'Balaclava-clad lemmings'
In an article in the November 19 Byron Shire Echo, Greens NSW MLC Ian Cohen attacks the NSW Labor government for vilifying anti-WTO protestors, stating that there was an "avalanche of propaganda dehumanising the protesters". Ironically though, Cohen launches an avalanche of his own, arguing that violence at the protests was at least partly caused by the "old left — little balaclava-clad lemmings playing revolutionary for the day, venting their frustration".
Presumably by "old left" Cohen means the socialists and anarchists who had done most of the protest organising. As someone who participated in the protests as both a Democratic Socialist Party member and a volunteer with the Activist Medics Network, I can safely say that virtually none of the "old leftists" there wore balaclavas, or were anywhere near or had anything to do with the vicious police charge that left Australian journalist Patricia Karvelas badly injured.
The labels "old" and "new" say nothing about the real differences on the left. There are radicals who see the need to replace capitalism with a more humane form of society and want political institutions drastically democratised, and moderates who think capitalism can be made nicer by using existing institutions.
The Greens sit uneasily between these two camps, as Cohen's slanders seem to confirm. The radical left and the Greens can and often do work together, but calling those with which one has differences "lemmings" is not going to help this process.
Kath O'Driscoll
Rosebank NSW
'Pro-life'
I write in response to Brent Howard's "Church and state" letter (Write On GLW #516).
Why is the "pro-abortion" movement regularly assisted by Green Left Weekly? I am a GLW subscriber and supporter, but wish it would give more coverage of the "pro-life" movement. I am also a Socialist Alliance member, yet disagree with its pro-abortion policies.
One wonders how we can call ourselves civilised when we do not protect the most innocent and most vulnerable form of human life — the unborn child.
I have had a Roman Catholic upbringing but can appreciate the similarities that Catholic doctrine has with the doctrine of other religions such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. One common theme present in the doctrine of most religions is respect for all life (both human and non-human). This view cannot be labelled extreme when it is fact that the majority of human beings have some form of religious belief.
This includes the majority of politicians and public servants (the state). Therefore, we can only expect that our politicians will a) be guided and/or influenced by their religious beliefs when creating policies and making laws; and b) represent the majority of voters by creating policies and making laws that are based on this majority's religious beliefs.
And, Mr Howard, global capitalism, by placing profits before people and the environment, is the main threat to human and animal well-being!
Rory Dobson
Deagon Qld
Maturity
Being a student at a conservative Catholic school, I am constantly under the pressure to achieve. In fact, the schools motto is "Striving to achieve amongst friends". The idea of achievement is permeated not by quality of work but by the appropriateness of opinion.
Consider the example of a teacher who set an essay on the topic of refugees. The teacher told the students that if they were opposing refugees, he would give them a lower mark then if they were for refugees. Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I always thought that English classes weren't to force an opinion rather to teach how to express and articulate that opinion.
Students that resist and question teachers' methods are told they are being immature and that they should grow up. I think perhaps these students should recite a definition of maturity back to teachers. These teachers may be shocked that the definition of acting in a mature fashion doesn't consist of unquestioned obedience and subservience.
Michael Scott
Lara Vic
From Green Left Weekly, December 4, 2002.
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