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It's hard to know what to make of this interview. This kid hasn't talked to Loughner in two years (for which he berates himself). Having taught American undergraduates for 20 years (mainly white and middle class), I can testify that the political views of normal 20-year-olds can be quite inchoate and malleable; these views can change dramatically in a matter of months, often in confused and contradictory ways. There's no denying that Loughner is mentally ill, but it seems possible that we will discover, when all the evidence is available, that his anger toward Giffords may have stemmed from his sense that government (represented by Giffords) and perhaps other institutions (universities?) attempt to dominate and control people, including their very thoughts. He didn't shoot Giffords randomly or without premeditation, after all. Now, the idea that government tries to dominate people is not of course an exclusively right-wing sensibility. It's a central tenet of Marxism. Recall that Loughner's favorite books include “Animal Farm,” “Brave New World,” “Fahrenheit 451,” “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest,” and “The Communist Manifesto” in addition to Ayn Rand's "We, the Living." (Would we be surprised to find Herman & Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" on his list?) So while Loughner clearly does not possess a coherent political ideology, he was obviously not insulated from political ideas, however much his mind may have distorted these. These ideas, moreover, seem to include left- as well as right-wing notions about the evils of government. Perhaps we'll learn later on that Loughner was more caught up in right-wing ideas than is evident now. Of course, until we know more, this is all just so much speculation. On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 1:35 PM, Louis Proyect <[email protected]> wrote: > ====================================================================== > Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > ====================================================================== > > > http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/jared-loughner-shooting-at-world-12597553 > > > > > > ________________________________________________ > Send list submissions to: [email protected] > Set your options at: > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/jgoodwin.nyu%40gmail.com > ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
