From cburford@gn.apc.org  Sat Apr 19 08:17:48 1997
From: cburford@gn.apc.org (Chris Burford)
Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997 07:17:48 GMT
Subject: M-TH: Dehumanizing opponents
Message-ID: <199704190717.HAA21441@gn.apc.org>

Amrohini Sahay quotes Barkley referring to my musings about a 
kind of north American cattle. This pricks my weak liberal
conscience, and I would like to make it clear that I had not 
read any of the contributions at all at that stage and was 
alluding to the experiential associations that came to mind
on skimming the thread titles.

Yes I agree strongly it is "wrong" and counterproductive
to dehumanize opponents. I also think Paul has a valid point
to assert that a particular group of people should not be
criticised by a place name in an arbitrary fashion that
lumps others together. I would not more wish to be called 
one of the Londoners any more than all posters from New York 
would like to be lumped together.

But I wish to see the members of RMC and their supporter(s)
take responsibility also for the way they charged onto this
stage with the intention to confront, shock and dramatise 
what they see as a valid confrontation of ideas. They are not
so innocent of stigmatizing, ridiculing and dehumanizing others.
Certainly they showed and still show contempt for the human
culture that has developed on this list, for all its 
imperfections. And about their main opponents: the GGMS in
Buffalo, which was the target of their declaration, they
declare these to be "the most trusted ally of capitalism".

Their theatricality may be essential to their theory, 
but I challenge them to demonstrate evidence in support of 
this attack on the GGMS. Otherwise in marxist terms I take
it to be a dehumanizing insult too.

Chris Burford
Londn,



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