I am glad that I provoked this eloquent response from you. You know the
situation far better than I do.
Please understand that I am not in any way coming to a defense of Chavez.
OK, having said all that, I still think much of the reaction here in the
US to Chavez, as to Kruchev back then (whom I am no more a fan of than
Chavez) is not based on your kind of knowing criticism, but is based on a
reaction that would greet any ill-mannered (read: class) person. I can
accept that this might be something Chavez is exploiting as a kind of
calculated theater. Still, I think it tells us something about those who
are reacting, not only those (Chavez, Krushev) who are reacted to.
What do you think?
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, David Preiss wrote:
> I think that Chavez knows very well what he is doing. And the guy has
> charisma and knows how to use it. He is just playing his cord and acting in a
> very rational way. Of course, he got publicity and he capitalized on
> worldwide anti-Americanism. But I don't think that nobody benefitted from it,
> and most certainly didn't Venezuelan poor, whom notwithstanding living in one
> of the richest countries in the world, given Venezuela's natural resources,
> are being exploited, along with their needs, by the narcissistic needs of
> this guy. I don't think that Latin America needs another leader who is going
> to remain more than 50 years in power and that might expose his people again
> to a new american like embargo. I don't think that we need more
> pseudo-leftist populism. I don't think that we need leaders that misuse the
> needs of our poor and the rage against the USA to sit forever in power. What
> we need is more democracy, more human rights, more civil liberties, and all
> those things that people in the developed world can enjoy and take for
> granted. Please don't do like Gunther Grass who liked Castro for Latin
> America but of course did not like a guy like him for Europe. As for
> Chomsky, I don't think that a guy like him would resist one day really living
> under Chavez, Castro or any of their nemesis...
> DP
>
> On Sep 24, 2006, at 11:52 PM, Tony Whitson wrote:
>
>> Maybe Chavez is no saint or hero; but whatever might be said about him, it
>> strikes me that there is some commonality between the incident of his
>> speech last week, and that of Krushev pounding his shoe on the table at a
>> UN GA meeting some 40+ years ago.
>>
>> Much of the ridicule seems to have as much to do with social class as it
>> does with anything else. If you are suave and sophisticated and
>> "diplomatic," theres a lot more you can get away with.
>>
>> Meanwhile, why couldn't Chavez have held up one of our books and told
>> everybody in the world to read it (Chomsky has skyrocketed to #1, in the
>> US and worldwide)?
>>
>> What do you think?
>>
>> Tony Whitson
>> UD School of Education
>> NEWARK DE 19716
>>
>> twhitson@udel.edu
>> _______________________________
>>
>> "those who fail to reread
>> are obliged to read the same story everywhere"
>> -- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)
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>
> _______________________________________________
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>
Tony Whitson
UD School of Education
NEWARK DE 19716
twhitson@udel.edu
_______________________________
"those who fail to reread
are obliged to read the same story everywhere"
-- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)
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