[Edited Message Follows] [Reason: Editorial correction] Louis had his contradictions, his strengths and weaknesses, as we all have. For me, he was the quintessential representative of the New York left-wing Jewish intelligentsia - sharp-tongued, erudite, and highly cultured. He was a superb film critic and a gourmet. His Trotskyism was also characteristic of that milieu which produced Max Eastman, Irving Howe, and Sidney Hook, among others.
His political activity was largely confined to the SWP until, like many of his former comrades on this list, he broke with the Barnes leadership. He was a good friend of Peter Camejo and looked back to the Socialist Union of the 50’s led by Bert Cochran as less sectarian and centralized and a better model for unifying the left. He was active in Nicaragua solidarity work and, as I recall, used his background as a programmer to raise money to send home computers to the Sandinistas. He also wrote film reviews and polemicized on Counterpunch. As this latest (ugly) exchange shows, he made a lasting impression pro and con on everyone he met online and through his frequent interventions at left-wing open forums. Those who knew him personally told me he was friendly, charming, and hospitable unlike his abrasive online personality. He's best remembered, of course, as the founder and driving force behind the marxmail list. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42955): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42955 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120720019/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
