Why I don't call myself a leftist any more

[eumaas]

Why I am Supporting Obama.


What follows is an article regarding the upcoming election and why presidential-hopeful, Obama, represents a change - and supporting him is a great disidentification (a working "within" the majoritarian public sphere to work "against" it - to transform it) - his candidacy potentially represents not only a new majoritarian perspective regarding racialized discourses which has been generated by minoritian-oppressed struggles of perspective altering political performance surrounding the manifestation of race and class hierarchies within what is "acceptable" to the majoritarian sphere, but also perhaps a new position or space for minoritarian subjects to discursively "insert" their "selves" into the majoritarian sphere and to maintain their own anti-marginalizing intra-discourses.

All these ideas need more flushing out - for now, here is a more concise and majoritian perspective on why I am, and many others, are supporting Obama:

What kind of garbage is this shit?

[Flex]

What kind of garbage is this shit?

I essentially consider myself a leftist, I like Obama, and I still think the above article is horsecrap.

[Still216]

majoritarian

majoritian

Shit, if the guy (or girl) is going to make up a word, the least they could do is keep the spelling consistent.

And if it's not made up, it may as well be. It means nothing to 99% of anyone.

[eumaas]

What kind of garbage is this shit?

I essentially consider myself a leftist, I like Obama, and I still think the above article is horsecrap.

I think I'm pretty left, but I don't call myself that any more... it's too associated with bullshit these days, just like liberal or conservative.

[Flex]

And if it's not made up, it may as well be. It means nothing to 99% of anyone.

"Majoritarian" is an actual word and concept (per the book of lies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majoritarianism)... I googled "majoritian" and it came up with some hits, so I dunno of that's just some obscure terms I have no familiarity with or a typo.

Either way, the terminology does little to convey anything remotely meaningful.

[Dr. Medulla]

What kind of garbage is this shit?

I essentially consider myself a leftist, I like Obama, and I still think the above article is horsecrap.

I think I'm pretty left, but I don't call myself that any more... it's too associated with bullshit these days, just like liberal or conservative.

Same here. One of the things that intrigues and appeals to me about Obama stems from generational theory and the possibility that he's beyond the moralist ideological drive of Boomers and the more pragmatic bent of mid-life X-ers (or, rather, their generational archetype). His speeches certainly provide evidence of that. Someone who is less ideologically rigid and more committed to problem-solving (without a preconceived solution) holds more appeal to me than any kind of purist.

[Spiff]

The author is a pretentious wanker. Probably a comparative literature major.

But that spillage of mental masturbation is infinitely preferable to the illogical, barely concealed (or not) racist crap spewed by the righties.

Choose your poison, I say.

[classof77]

Gene: I'm curious as to where you got this quote. It was emailed to me a couple weeks ago (I think from a right wing uncle who always forwards me various propaganda as well as the internet hoax/urban myth--presented as fact--of the week. It seems to me it will probably be attributed to Robin Williams at some point.

[Flex]

Gene: I'm curious as to where you got this quote. It was emailed to me a couple weeks ago (I think from a right wing uncle who always forwards me various propaganda as well as the internet hoax/urban myth--presented as fact--of the week. It seems to me it will probably be attributed to Robin Williams at some point.

If true, this makes me feel a bit better about the world.

[eumaas]

Gene: I'm curious as to where you got this quote. It was emailed to me a couple weeks ago (I think from a right wing uncle who always forwards me various propaganda as well as the internet hoax/urban myth--presented as fact--of the week. It seems to me it will probably be attributed to Robin Williams at some point.

http://www.myspace.com/queermadness

He's posted stuff like this consistently for a long time.

[Wolter]

I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Much as "National Socialism" has nothing to do with socialism, and the German Democratic Republic wasn't Democratic, what some crank spews forth as the ideal of "leftist" thought doesn't destroy the positive traditions that come from the Classical Left.

[eumaas]

I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Much as "National Socialism" has nothing to do with socialism, and the German Democratic Republic wasn't Democratic, what some crank spews forth as the ideal of "leftist" thought doesn't destroy the positive traditions that come from the Classical Left.

