| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 04:07 AM
Hi all,
I want to clarify a few things.
I brought up Noam Chomsky's and Howard Zinn's names earlier ( NOT to flatter
Namita or to compare her to those bidwans!) because their way of disagreeing with the established, mainstream viewpoints is remarkable and well worth emulating. They are careful about using solid evidence, cool logic and compassion for the oppressed. In other words, to persuade others, they are low on emotion and high on reason.
I admire that about their various writings, without necessarily agreeing with
them on many things. (See also: Vijaya Prasad's excellent certainly-not-capitalism-inspired write-up, posted elsewhere in this kurakani section!)
But I am a little tired of meeting otherwise sensible Nepalis (in Nepal and America) who consider themselves (vaguely or strongly) leftists and espouse the usual leftist causes (i.e. anti-globalization, anti-capitalism and so on) WITHOUT ever bothering to appreciate, let alone understand, the COMPLEXITIES, the sheer complexities of the issues on the both pros and cons sides.
(An aside: In Nepal, for example, I relish debating with self-proclaimed Marxists and Leninists who seem to have NEVER READ Marx and Lenin in the first place, or even if they have read their Marx and Lenin, their interpretations are so wide-ranging that I have actually observed them putting words in Marx's/Lenin's mouth to justify their own muddled thinking. I mean, hey, it's fine if you want to be a Marxist, but, come on, at least you owe it to yourself and your readers NOT to be a sloppy Marxist.)
One reason capitalism -- with all its well-documented ills -- seem to appeal to many is that it is more able to open up space to critically look at itself all the MORE than any other comparable -isms in human history.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 04:34 AM
Namita wrote:
> I don’t hear anybody telling Noam Chomsky to get out of the US because of
> his criticism of the US forign policy.
After all, to ask a simple question: How come that many of the most influential thinkers of the Global Left are based in the capitalist USA, teaching at some of the best universities there? One reason is that anywhere else, they would face a GREATER likelihood of being persecuted for their viewpoints, should those viewpoints not jive with the ones held by the authorities. The US, for all its
faults, is a remarkably RELATIVELY more open and more tolerant place than
many other nations around the planet.
Namita wrote:
>Just because I am the beneficiary of globalization I don’t think it is imperative
>to sing the virtue of globalization.
Nobody's asking you to "sing the virtue of globalization". That's not the point.
The point is that the issue of globalization is much more complex (as portrayed, on a small scale, by your own example!), and that any discussion of globalization needs to start by first acknowledging that complexity.
Criticizing globalization as some kind of ideological monolith which sees things in purely black and white terms (as rich versus the poor or the US versus the rest of the world, and that sort of nonsense) MISSES the very idea of how plural, diverse and decentralized the effects of globalization are all over the world, whether we like some of those effects or not.
>There are millions and millions of people who live in less that a dollar a day.
>What about them? Where do we find the blame?
Funny, you should think in terms of dollars -- even the dollar is now an
unofficial global currency!!
That said, I find these sort of sentiments hopelessly grand and ultimately disrespectful of the poor. The best way to understand what the poor want
is to spend some time of your life working and living alongside them with an
open mind.
(And on a personal aside, not too long ago, you were gleefully making fun of me here, through a poem, for being "a best friend of the Kamaiyas", as though that was a bad thing to be!! The ex-Kamaiyas, FYI, were and are actually our fellow Nepalis who "live in less than a dollar a day". But I'll let this minor inconsistency of thought on yourt part pass for now).
>PS As you can see from various newspaper, even in this board how the
>right wing is trying to cash in with this tragedy.
Relax.
Just because your provably inconsistent and muddled -- though no doubt sincere and heartfelt in their own way -- thoughts/ideas are responded to in this OPEN public space does NOT mean that "right wing is trying to cash in" here.
But even if that is true, then the challenge is to come up with better, sharper arguments (a la Chomsky and Zinn and others) that use reason, evidence and a CONSISTENCY of thoughts to argue a point of view.
As someone who has known Namita for a number of years, and appreciates
her participation in this forum, and knows that we are both mature enough to appreciate and entertain diverse points of view, I am more tired of muddled left-wing thoughts that do 'liberalism' (as thought of in the US) a disservice than
any "right-wing" conspiracy of any kind.
Thanks, Namita for your views.
Also, Kamasutra, enjoyed your posting very much. Why not start using
your own name here?
oohi
ashu
ktm, nepal
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| Asstoss |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 09:45 AM
Hey Ashu
Thats enough, don't go overboard with Namita Bashing.
