REST IN PEACE, HOWARD ZINN

[LMNO]

Well, someone had to give us a different perspective.

[Cain]

The last American left winger with a pair of balls just died, then.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The last American left winger with a pair of balls just died, then.

[hooplala]

I just heard about this book this week, strangely enough... one of my co-workers is reading it and was telling me about it.  It sounds really cool and I can't wait to read it.  Ah, another one gone...

[Cain]

I've read bits and pieces, and it is an interesting book.  This piece sums up a lot of my thoughts about him:

Howard Zinn was probably my favorite among the entire genre of writer/activists. The reasons boil down to the fact he was (1) humane, (2) informed without being pretentious, and (3) funny. His only real competition for me is Noam Chomsky—but while Chomsky is incredibly good at knowing everything without coming across as a jerk, he otherwise presents himself as a robot. Whether or not in Chomsky actually is just as humane and funny as Zinn (I assume he is), he chooses a method of presentation that usually prevents those qualities from surfacing.

Zinn, on the other hand, was always recognizably a human being among other humans. He didn't hector, he didn't sneer, and he was never abstract. He made you think: in a better world, there would be more people like this. And maybe I could be more like him, since he doesn't make it look that hard.

Here's one of my favorite things he wrote, from his autobiography:

The events of my life, growing up poor, working in a shipyard, being in a war, had nurtured an indignation against the bullies of the world, who used wealth or military might or social status to keep others down.

That's not a manifesto about democracy, freedom, the means of production blah blah blah. It's just a simple perspective that anyone can understand: bullies of any kind are bad.

I agree, and I think that's pretty much all there is to say about politics and life. Bullies are bad, from the ones who make fun of the kid in third grade who smells to the ones who douse mideast villages with white phosphorus. People of the world unite: you have nothing to lose but all those bullies.

[LMNO]

Not to threadjack my own thread, but how do you think that should apply to trolls and asshats?

I know my answer, but I'm interested in yours.

[Cain]

Depends who they are trolling against.  I tend to pick targets who are, themselves, pretty massive jerks.  I also think there is a significant difference in online and offline activities, and in a more anonymous, less physical environment, rules of engagement can be relaxed somewhat.