Children of the Revolution?

[Paul Mackin]

On Mon, 2003-06-23 at 09:22, Otto wrote:
> But what if you're not white?
> 
> Remember the Chikago Trial, where Bobby Seale has been treated very
> different than his white comrades Hayden, Rubin, Hoffman, Dellinger, Davis,
> Froines and Weiner.


True.Being a Black protester required courage and could never possibly
be confused with fun and games.

There was a bit of conventional wisdom often heard in those days:the
government and the army will never do anything to harm middle class
white kids no matter what a nuisance they become.  I had this said to me
on the eve of the Pentagon March and totally believed it. I must have
done, because, though well over-age, I joyfully joined in.

The truth behind this belief wasn't that the government had the least
bit of liking for what the white kids were doing. They hated it. However
they knew that it was they, not the kids, who would be most hurt if
bloodshed should occur. Not exactly the mark of a pro-fascist society.


P.

> 
> Otto
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul Mackin" <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 2:46 PM
> Subject: Re: Children of the Revolution?
> 
> 
> > On Mon, 2003-06-23 at 07:53, Otto wrote:
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "jbor" <jbor at bigpond.com>
> > > To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> > > Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 10:53 AM
> > > Subject: Re: Children of the Revolution?
> > >
> > >
> > > > on 23/6/03 10:56 AM, Richard Fiero at rfiero at pophost.com wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I can see that we're in for a deluge of anti-60's stuff.
> > > >
> > > > Including _Vineland_ itself, which is, in large part, a satiric
> portrait
> > > of
> > > > student "revolutionaries" in America in the 60s. And it's part and
> parcel
> > > of
> > > > Pynchon's ongoing critique of Leftist ideologies and political
> movements,
> > > > and of "phony antifascists" in general.
> > > >
> > >
> > > It's a much more mild & friendly criticism than you're trying to make of
> it,
> > > Rob. The real criticism (the other part of VL) is his anti-fascism, his
> > > anti-capitalism, anti-Puritanism, his criticism of structures that even
> > > could turn the USA into a proto-fascist state (which America was in the
> late
> > > sixties, early seventies)
> >
> > Proto-fascist? Actually there was an immense feeling of freedom and
> > safety among the middle-class white protesters (notwithstanding a few
> > Kent State type incidents) as they marched to the very front door of the
> > Pentagon without fear of getting shot. Try doing that today.
> >
> > P.
> >
> >
> > >
> > > In the end the hippies were just humans, like everyone else bound to
> error
> > > and failure. It's just an ideology but what makes "socialism" more
> > > sympathetic than every other ideology is that it has a generally
> positive
> > > view of humans, contrary to capitalism that sees humans only as part of
> the
> > > production line & as consumers and fascism that sees humans as generally
> bad
> > > & egoistic who must be terrorised to serve the state.
> > >
> > > Which is why I like Orwell's "Left of the Left"- notion.
> > >
> > > Love & Peace
> > >
> > > Otto
> > >
> >
>