Do to others as would want them to do to you.
When people start bashing you, you cry like a little baby.
Remember how it feels and keep your chatterbox shut.
Keep in mind, what goes around comes around.
Baaaje` SHhhhh!
Sh
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| Ass Toss |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 09:52 AM
By saying again and "muddled thinking" to "critcize" Namita you are just showing your intolerance of other point of view. And you don't say why it is muddled. It seems you have not forgiven Namita for her masterpiece song about you. You are small! You do sing praise for yourself 24/7. Sommervillagers congratulate you.
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| oohi_ashu |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 11:08 AM
Hi there,
I post in my own name, and take full responsibility for my views -- whether
they are brilliant or stupid or "go overboard". I do not ask for special
favors (i.e. censorship, etc) when attacked anonymously or openly.
I have learnt to take these attacks in strides and just have fun.
I also love the Web in that it is a great tool to keep us all consistently honest.
For example, when we publicly celebrate a weekend of shopping spree in New York City in a breathless consumerist tone, and then turn around -- in some self-righteous anger -- to bash capitalism, then that does strike as a puzzlingly inconsistent stance, and some of us are not afraid to point that out as a matter
of fact. If some people are pissed off by that, and attack us in all sorts of
ways, then, well, ke garne, that's life!!
And so, in the spirit of keeping us consistently honest, please feel free to challenge and criticize my ideas all the time here so that better and more challenging ideas emerge for us all to learn from. But be sure not to be all bitter and mad; have some fun too: that is important.
oohi
ashu
ktm, nepal
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| Asstoss |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 11:44 AM
Hey Ram babu KC!
If you mention one more time that you post under your own name I am going to have to shove a plunger up your ass(NYPDstyle). You talk as if you are perfect human being(egomaniac).
As the other ASSTOSS mentioned - I gues you are still holding that grudge against Namita for writying that song. Otherwise you would not go after her so viciously would you ? that shows your true colours. You may portray yourself as this Intellectual know et al smarty pants. But in reality you are one vicious bitch ! You must have been waiting for this oppertunity for a long time huh. There goes your Harvard, there goes your integrity, and your civility bitch. Now go on bitching..
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| namita |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 11:52 AM
Ass toss,
Could you please tell me about this Ram Bahadur KC? His name keeps on popping up everytime Ashu talks about "writing in his own name." Could you please enlighten me?
Sorry, I broke the vow of silence. OM....
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| oops |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 12:02 PM
Ashu's double life and inconsistency is amazing. He writes everybody about where
he went shamelessly. And here he berates namita as saying she spent time in new
york, and still criticizes Capitalism.
What kind of logic is this? You studied in school in Panchayat system. Or St Xaviers
or whatever the hell that is. That doesn't mean that you should follow Christianity,
or Panchayati.
Go charlatan, this is your time to disrupt this site.
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| Asstoss |
Posted
on 19-Sep-01 02:57 PM
Well the story goes
ASShu was having a fight with a friend of his(highschool classmate of his). He went to couple of people(His other highschool classmates in boston) to get their support. Knowing him from his days back in high school, nobody came to his rescue. His class mates also had an E-group. And all of a sudden A classmate of theirs by the name of Ram Babu Kc started posting notes supporting ASShu. So the moderator traced Ram Babu's account...to a Harvard account. Now who else would do something like that ??? Of course who else ..... And he got banished from that E-group. Its a crime to steal someone identity... you could go to jail for that. But Mr know it all thinks he is the most HOnest and truthful person in the world. He went to HOTMAIL account and got that Name and email account. Shame on you ASShu.
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| Anamika Gharti |
Posted
on 22-Sep-01 08:22 PM
Ashu,
Is it too painful for you to admit that other human beings (specially women) are actually smarter than you are, even if they have not attended the Harvard? Truly, you sound ridiculous when you go in such a length to prove that you are still the smartest one. For your own good, please don't tell anybody that you went to one of the great university here. They will lose faith in this institution.
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| akt |
Posted
on 22-Sep-01 09:48 PM
ashu tosh is a egomaniac and everyone knows it. but you guys are mean and rude.
that reference to NYPD style whatever was really inappropriate and extremely offensive. it is not funny to talk about stuff like that so lightly. from what I can tell, the writer of that post is a nepal.... meaning a brown skinned foriegner not oo different from the haitiian victim in teh eyes of the nypd bigots. you could very well have been at the receiving end. no one deservs to be treated like that, so please don't even say it in passing.
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