INTELLECTUALS, reason & al.

[McClain Watson]

Ralph Dumain wrote:
> I would hope so, but in the absence of a real mass movement,
> political activity becomes a subculture like any other, and hence
> the problem remains.
	A "real mass movement" a la what?  I merely suggested that "the problem
remains" because people refuse to see the possibility of "a real mass
movement" surrounding them in their home/work lives.  Mass movements are
created through political activity, not in spite of it.
 
> Because you do your cheerleading for the black lumpen from a safe distance, you
> don't have to deal directly with the consequences of the ignorance
> you promote.  If you were a black parent raising children, you
> would think differently.  The naivete of your statement is why I
> write off the white intellectual left.  Worthless!
	Why do you assume I am white?  Why do you assume I "cheerlead" from a
distance?  Why do you asume I am not a black parent?
  
> Bitching and moaning is now part of this system; capitalism cannot survive without 
> the cynicism it promotes through the mass media, a cynicism which ultimately only confirms
> its own power.  Cynicism doesn't fight fascism, it serves it.
	Amen!  However, the tendency to immediately make negative assumptions
regarding other people's motives/abilities is surely a definition of
cynicism, is it not? 

> The question is: what do people have to strive for; do they seek to be
> more than they are, do they demand a higher quality of life?
	If you were to listen to some of the more respected hip hop artists,
you would find that these three questions are central concerns in their
work and their ethos.

McClain