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few days ago I committed the silly mistake of publishing an
article on NRO about the protesters in Genoa and, more generally,
the character of the protest movements of the moment. My point was
that these movements have their common locus in the culture of the
contemporary university. Along the way, however, I noted that Mr.
Carlo Giuliani, the protester shot dead by the police in Genoa,
was himself engaged in murderous violence at the time of his death.
I also referred to the "fun-loving spirit of alienation"
among some people who dye their hair green, and I allowed that I
thought colonialism to be "not an unmitigated evil but a mixed
affair." Oh, and yes, I referred to the fairy-tale quality
of the protesters' theories and wrote that, "The unifying theme
of contemporary radical protest is flamboyant incoherence."
The day after
the NRO posting, something called the Independent
Media Center pirated the article and posted it on its own website
in a manner that led many people to believe that I had posted it
there myself (I had not). Within a few hours, the site attracted
postings from several dozen individuals who disagreed with my views.
Some of them thought I should be dead. Others strained themselves
to eke a little originality out of a vocabulary apparently limited
mostly to obscenities. A few argued with me on the substance, and
one or two appeared to be chagrined by the tone of their compatriots'
responses.
Had I been
searching for evidence of the "flamboyant incoherence"
of the protest movement, I could not have found more abundant proof.
But let me come back to that. I am still, in a way, taking in this
moment. Robert Louis Stevenson rhapsodizes at the beginning of his
account of his South Seas voyages that there are some things in
life one never forgets: one's first love, one's first kiss, one's
first sunrise over a South Sea island. I must add, one's first blast
of reviling hate mail.
I know of friends
and colleagues who have received death threats and bilious ventings
from angry and sometimes deranged strangers. The writers invariably
see themselves as agents of a kind of justice, punishing anyone
who dares disagree with their clear understanding of the truth.
And, from what I have seen, the recipients of this stuff are initially
just aghast at how ugly humanity can make itself when driven by
the winds of fury. Sometimes a writer retreats into silence in the
face of such intimidation. But for others, the attempts at intimidation
become a kind of wind in their sails. Nothing so discredits a position
than advocates who attempt to advance it by threats and by force.
Eventually
I suppose writers who criticize the Left get inured to the abuse
and go on about their work. And so will I but, before this tropical
sunrise becomes routine, I would like to drink it in with newly
awakened eyes. I don't want to forget the first whispers of dawn,
as "Arena," who, apparently sensitive to my remarks about
fairy tales, wrote, "MAY ANARCHIST ELVES AND DWARFS IMPALE
YOU ON A STICK." Arena thinks I am a "paid off infiltrator"
and a "UNIVERSITY PAID OFF GOV MOUTHPIECE." Alas, Arena,
no one pays me to write for NRO, but I am flattered that you think
my account was so accurate that I must be an infiltrator.
Some of my
correspondents rendered themselves unquotable, at least by my standard
of what I am willing to inflict on readers, but here and there I
can pick out the colors of the palm trees and the breakers on the
reef. "jon" was particularly concerned about my view of
colonialism. "As for colonialism being a mixed affair grow
up out of your Columbus cloud they came here and murdered look through
history at actual records the natives tried to establish peace many
times over, even stocking the eurpeons [sic] ships with corn then…thee
[sic] europeons [sic] killied [sic] them." Yes, jon, the Europeans
unjustly killed many people in the colonial world. Colonialism was
an era of political oppression and economic rapacity. It also happened
to be an era that brought an end to some local tyrannies far worse
than those imposed by the French or the English. And it brought
the possibilities of Western medicine, literacy, respect for human
rights, and social advancement to millions of people. A mixed affair
— a mixture of cruelty, arrogance, and suffering, with real and
important benefits that millions of people welcomed.
"Marcus
Herbert" defeats me with his appeal to experience: "To
dismiss the protesters as not having sound theories is another blatant
falsehood, as anyone who's been to a demonstration knows."
Ah yes, those theory-rich demonstrations.
"Malcolm
King" wonders, "Will you be so fortunate as to go out
with the same conviction, passion and courage as [Carlo Giuliani]?
I doubt it." I think you are right, Malcolm. My death, whether
at your hands or by natural causes, will probably not much resemble
Carlo's.
"Thmsbick"
finds "it difficult to believe that a serious academic would
write such a poorly argued article and post it here." Right
again. I didn't post it there, and few "serious academics"
would have written such an article at all, for reasons that we are
all at our leisure to think about.
