Censorial leftists (Was: Interesting article)

[James Love]

Declan McCullagh wrote:
> Jamie, I may have missed the fab 50s but I suspect you spent a little too
> much time in the psychadelic 60s. 

   
In fact, there was quite a bit of red baiting in the 60's.  We (this
country) actually fought a war in Vietnam, in part because many American
political leaders didn't want to be accused of being soft on communism. 
Red baiting, making non substantive and usually irrelevant accusations
about one's values (and loyalties), was a popular sport then, for
certain demagogues.  Nixon was good at this, in both decades.

    In the late 60s and early 70's, there was also a time when anyone
with a necktie was in danger of being called a fascist.  Much of this
wasn't anything to be proud of either.

    The 90's don't seem to me to be a period when labels from the early
part of this century are the most telling.  I'm often surprised to find
what people really think or want, once you move away from older battles
or stereotypes.  I think its safe to say that stalin-like communism
isn't an appealing future for anyone I know.  

     I find these increasingly frequent references to "leftists" or
"fellow travelers" (something I recall from an earlier thread) a bit
odd.  One one sense, it is a form of content labeling, designed to get
people to filter out or ignore certain information.  On the other hand,
it seems designed to polarize communities that often have much in
common, even as they disagree on other points.  

    Mr. McCullagh isn't the only one who does this.  I'm sure I do this
in my own way, from time to time.  But perhaps from having lived through
more decades (and fads) than Mr. McCullagh, I increasingly find this
counter productive.  
    
   Jamie

-- 
James Packard Love
Consumer Project on Technology
P.O. Box 19367 | Washington, DC 20036 
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