From: news@cc.swarthmore.edu (USENET News System)
Subject: THE UGLIER ROLE OF THE WESTERN LEFT
Originator: vuksan@ginger
Organization: Swarthmore College
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 01:43:18 GMT

@5 THE UGLIER ROLE OF FASCIST WESTERN CORRUPTED LEFT
 
Compared to the behavior of western governments, which politely
refrain themselves from doing anything to stop the slaughter in
former Yugoslavia, the behavior of the western oposition, western
alternative, or to be more precise, western left alternative is
even more sluggish, although not as difficult to explain and
understand.
 
As a part of a negative defined society, the left is defined
negatively, too. The western left was most of the time very
apologetic to the totalitarian (communist, as they were called)
regimes of the east. On the other hand the leftists were over-
critical to their own societies. With the discovery of how bad
eastern regimes really were, and, even more, with the east
departing from the teoretically proclaimed historic truths, western
leftists were left only with negative aspect of their political
discourse: over-criticism of their own system.
 
Disappointed with the betrayal of the regimes that, they believed,
would one day make a global revolution, western leftists enclosed
themselves in their intelectual cocoon of the eternal truths
written years ago by marxist and post-marxist writers. Most of them
became near religious about a rigid code of the "politically
correct" behavior. Some of them consciously blindfolded themselves
not to see the failure of their beleifs.
 
In the meantime, growing older (the great majority of western
leftist movements have roots in 1968 student movements), they began
working real jobs, and, sometimes, very well paid jobs in and for
the odious capitalist society. The contradiction between their
puritan, rebellious "citoyen" and their hedonist, corrupted,
comformity-seeking "burgeois" side of personality made them too
busy taking care to avoid clashes between their disparate
personalities. So, they became careless about the world that dared
to exist beyond their theoretical presumptions. Anything that does
not fit in the system would be excluded from the positive
consideration and labeled as a priori hostile.
 
As we may say for the punk movement, in late '70-s in England or
in early '80-s in Slovenia, that often flirted with nazi symbols,
at the same time featuring anti-nazi songs and behavior (so
criticizing nazi elements in their own society build on so-called
anti-nazism), to be both anti-nazi and anti-anti-nazi (actual
definition of the Slovenian sociologist Grega Tomc), so we may say
for today's western left to be both anti-nazi and nazi-anti-nazi.
Eager to criticize supposedly nazi (totalitarian) elements in
society, eager to do it following all the quantifiable rules they
learned (as to make their point stronger) and eager to exclude
their private self from the scope of criticism, the western left
became not only dull and osified in repeating the same mantra over
and over again, but also totalitarian itself. If peace-activists
from the East speak at the forum of the western leftists they feel
increasingly as being viewed as heretics. Elements of reality
unavoidably present in the mind of eastern peace-activist would
undoubtfully be labeled by western leftist as politically
incorrect, that means just a step before fascist. The left in the
West became nazist in their anti-nazism.
 
So, western leftists, blindfolded, as they were, weren't able to
realize that Yugoslavia is not a perfect socialist country with the
human face, but one totalitarian state controlled by the mighty
military. If we compare Yugoslavia with the rest of the East, we
may say that, if East was to be a penitentiary, Yugoslavia was an
open prison. Still prison, nevertheless. This is at least how the
people there felt. This was a living reality (contrary to
theoretical one made by the western left). So, in the moment of
the Yugoslav collapse, the western left quietly sided itself with
the totalitarian regime which claimed to be protecting Yugoslavia
from secessionist forces (and from nazism). Even after the
unspeakable slaughter on Balkans that goes on for second year now,
western leftists, somewhere in their ossified hearts, still feel
that Yugoslav (or now Serbian) regime is not as guilty as it looks.
 
The guidelines (prejudices) are more important than facts.
 
So to bring few examples:
 
Since the beginning of the war in what was then Yugoslavia, western
leftist mostly spent their time alertly monitoring if their
government would do something to help secesionist republics. They
were ardent opponents of the recognition of republics and of any
kind of intervention - even a humanitarian one. They met any
criticism of Yugoslav Army with the inevitable question: "and what
about the other side?" So, I tested them: intentionally I spoke
just about some awfull things that Croatian government did. They
receieved it with the sight of approval. They didn't bother about
"the other side."  Most of them have never concerned themselves
with the fate of peace activists in Yugoslav warring nation states.
However, in Slovenia, and to some extent in Croatia, Serbia and
Bosnia there have been a number of so-called new social movements
that opposed the insanity of war. Where has been the western left
to support them?
 
With the development of the war in former Yugoslavia two peace
activist organizations assumed the most prominent positions: Anti-
War Campaign of Zagreb, Croatia and Anti-War Center of Belgrade,
Serbia. Zagreb's organization publicly supported conscientious
objectors, helps refugees, organized peace arbitration activities.
What they lacked was total opposition to the war. But don't forget
that Ho Shi Min didn't have any peace movement whatsoever while
Vietnam had been attacked by the U.S. The painfull fact is that
most of the Belgrade was pretty quiet during the first 7-8 months
of war in Croatia. They were in denial. (Americans didn't
demonstrate first four years of their military involvment in
Vietnam either). Finally about the beginning of the war in Bosnia
the mold in Belgrade broke and thousands of students came out
joining the peace activists marching out on the streets against the
war. Western leftists suddenly became interested in Yugoslav peace
movements. Not enough, however, to actually help Serbian peace
movements. Peace activists in Belgrade were left in limbo for about
4 months, till they weakened themselves under constant pressure of
the regime almost to the brink of their existence.
 
Then, about at the time when State Department realized that the
change of government in Serbia might have the better chance of
stopping the war then the U.S. military intervention (and after the
U.S. industrialist Milan Panic became Yugoslav prime minister),
western left started to be increasingly interested in Serbian peace
activists. In September here was Stojan Cerovic of Belgrade's Anti-
War Center and independent magazine Vreme. In October here were
Sonja Licht and Milan Nikolic, from the Center, too. Sonja is also
very active in the Helsinki Citizens Assembly. Unavoidably, both
Sonja and Stojan delivered speeches at Columbia University in New
York. Sonja was, also, featured by a Sane Freeze grassroots
network. Interesting point was that Stojan was here on a stipend
of State Department. Not on invitation of some U.S. NGO.
 
If initiative of the State Department has to precede leftist
activity, that means that situation with the left is very bad.
Also, I would like to point out that never was any peace activist
from Croatia or Slovenia or Bosnia invited to lecture at Columbia
or courted by American peace movements or any other organizations
that are considered leftist. That is, at least in Slovenian case,
very peculiar considering that Slovenian peace movement was the
oldest, the most developed and organized in Yugoslavia. Actually
a guy from Slovenian peace movement (Marko Hren) is on the
international board of War Resisters League.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.yugoslavia,soc.culture.croatia,alt.society.revolution,alt.politics.europe.misc,soc.culture.bosna-herzgvna