"Max Green"
among several others frets about what kind of person I must be.
"He probably has three children, is unhappily married, drinks
everynight and settles back in the comfort of his suburban home
with his old friend Bill O'Reily." Right about O'Reilly.
"Strypey"
is convinced that I work in a "commerce" department, and
offers the resounding conclusion that "ecology is to economics
as atronomy [sic] is to astrology." What this has to do with
my article, I have no idea but Strypey, be warned: The astrologers
in Washington State just got the state to license a college of astrology.
My office has already received an irate letter from an astrologer
who is upset that Chancellor Silber made a disparaging comment about
his ancient science. One thing the astrologers figured out a couple
of millennia ago is that what goes around comes around.
"Mo"
is worried about my professional competence. "In his writings
he lacks compassion for anyone who is not 'top notch.' Should this
man be teaching a class on Kinship? Should this man be teaching
anthropology?" Mo is giving voice to precisely the logic by
which the Left justifies excluding from the university anyone who
does not toe the ideological line. Nice to have it stated so forthrightly.
"Calgacus," by contrast, offers a more obscure formulation:
"Knee jerk irony and received wisdom prevents the postmodern
poseur from ever believing anyone could ever really care about anything."
Mr. Calgacus, read my article. I said explicitly that the protesters
feel passionately. What they lack is a genuinely thoughtful
reason for their actions.
"Clement
Duval" offers an accidental treasure: "In fact some of
the protesters are brailless blood thirsty class warriors."
I assume Clement meant "brainless," but the image of purblind
barbarians stumbling text-less through the streets of Genoa is wonderful.
Several writers
proposed specific actions. "Lemming" suggested that "Carlo
Giuliani's relatives should sue for libel." "marco"
urged: "email this f***er and let him know exactly what you
think fill up his box." Marco (Rodrigues) took his own advice
but apart from a vapid quote from Frantz Fanon had nothing much
to say: "Why don't you come back and respond to what has been
said about your pseudo-intellectual ignorant fascist writing?"
All in due time, Marco.
Amidst this
wasteland of straining ignorance here and there were voices of people
who spoke with some degree of soulfulness and reason. Some were
initially taunting, but calmed down when I responded. Others, showed
initial sparks of intelligence but hurriedly tramped them down.
But I had heartening exchanges with a middle-aged jack-of-all trades
who built the chart room and wheel room of The Rainbow Warrior,
and with a woman who took a small brave step from Leftist orthodoxy
toward recognizing the importance of free speech.
The protesters
are divided, perhaps 20 to 1, on this issue. Someone named "Peace"
observed, "Geez people. I see a few people dare to come on
here and express some dissent against the view that Carlo was an
unmitigated martyr, and look at the vitriol, and just pure distilled
hatred that gets spewed against them." But Peace has comrades
who write like this:
Words words
its great to know to through them and the use of them who's side
who's really on!!! I hate the f***ers who always jusyify the gov
pigs violence while putting down any poor sad messed up Joe Blow
who does a little himself Putting down individual violence while
sanctioning state run mass gov pig violence on a grand scale!!!
what the f*** is wrong with you pseudo intell wankers!!! Wake
up we poor are angry because it's you bastards who made us poor
!!! WHILE ALL THE WHILE HELPING YOUR SELFISH SELVES TO MORE!!
NOW ITS F***EN REVENGE TIME!!! F*** your fake soothing words of
peace!!!! peace is what has quietly sold the masses down the line
now its time to get our freedom and liberty back through REVOLUTION
and if we must in a NEW REIGN OF TERROR!!! ENOUGH WORDS!! IT'S
DEEDS TIME!!
Lastly, I have
received two out-lier complaints from self-professed "anarcho-capitalists"
who think that my characterization of the anti-WTO protest movement
as Leftist, sentimental, and muddled was way off-base. Mr. Jeremi
Kubar's letter, which was printed by NRO, can stand for both. He
claims that the movement takes its bearings from Milton Friedman
and "his equally brilliant son, David," and is really
about freedom from "unaccountable, bureaucratic, all-too-powerful
organizations," not Leftist dreams of power.
Mr. Kubar and
his friends are, I think, riding a tiger and imagining that they
have some influence on where it goes and what it eats. The real
character of the protest movement is written in the words of its
participants, and they underscore my point about the inchoateness
of the movement, which proceeds from a thousand different ideas
and has only the momentary coherence of the mob.
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