Socialist social skills

A continuing conversation with Jaded Sixteen of Oi With The Poodles Already.


JRB: One of the groups you've flagged for abusive behavior at your blog are people identifying themselves as Marxist. Part of what ladypoverty has tried to do lately is to read Marx's Capital as a critique of economic authority under capitalism (in other words, it is this sort of critique; we are simply trying to understand it), and this has attracted a certain audience interested in Marx. "Marxism" as a revolutionary doctrine hasn't really been discussed; and the thrust of this blog is anarchist: in principle, it is concerned with all forms of authority. You seem to be encountering some very dogmatic types, and they don't seem interested in authority as it manifests itself in abundant ways. Could you talk about this as you have experienced it; and also, talk about your encounters with others of the radical male left, including those identifying as anarchist?


JS: I don't think these people are particularly dogmatic, they seem pretty open to ideas of over-throwing any form of authority -- I assume this is why they even lurk on my blog -- their problem with me stems from the fact that I 'reject' Marx -- and if some anonymous dude from half way across the world makes such a claim, then it must be entirely true, no? -- and LE GASP think Marx is colonial and thus as postcolonial subjects of the 'ex'-Empire we can't apply Marxism to our policies.

I've pointed out that nowhere have I ever said, "Marx is a colonial douche! Let's all burn Das Kapital now and dance forever around the bonfire"*, rather just suggested that we need other modes of Marxism, namely the routes suggested by Gramsci, Spivak (when talking of postcolonial theory) and maybe Amartaya Sen and Arundhati Roy (when speaking of democracies and economics). And of course, me being a dusty lady factors in this equation too, so basically the e-mails and/or comments that I get are along the lines of, "Shut up you bleedy Indian mouth!! Marx isn't terrible!! You are blinded by hatred and racism!" and I have now concluded that when *these* people read my blog, all they see is this:

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Kill Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Marx Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Now Blah Blah.

And now I don't give a single fuck as to what they write or what they want. It all goes straight to the spam bin and spares me a migraine.

*This is a quote from an e-mail. No, this is not a joke.