Ideological reflexes.
How do you recognize ideology? One simple way of doing it is trying to see how many reflexes you can set off by a statement, a blog post, a comment, or especially an argument. Let's start a little meta:
The Left is:
Totalitarian,
Meek,
Defends islamofascist babykillers,
Hugs the trees
Splintered
United against freedom and democracy
Feminism is:
Too radical!
Too splintered! (doesn't mean anything)
And etc, and etc. The reason why I am posting this here is because I was reading some blog comments, probably just to make myself annoyed. In these blog comments were various allegations. And that's okay, criticism usually is. But wherever you have a debate between someone on the Left and an opponent on the right and they become insulting, or it just winds on and on, or whatever it might be - something regular people can recognize and respect - they play totalitarian card. "WAAARGH! Beneath your Palestine democracy loving exterior hides a STALINIST!" To be fair, the same thing can be said for autonomous or syndicalist groups. But it is cheap and trite. Typically, these actions can be found by 20-30 something right-wing men who fire off a volley at the first chance they get.
The Left is:
Totalitarian,
Meek,
Defends islamofascist babykillers,
Hugs the trees
Splintered
United against freedom and democracy
Feminism is:
Too radical!
Too splintered! (doesn't mean anything)
And etc, and etc. The reason why I am posting this here is because I was reading some blog comments, probably just to make myself annoyed. In these blog comments were various allegations. And that's okay, criticism usually is. But wherever you have a debate between someone on the Left and an opponent on the right and they become insulting, or it just winds on and on, or whatever it might be - something regular people can recognize and respect - they play totalitarian card. "WAAARGH! Beneath your Palestine democracy loving exterior hides a STALINIST!" To be fair, the same thing can be said for autonomous or syndicalist groups. But it is cheap and trite. Typically, these actions can be found by 20-30 something right-wing men who fire off a volley at the first chance they get.
posted by Björn at 12:34 PM
6 Comments:
Hi! I was just talking to Danyael X on Skype. He introduced me to your blog. I asked him two questions which I will also ask of you, but I'll also include the contexts:
1) The other day I was attacked by members of the comix listserv. Fed up by this, I made angry remarks which got me expunged from the listserv. In response to now moderator Aaron Kashtan, I sent e-mails with the Subject lines of either ASSHOLE or BITCH to listserv members whose e-mails I still had. I received several replies that I should seek "counseling." Thus:
What kind of ideology can I read in that?
2) I keep an online journal about my personal experiences. I've had some people tell me that I come across as whiny. Thus:
What kind of ideology can I read in that?
I'd love to heard your responses. Thanks, Björn!
LOLz
but seriously.. we would love it if you could comment in this thread in the problems of class and university and sesism in universities.
http://www.comicartscholar.com
/viewtopic.php?t=114
Hah! Sorry, I am so unused to comments on this blog that I usually miss when people comment. Sorry for the delay, Vanessa!
1) As I understand it, you've got it more or less right. Women who act out are mentally unstable, they can't help themselves, etc, etc. It's also something that I think is typical of Internet accusations, "You should get help for that!". It's lame, but true, and an effective means of trying to silence someone in many cases, I believe. You never listen to what the demented actually say, after all.
2) I have no idea, really. I mean, I don't read your journal. But isn't whiny yet another ideological reflex to what women talk about? At least it's been my experience with the American gender system that females are considered meek, impotetent, etc. and when they try to talk back they are considered bitchy, when they complain they are whiny or girly.
Maybe all this could get easier if you would give me bigger chunks of texts, or if you yourself would do that. Hope that helps somewhat, and again, sorry for the late reply.
Hi, Björn! I can do better! Here's the link to my online journal:
http://vanessa-raney3journal.blogspot.com
I do, however, agree with you regarding the role of women in esp. Western countries (which doesn't limit it to the U.S.), though it's noticeable elsewhere, too. We are expected to behave respectably (i.e., no outbursts), according to feminine standards (i.e., allow the man to lead), and social expectations (i.e., marry and multiply). Should we be individuals (that is, act according to ourselves and not in submission to others who constantly pressure us to conform to their expectations), we're derided for being too much like men.
For example, I remember one woman who said that girls should be looking up to women. Yet, assuming we elect a woman to the Presidency, whose standards will she follow?
In our history, no woman has ever been President of the United States; her only role models are men - because no matter what we might say regarding corporations, the presidency wields power of a very different sort. After all, a president can declare war against another nation regardless of shareholders, who determine the actions of corporate entities whose interests they represent.
:)
Heya. I thought that I had already replied to you, but I must have been wrong. Your blog is interesting, it actually made me remember a site I found some time ago. http://www.eco.utexas.edu/~hmcleave/#writings
It's by a texan marxists called Harry Cleaver. Somewhere in there is an excellent text about the school and how it functions, how it is geared towards conflict rather than cooperation and how it functions as a system where it pushes some people out rather than includes them. This is especially prevalent for working class students rather than the upper layers of the working class (what others call the middle class).
You're also quite right in what you say about women and how they should behave. It is also what I mean about ideology, but was too forgetful to post (heh). Ideology can be recognized because two contrary facts can be stated at once. That women are both meek or bitchy, that they're emotional yet cold, and so on. When women try to take power for themselves they are derided in one way, when they don't they are just looked down on and subjugated under others.
As for state power, well, sure, it has another logic than capitalism. But the state is just the organized manner in which one class governs the other (and itself!). The US is dominated by economic concerns in the bottom, but also by power politics that uphold the US monopolies, manages to make sure they have large shareholds, that they can retain trade power and domination and so on.
I am not sure I answered any questions, I am a little hung over still.
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