Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 17:04:34 +0100
To: revs@csf.colorado.edu
From: slein@e1m147.mpibpc.gwdg.de (Stephan Leineweber)
Subject: Two Recent Items..
 Hello:

On Wed, Feb 7 1996 Mark sent a message "RE: Racism ... remember?"
around REVS list.

He wrote:

 > Two recent items in the 'discussion' caught my eye.

First he dealt with the the question, what criteria are applicable when
war crimes are discussed and he criticized that war crimes are often judged
in a racialist manner, depending on which side people are on. In his opinion
REVS list members were not radical enough in their criticism of war crimes
respective racism commited by their own countries. Mark uttered dissatisfaction particularly with an article sent before by Rodney Coates, the "bLACK hISTORY
bLUES" (the second item). Rodney deplored the lethargic mood of Blacks in his
country during the February, the 'Black History Month'. And he had some
suggestions how to celebrate the 'Black History Month', especially on an
'Extra Day' on February, 29, more meaningfully.  

Two sentences in his article may have upset Mark:

 >> Lethargic because all too often this period is spent bemoaning the
 >> victim status of blacks, re-identifying the age-old problems that
 >> too quickly forgotten; buying that dress or that tie, that book or
 >> that art work - overpriced, overly gaudy, and made in China.
                                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
and:

 >> 1) Don't buy anything "Black" made in China, Korea -or by any one who
 >> isn't black

Mark criticized:

 > Given all of this, it did surprise me that Rodney Coates' response to racism
 > - that experienced by the Japanese in WW2 and Black Americans today, is to
 > have a Black - sorry, Afro-centric - History day, on which he recommends the
 > participants purchase nothing from China or Korea.
 >  
 > So Rodney says 'buy American'.
 >  
 > The same place that bombed Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Iraq, to name a few?

I don't see Mark's conclusion.
I didn't hear Rodney say 'buy American'. And he didn't recommend purchasing
*nothing* from China or Korea. He only said: 'Don't buy anything (pretending
to be) "Black" from anywhere'.
It's just a simile.
You can buy a thing handmade of wood. And you can buy a thing looking the same
made of plastic. What's the difference? Or you can have peas grown in your own
garden. And you can have them purchased from the food industries. The latter
will be greener as yours and will smell as peas can smell, but they won't have
any nutritional value. Do you get the picture?

After all, to discuss a bit caustically would be no loss!


Greetings,

 Stephan Leineweber