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In a message dated 8/2/2007 3:44:11 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
dale.wen@gmail.com writes:
Honestly, I don't see any reason why CSG should stick its neck out for I think it is foolish, idealistic, and frankly, self-indulgent, to dismiss
the "old lefties" in this way. First, it is not a matter of our doing
something "for them." It is a question of whether their statement is of
value as a part of the critique being offered to the present policies. If
they have been slow to act in many cases, that does not render their present
position any less relevant, and it may help free up others to do the
same. In any case, there are members of the "old left" who have certainly
risked more than most of us in helping to keep the goals of the revolution
alive. Before we sit in judgment on their "caving in," perhaps we should
be more sensitive to the implications of our potentially "caving in" by removing
the Ma Bin et al. letter as well--and at the first whiff of difficulty
to boot. But as Alex correctly notes, for many of us, however we deal with
this bears little personal risk, since we are based outside
China. We therefore need to be very aware of the implications of our
actions on those who are there, and perhaps take our lead from them on how to
act now.
As for the larger issues this raises, it seems to me that if the CSG has
any meaningful role, it is in helping bring together the various strands that
will be needed to begin to build something different--"old" left, "new"
leftists, mass based movements, etc. None of these--and certainly not U.S.
based NGOs--will be adequate on their own to help lead things forward, whether
in China or anywhere else in the world today. Our limited potential is to
help offer a place where these various forces can meet and exchange
ideas. As one leftist activist said to me last summer, assistance is
needed from those outside because we are freer to act and have access
to materials that are hard to obtain inside. So we face a dilemma--if we
start self-censoring ourselves, we lose an important part of our role, but if we
do not, we may have more difficulty in playing it.
Bob
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