Well, I was exaggerating--I still call myself a leftist or that I come from the left. But this kind of jargon-laden newspeak has infected many quarters of the activist left--a lot of the SDS email I get is equally bad. Loads of trust fund lefties are shitting all over what amounts to a fairly basic doctrine. Then again a lot of them are pretty far from the concerns of classical anarchism and marxism. It's all a product of the recuperation of the left via the academy. I don't think we'll see another labor-oriented left movement for a while. With the economy in the tank even now, it's not the left that's pushing forward, it's populists.

[Wolter]

I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Much as "National Socialism" has nothing to do with socialism, and the German Democratic Republic wasn't Democratic, what some crank spews forth as the ideal of "leftist" thought doesn't destroy the positive traditions that come from the Classical Left.

Well, I was exaggerating--I still call myself a leftist or that I come from the left. But this kind of jargon-laden newspeak has infected many quarters of the activist left--a lot of the SDS email I get is equally bad. Loads of trust fund lefties are shitting all over what amounts to a fairly basic doctrine. Then again a lot of them are pretty far from the concerns of classical anarchism and marxism. It's all a product of the recuperation of the left via the academy. I don't think we'll see another labor-oriented left movement for a while. With the economy in the tank even now, it's not the left that's pushing forward, it's populists.

I think we're in agreement there. Academia is killing the left just as surely as it once revived it.

[Dr. Medulla]

I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Much as "National Socialism" has nothing to do with socialism, and the German Democratic Republic wasn't Democratic, what some crank spews forth as the ideal of "leftist" thought doesn't destroy the positive traditions that come from the Classical Left.

Well, I was exaggerating--I still call myself a leftist or that I come from the left. But this kind of jargon-laden newspeak has infected many quarters of the activist left--a lot of the SDS email I get is equally bad. Loads of trust fund lefties are shitting all over what amounts to a fairly basic doctrine. Then again a lot of them are pretty far from the concerns of classical anarchism and marxism. It's all a product of the recuperation of the left via the academy. I don't think we'll see another labor-oriented left movement for a while. With the economy in the tank even now, it's not the left that's pushing forward, it's populists.

I think we're in agreement there. Academia is killing the left just as surely as it once revived it.

Just to move the conversation forward—I don't really have a dog in this fight—is it fair to blame academics? Aren't there other culprits? The seduction of a consumer culture that props up the current economic system? Politics and education that push distracting cultural issues that keep the marginalized from what's really fucking them over? I'm not sure I see the ivory tower as having all that much influence anymore beyond themselves. But I could be wrong.

[Wolter]

I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Much as "National Socialism" has nothing to do with socialism, and the German Democratic Republic wasn't Democratic, what some crank spews forth as the ideal of "leftist" thought doesn't destroy the positive traditions that come from the Classical Left.

Well, I was exaggerating--I still call myself a leftist or that I come from the left. But this kind of jargon-laden newspeak has infected many quarters of the activist left--a lot of the SDS email I get is equally bad. Loads of trust fund lefties are shitting all over what amounts to a fairly basic doctrine. Then again a lot of them are pretty far from the concerns of classical anarchism and marxism. It's all a product of the recuperation of the left via the academy. I don't think we'll see another labor-oriented left movement for a while. With the economy in the tank even now, it's not the left that's pushing forward, it's populists.

I think we're in agreement there. Academia is killing the left just as surely as it once revived it.

Just to move the conversation forward—I don't really have a dog in this fight—is it fair to blame academics? Aren't there other culprits? The seduction of a consumer culture that props up the current economic system? Politics and education that push distracting cultural issues that keep the marginalized from what's really fucking them over? I'm not sure I see the ivory tower as having all that much influence anymore beyond themselves. But I could be wrong.

Oh, I don't think academia is the only culprit. far from it. But much like a heavy smoker who also drinks too much and never excercises, the Left gets no favors from an ivory tower establishment that doesn't care to take the time to reach the masses that it professes to care so much for. There's lot's of things killing the Left...