Gautam Mukunda wrote:
...
>
> Katha Pollitt, among many other things, famously
> forbade her daughter from flying an American flag
> after September 11th because it was a symbol of, IIRC,
> jingoism and hate.
>
> If that _doesn't_ bother you, then it explains why the
> left has no traction in the United States.
Where have you been? Everybody uses symbols differently,
of course. But I saw many flying the flag who seemed to do so out
of some mix of patriotism, jingoism and hate. (Anyway, they would
say things like "Kill all Arabs!")
When others have contaminated a symbol with things one
does not believe in, one reasonable response is to avoid using
the symbol. (Another is to attempt to "reclaim" it, but either
should be fair.)
So her rhetoric is over-the-top, but her basic position
doesn't seem too far out.
---David
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