i think we are making too much of this. by immigrants he seems to mean people who came here--by compulsion or choice, i suppose, since he appends the term w "on the bottom of slave ships." what follows is simply america land of dreams stuff, which we'd expect from anyone on the right. as far as earning less, he is relatively right since slaves did acquire some wealth, through various kinds of labor, and were able to purchase their own freedom, at least in some cases. a good example is equiano, who not only did this but became a slave dealer himself before become an abolitionist. in fact, the american dream stuff is the most pernicious part of it.
it is very hard for me, and many i know, to read about this asshole as if we had to take him seriously. your analyses help in this regard because more than simply labeling him as neofascist, which i am content to do, you explain why. i have lived, also, for some years in africa, and i can tell you that the dictatorial practices you delineate were there in cameroon under ahidjo, and were visible, clear, and present still with people like mugabe, kabila, nkurunziza, musaveni, nguesso, etc. others, as in senegal, are decent. the contrast is with the gambia. trump plays out that role of jammah, a disgustingly stupid anti-democratic idiot. a know-nothing now in power. it is too discouraging to really think about, so i am content to let you do the thinking, and thank you again for being spot on. ken
trump has not been treated w disdain etc, by and large, by npr. the times has been calling him out, but npr has normalized him. if you believe, as juan makes really crystal clear, that his far-right nationalism has classic traits of neofascism--which is patently obvious if you compare it with all the equivalents in europe, then how the hell are you supposed to treat him? disdain is far from enough. and even the times has idiots like douthat who patiently explain to us why it won't be so bad under trump. christ! it is hard to be patient facing what dangers he represents.
on the eve of our presidential election, we fear what would happen should trump come to power. almost everything in this piece resonates with me because of the notion that a brutal leader would unleash forces of hatred and bigotry, too. daesh is not unique in the world.
trump is a fascist, hillary is not. she is a liberal. the russian response is predictable nationalism. but to present that the fascist represents anything better for their interest is like asking whether they ever heard of brest-litovsk
excellent column. your critics put things like "libya" into one camp, as though there were not a "libya" in those who opposed ghaddafi. anyway, i am off to france tomorrow, as i go every summer, and your assessment strikes me as just. the detractors to your view want too much to put this into an all or nothing scenario, and just as the french are divided, so too are the syrians and libyians etc.
gave a small amount, hoping it will all add up to a lot. if you need more at the end of your season, post the appeal and i will re-contribute. i rely on you for the wonderful posts.
i think we are making too much of this. by immigrants he seems to mean people who came here--by compulsion or choice, i suppose, since he appends the term w "on the bottom of slave ships." what follows is simply america land of dreams stuff, which we'd expect from anyone on the right. as far as earning less, he is relatively right since slaves did acquire some wealth, through various kinds of labor, and were able to purchase their own freedom, at least in some cases. a good example is equiano, who not only did this but became a slave dealer himself before become an abolitionist. in fact, the american dream stuff is the most pernicious part of it.
beautiful column
it is very hard for me, and many i know, to read about this asshole as if we had to take him seriously. your analyses help in this regard because more than simply labeling him as neofascist, which i am content to do, you explain why. i have lived, also, for some years in africa, and i can tell you that the dictatorial practices you delineate were there in cameroon under ahidjo, and were visible, clear, and present still with people like mugabe, kabila, nkurunziza, musaveni, nguesso, etc. others, as in senegal, are decent. the contrast is with the gambia. trump plays out that role of jammah, a disgustingly stupid anti-democratic idiot. a know-nothing now in power. it is too discouraging to really think about, so i am content to let you do the thinking, and thank you again for being spot on. ken
trump has not been treated w disdain etc, by and large, by npr. the times has been calling him out, but npr has normalized him. if you believe, as juan makes really crystal clear, that his far-right nationalism has classic traits of neofascism--which is patently obvious if you compare it with all the equivalents in europe, then how the hell are you supposed to treat him? disdain is far from enough. and even the times has idiots like douthat who patiently explain to us why it won't be so bad under trump. christ! it is hard to be patient facing what dangers he represents.
thank you juan. i wish this were posted everywhere
on the eve of our presidential election, we fear what would happen should trump come to power. almost everything in this piece resonates with me because of the notion that a brutal leader would unleash forces of hatred and bigotry, too. daesh is not unique in the world.
trump is a fascist, hillary is not. she is a liberal. the russian response is predictable nationalism. but to present that the fascist represents anything better for their interest is like asking whether they ever heard of brest-litovsk
excellent column. your critics put things like "libya" into one camp, as though there were not a "libya" in those who opposed ghaddafi. anyway, i am off to france tomorrow, as i go every summer, and your assessment strikes me as just. the detractors to your view want too much to put this into an all or nothing scenario, and just as the french are divided, so too are the syrians and libyians etc.
i love to have juan cole to count on ALL THE TIME. where else can we go when we need really solid info and opinions?
gave a small amount, hoping it will all add up to a lot. if you need more at the end of your season, post the appeal and i will re-contribute. i rely on you for the wonderful posts.