A Socialist Pig is Still a Pig (or Orwell's Pigs Turn Into Farmers Again)

[zachwolff]

One of the sad things I learned from the conference here in Buenos Aires is that the city is full of fake socialists. Not directly related to the conference, I was waiting for a bus in front of what turned out to be the headquarters of the Communist Party in Argentina. My friend Rosa, who's living in Tucuy Paj now, pointed the place out to me and

Comments

[annersjapaners]

Oh come on.

How can you say that someone's "not going to change the world" based on what they're wearing? You don't know the guys who walked out of the Communist Party building; you didn't speak to them, and you don't know shit about them besides the fact that they're dressed in suits. And from that, you feel justified in pointing and laughing? What the fuck happened to tolerance? Equality? To looking beyond appearances and treating people with respect? Accepting that others can and do have different values that you do, and make different choices? That your way is not always the best way OR the only way

[annersjapaners]

Everything you write exemplifies exactly what it condemns. It is judgmental. It lacks respect. It's as intolerant of my laughter as I am of people who claim to be socialists and don't display socialist values

[zachwolff]

[I had to cut this pragraph from the previous post because of length, it wasn't my intention to set it off as a separate post and give it any kind of added emphasis

[annersjapaners]

Well now it just feels a bit patronizing that you've decided to attribute the heat of my reply to what you think are my personal issues right now. The issue here is NOT my ability to navigate compromise; it's your ability to respect people

[zachwolff]

I didn't mean to be patronizing at all. I'm sorry you took it that way. I may have missed the mark with my guess of exactly how this post was personal for you, but I think I was right that your reaction was based on more than a disinterested criticism of my attitude. In any case, I never tried to invalidate your criticism by attributing it to phantom personal issues. I dedicated four carefully thought out paragraphs to directly addressing your criticism, and in the fifth added that I thought the criticism had something to do with personal issues. You've chosen to focus on that and ignore the rest of my argumentation

[annersjapaners]

I had only read your second comment before replying--your first one came throug as anonymous, and I didn't notice it was also from you till I'd already replied to the later one.

I'll give all your comments a proper thinkover tonight and reply then.

[annersjapaners]

I don't have time to write a long response, and what I really want to say is simple anyway: I wish you were less critical, less apt to dismiss people based on rigid and often unarticulated criteria. As the Monty Python boys say, always look on the bright side of life. And people.

If you really want me to explain my position on this to you, phrases like "liberal tolerance and respect mumbo jumbo" aren't the way to go. But in a nutshell, yes, of course people do "things that are judgement worthy". But no, I don't believe that "some people might be judgement worthy as a whole, that is, as a person." Absolutely not.

[zachwolff]

Maybe "mumbo jumbo" wasn't the nicest way to explain what I was thinking. Still, it gets the point across, and I don't understand why I have to play nice and you don't.

I'll admit that I'm very critical, and sometimes dismissive of people. Maybe too much so. However, I think the reasons are neither rigid nor unarticulated.

In any case, for reasons rigid or flexible, unarticulated or well-spoken, I'm going to continue judging people, as people. I simply don't believe that all people are morally equal (in this sense, again equality before the law, universality of human rights, I'm all for). I find it hard to believe that you (or anyone else) really believes that either, even if you aren't willing to articulate your judgments, I believe you must make them. How else do you make choices about who to hang out with, who to make love with, who to organize for social justice with, who to fight against?

[annersjapaners]

OK, fine, I ought to have played a bit nicer. Chalk it up to sleep deprivation.

Reckon it's a throwback to the moral code I was brought up under (hate the sin, love the sinner), but while I'm perfectly willing to judge people's actions--and that's how I decide who to hang out with, make love iwht, work with, etc--I don't believe I have the right to judge anyone as a whole person.

Could write more, but must go put some clothes on, head downstairs in the ryokan and go eat miso and rice for breakfast. Wish it were muesli. Wish you were here.

[annersjapaners]

And in return for my criticising you here, feel free to point out something you wish were different about me. And then this is done.

[zachwolff]

I'm not in the mood to trade criticisms. The only thing I wish were different about you right now is that I wish you were in Argentina.