jon@qusavx.UUCP (Jon Lewis) (01/13/85)
I for one would like to put to rest a certain widespread miscon- ception: that the left favors gun control. While I have no doubt that certain left-liberal and socialist organizations do promote either the registration of handguns or their complete abolition, the genuine Marxists I have known (including a former member of the S.D.S Weathermen) take the line that gun control amounts to "disarming the proletariat" and you obviously cannot wage a successful revolution without firearms. I used to point out to this fellow that too many of his intrepid working class army were fascist in their political tastes, but that didn't sway him or any of his friends. So when I read on the net (or in the local paper) that Democrats are socialists and socialists are communists and communists want to take our guns away, in fact this plays precisely into the hands of those who believe only violence can change society or purge it of its dastardly foes (however these may be defined). I find it astonishing that a supposedly well-educated body of folks (as I believe the vast majority of netlanders to be) can be so strikingly naive with regard to political distinctions. This can undoubtedly be explained to a large degree from being brought up in the United States, where Democrats and Republicans are assumed to be opposites when in fact but two sides of the same coin. Please do not insult radicals by lumping them together with liberals: liberals seek only to alter the system to make it more liveable for all its elements; radicals seek to replace the system entirely in the belief that its very nature is to create the havoc liberals hope to mend and conservatives portray as unfortunate yet inevitable.
myers@uwmacc.UUCP (Jeff Myers) (01/15/85)
> > I for one would like to put to rest a certain widespread miscon- > ception: that the left favors gun control. While I have no doubt that > certain left-liberal and socialist organizations do promote either the > registration of handguns or their complete abolition, the genuine > Marxists I have known (including a former member of the S.D.S > Weathermen) take the line that gun control amounts to "disarming the > proletariat" and you obviously cannot wage a successful revolution > without firearms. I used to point out to this fellow that too many of > his intrepid working class army were fascist in their political tastes, > but that didn't sway him or any of his friends. "Genuine Marxist"? There's a misty term for you. Marxists have been battling for decades (both verbally and physically) over claims of intellectual purity. Working toward a working class revolution in the US at this stage in our development simply turns one into a sectarian Trotskyist. The "genuine Marxists" I respect most stress the necessity of aiding autonomous movements in the periphery and tend to stress the importance of democratic traditions in those countries which have a longstanding one. But it's a real problem working for radical change within a system organized to prevent it. > So when I read on the > net (or in the local paper) that Democrats are socialists and socialists > are communists and communists want to take our guns away, in fact this > plays precisely into the hands of those who believe only violence can > change society or purge it of its dastardly foes (however these may be > defined). Roger. > I find it astonishing that a supposedly well-educated body of > folks (as I believe the vast majority of netlanders to be) can be so > strikingly naive with regard to political distinctions. This can > undoubtedly be explained to a large degree from being brought up in the > United States, where Democrats and Republicans are assumed to be > opposites when in fact but two sides of the same coin. Please > do not insult radicals by lumping them together with liberals: liberals > seek only to alter the system to make it more liveable for all its > elements; radicals seek to replace the system entirely in the belief > that its very nature is to create the havoc liberals hope to mend and > conservatives portray as unfortunate yet inevitable. Quite well put. -- Jeff Myers The views above may or may not University of Wisconsin-Madison reflect the views of any other Madison Academic Computing Center person or group at UW-Madison. ARPA: uwmacc!myers@wisc-rsch.arpa uucp: ..!{ucbvax,allegra,heurikon,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!myers
cjn@calmasd.UUCP (Cheryl Nemeth) (01/15/85)
I seem to remember that police departments are also a strong source of support for gun control laws. -- Cheryl Nemeth All opinions expressed in this article are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Calma Company or my cats. "Life is a series of rude awakenings" R. V. Winkle [Robert Asprin]
daf@ccice6.UUCP (David Fader) (01/16/85)
> I for one would like to put to rest a certain widespread miscon- > ception: that the left favors gun control. While I have no doubt that > certain left-liberal and socialist organizations do promote either the > registration of handguns or their complete abolition, the genuine > Marxists I have known (including a former member of the S.D.S > Weathermen) take the line that gun control amounts to "disarming the > proletariat" and you obviously cannot wage a successful revolution > without firearms. I think you are confused about genuine Marxists. S.D.S was Students For A Democratic Society. The Weathermen split from S.D.S and were a seperate distinct group. > I used to point out to this fellow that too many of > his intrepid working class army were fascist in their political tastes, > but that didn't sway him or any of his friends. Assuming that you have always had the same mastery of concepts, I do not find it surprising you could not sway them.