[at-l] The Other MacKaye Vision

[texas12step at nym.hush.com (texas12step@nym.hush.com)]

Rafe Bustin wrote:
>Texas12Step wrote:
>>Rafe Bustin wrote:

>>>If MacKaye was an advocate of "social engineering"
>>>and if the AT is the fruit or embodiment of "social
>>>engineering," then one would have to conclude that
>>>social engineering is a powerful force for good.

>>>In any case, that's the lesson I take from it.

>>Knowing this, I *could* partake in Schadenfreude guilt-
>>free when it's your turn in the social engineering
>>barrel.

>>But I won't.

>I'm relieved and humbled by your kindness,
>generosity, and empathy.

>Politics = social engineering.  So what.  Deal
>with it.  True whether it comes from left or right,
>whether it comes from Ghandi or Ghengis Khan.

Sweet. So now you're telling me, stipulating that 
MacKaye in his essay advocates "social engineering," 
that it's really just "politics" which is something to
be dismissed because, well, everybody engages in it.

>Speaking personally, your condemnations of MacKaye
>(his philosophy, of course) are still too vague to take
>seriously.

Yeah, yeah...but what's your opinion when speaking for
people other than yourself?

>In some recent post, you cited certain notions that
>caused you some discomfort, facial contortions, and
>proclivities toward armed violence -- though you never
>quite connected those notions to anything written by
>MacKaye, except to cite the source in toto, ie. the
>famous 1921 essay (eg., on fred.net.)  You used the
>words "repugnant" and "shockingly naive" to describe
>these notions.

>Funny, but when I read the essay, I have generally
>positive reactions.  I think that's because the original
>makes more sense than your distorted and twisted version.

If you have done as you say and, having read the essay,
cannot even *locate* those parts of it where I take 
issue -- even though I've been both quoting them and
using MacKaye's own terms in quotes throughout this 
thread -- then there's really no point in me going
though the effort of handholding you though the essay
line by line, is there? You're simply being purposely
obtuse.

Besides, we now already know your ultimate answer to
anything I may write by way of more verbose criticism:

"So what. Deal with it."

There is no reply to that kind of "argument."

TXIIS