That Multi-Culturalism Problem was Re: [sixties-l] Residents Express Outrage Over Howard Zinn (fwd)

From: drieux (drieux@wetware.com)
Date: Sat Dec 01 2001 - 12:24:26 EST

  • Next message: Ted Morgan: "[sixties-l] Re: Residents Express Outrage Over Howard Zinn"

    On Thursday, November 29, 2001, at 08:09 , GKlotz33@aol.com wrote:

    > On the whole Newton residents believe in the right to express divergent
    > opinions, including allowing Howard Zinn to speak at the high school.
    > However, there is a small group of radical religious fundamentalists who
    > are
    > well organized and wish to end diversity by imposing their views to the
    > exclusion of others. They have been attempting to overtake the school
    > board,
    > but have been voted down. However, they are willing to use any kind of
    > tactics, working with hysteria, distortion and lies in the press to get
    > their
    > way. This has been going on for some years.
    > Gretchen Klotz

    First off let me thank Gretchen Klotz for putting the 'angst festival' into
    the proper context of 'all politics is local'.

    You will forgive me if I scratch my head at this suite of problems cropping
    up here - since in so many ways I have found the 'radical religious right'
    and their activists to be but heirs of the failed methodologies of the
    sixties - and as such comically flatterers of that which they say they
    condemn, but in the breach actually implement. Monoculturalism? Failure
    to diversify correctly?

    As I may have mentioned, I am amongst the 'anti flag wavers' - since mere
    flag
    waving remains the cheap exit for those who prefer the feign 'patriotism'
    rather
    than get embroiled in the complex unpleasantry of implementing it. This
    somewhat confused one of my housemates, who respects my 'pro-military'
    stand - since it seemed to be the 'proper' thing to do. So I had to help
    her with the story of my mother's confusion about why my father opposed
    turning things like the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor into a 'holy
    shrine',
    since these were people not gods. The same thing holds true for the crisis
    of 9/11 - these are people - the collateral damage of 'political messaging'



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