Re: [Marxism] Letter sent to Rob Wallace

[Louis Proyect via Marxism]

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On 5/6/20 9:06 AM, John Reimann via Marxism wrote:\

Rob: I read that you are doing a webinar with Jeff Mackler. I don't know
much about your politics outside of the issue of your professional
expertise, and you have no particular reason to consider mine.
Nevertheless, I hope you do because I think you are making a mistake.



Maybe you can sign up for his Patreon just to show your support. Rob is 
in dire straits financially, mostly as a result of his politics 
preventing him from getting a lucrative position. I imagine that he 
knows very little about Syria. At one point, he linked to something that 
Max Blumenthal wrote on FB, which I took exception to. For many people 
on the left, there is very little knowledge about Syria. Considering the 
vast amount of support that Assad has gotten on Salon, Alternet, 
Counterpunch, et al, I assume that he has absorbed the hegemonic POV.


I rather doubt that your letter to him will persuade him to call off the 
podcast. Given his rather desperate circumstances, he needs all the 
exposure he can get. I am quite sure that any subscribers he gets to his 
Patreon from the podcast will surely compensate for agreeing to an 
interview with a political ratfuck like Jeff Mackler.


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[Marxism] Letter sent to Rob Wallace

[John Reimann via Marxism]

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I assume readers of this list are familiar with Rob Wallace. I sent him the
following message:

Rob: I read that you are doing a webinar with Jeff Mackler. I don't know
much about your politics outside of the issue of your professional
expertise, and you have no particular reason to consider mine.
Nevertheless, I hope you do because I think you are making a mistake.


As we know, in the US (and beyond) there is a whole science denialist
culture. This links up denial of basic facts, “fake news” claims, and
conspiracy theory approaches to history. Sometimes, wings of the far left
align with the far right in this approach. In the world of left politics,
we see the same, especially when it comes to international issues, and most
especially when it comes to the issue of Syria. There, the far, far right -
including outright fascists (and I don’t use that term lightly) - almost
unanimously support Assad. Disgracefully, so do many on the left. They use
all the same methods as the science denialists: obscure or outright deny
proven facts and ignore the immense suffering of millions of Syrians (just
like the science denialists do regarding Covid-19). Jeff Mackler is one of
the leading people on the left who employs these methods in his clear and
implicit support for Assad, even going so far as to imply that he and his
backers are not the ones responsible for the deaths of over 500,000 Syrian
civilians.


The issue of Covid-19 also is directly relevant to Syria, where the disease
has now made an entry. How will the Syrian people get medical care after
Assad and his main backer, Putin, have bombed so many hospitals? And what
will happen to the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, huddled in tent
cities in Idlib, the one province not under Assad’s control, when the
disease makes its way there? These issues cannot be considered once one
takes the pro-Assad position.


By appearing on his webinar, you are lending credibility to Jeff Mackler
and, thereby, strengthening his disastrous policies. I hope you reconsider.


John Reimann

-- 
*“In politics, abstract terms conceal treachery.” *from "The Black
Jacobins" by C. L. R. James
Check out:https:http://oaklandsocialist.com also on Facebook
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