather than
> challenging the extremes of wealth and poverty which drive migrations.

Interesting. What is a race riot in England? In the USA "race riot" is a
term used by conservative media. It's a very offensive term. Needless to
say we don't have "race riots" in the USA. And I think what you describe
is very similar to what conservative media and racist media here call a
"race riot"  I wonder too, when you use the term "Asian" to whom do you
refer? Same goes for the term "white". We use both of these terms here
too, but again,  when talking about an uprising or a class struggle
(i.e., Watts or the LA 1992 uprising) we avoid these terms because they
carry racist overtones and reduce the complexities of class struggles
and civil uprisings to riots by and about particular races. Blaming and
punishing the victim (people of migration, immigration) is a tactic that
is also quite common here in the USA. It increases when Republican 
governments are elected.  However, we don't have a Right and Left wing
here in the USA. Most of the baby-boomers, the 60s people who dominate
every institution of power in the USA, shifted from progressive 
(willingness to support social and economic programs to aid the poor) to
conservative views (emphasis on morality, strong family values, law and
order, and lower taxes). In terms of labor unions, where these still
have power (places like NY), they support the democratic party, but they
do so only for economic reasons. Unions tend to be conservative here,
even Unions where non-whites now make up the majority. It's funny that
the baby-boomers often point to Wall Street and Corporate Greed, but
they are the ones with all the money and the votes. They are the ones
who prefer to spend tax dollars on military security and cut social
programs that help the poor. They are the ones who believe that their
generation was great, that their job is finished, they gave and gave to
civil rights and they deserve a pat on the back and they deserve to feel
good about it. They elected Ronald Reagan in a landslide. Reagan's
administration implemented "race politics" by blaming victims and
scapegoating immigration for social/economic problems. Thus far, George
W, Bush hasn't resorted to the politics of race. In fact, it's the
Democrats that have been playing the race game. 
Anyway, what you see may have nothing to do with what is as root very
complex economic struggle. 

> 
>   What Jbor calls
>  >one-dimensional and boring, just an excuse
>  >for irrelevant grandstanding and ad hominem.
> 
> is what happens in the world I inhabit, where social tensions polarise and
> lit crit don't mean a shit. Most struggles simplify to two sides.

Nonsense! Utter nonsense! This kind of black and white view of struggle
is very harmful to all who struggle and all support them in it. 


> 
> It means other issues get sidelined - my partner's daughter being called a
> racist bitch by Asian lads harassing her in the street because she ignores
> them - the secular v fundamentalist tensions. It means there are plenty of
> issues for people detached from the blood and pain to ponder the
> complexities thereof, the unending inevitability of the struggles etc etc.
> But for many many people there is no luxury of declaring them boring - fire
> bombs and beatings don't get categorised that way.

OH take a pill. It's quite obvious he was referring to the kind of bull
shit we have to read here day in and day out. None of us has the luxury,
but here on the Pynchon List of course. Here, we have the luxury to yak
about it like it was a bad hair day or a broken shoe lace. Perhaps we
could recover a little dignity if we discuss Pynchon. 
> 
> And the march through London was full of cheer, music, and friendship,
> unity in diversity - and there were well over a million of us and we make
> no claims to political correctness just political commitment.


Well good for you Mike Weaver. God Bless your humble little soul.