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WHO RULES: THE ISRAEL LOBBY OR UNCLE SAM? The answer at last! Uri Avnery, former Knesset member, assesses the Lobby's power. "If the Israeli government wanted a law tomorrow annulling the 10 Commandments, 95 U.S. Senators (at least) would sign the bill forthwith." But, yes, in the end the dog wags the tail. Fifty years ago Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" blew the cobwebs out of millions of young minds and drove a stake through the heart of Eisenhower's America. Lenni Brenner remembers Ginsberg in the East Village. Dr Mengele died in exile, in disguise. Dr Ishii died rich and recognized, in his own Tokyo home. Christopher Reed on Japanese WW2 medical tortures and how the U.S. covered them up. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! |
Today's Stories May 8, 2006 Alexander Cockburn May 6 / 7, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair Ariel Dorfman Joe Allen Fred Gardner Jeff Taylor Saul Landau Stephen Philion Trish Schuh Ralph Nader Robert Fisk Paul Cantor John Holt James Ryan Lawrence R. Velvel Greg Moses Laray Polk Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Mickey Z. Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
May 5, 2006 Vijay Prashad Robert Fisk David Swanson Mearsheimer / Walt Dave Lindorff Sarah Ferguson CounterPunch
News Service Corporate Crime Reporter Website of the
Day
May 4, 2006 John F. Sugg Jonathan Cook Roger Burbach Chris Dols Christopher Brauchli Tony Swindell Website of the Day
May 3, 2006 Robert Bryce Paul Craig Roberts James Petras Lee Sustar David Bolton Joshua Frank Jeffery R. Webber Website of the
Day
May 2, 2006 Evelyn Pringle Tariq Ali Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Sen. Russell
Feingold Anthony Papa Website of the
Day
May Day, 2006 Norman Finkelstein Christopher Reed Michael Donnelly Dave Zirin Mike Whitney Gilad Atzmon Missy Comley Beattie Alexander Cockburn Website of the
Day
April 29 / 30, 2006 Peter Linebaugh Ralph Nader Robert Bryce Rev. William
Alberts Lee Sustar John Chuckman Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Fred Gardner Don Monkerud Tommy Stevenson Lettrist International Contratiempo St. Clair, Vest
and D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of the
Weekend
April 28, 2006 James Ridgeway Ramzy Baroud Sarah Knopp William S. Lind Werther April 27, 2006 Winslow T. Wheeler Robert Fisk Juan Santos Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Jose Pertierra
April 26,2006 Robin Philpot Sherry Wolf Pratyush Chandra Joshua Frank Gary
Leupp Bill
Quigley
April 25, 2006 Gary
Leupp Paul
Craig Roberts Linda
S. Heard Ralph
Nader Mike
Whitney Michael
Donnelly Sharon
Smith Website
of the Day
April 24, 2006 Tim
Wise John
Stanton Dave
Lindorff Steve
Shore Amadou
Deme Mickey
Z. Ralph Nader Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day
April 22/23, 2006 Jeffrey
St. Clair Jeff
Halper Jeff
Klein Thomas
P. Healy David
Underhill Lee
Sustar Deb
Reich John
Chuckman Fred
Gardner Julian
Edney Seth
Sandronsky Brynne
Keith-Jennings Dave
Lindorff Catherine
Ann Cullen and Harry Browne Bill
Pahnelas Jim
French Ron
Jacobs David
Krieger Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
April 21, 2006 Jonathan
Cook Lawrence
R. Velvel Evelyn
Pringle Christopher
Brauchli Pratyush
Chandra Michael
George Smith Missy
Comley Beattie Sarah
Hines Website
of the Day
April 20, 2006 Chris
Kutalik Gary
Leupp Joshua
Frank Diane
Christian William
S. Lind Ramzy
Baroud Justin
E.H. Smith
April 19, 2006 P.
Sainath Norman
Solomon Anthony
Papa Mike
Ferner Stanley
Heller Rifundazione Christopher
Reed Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day April 18, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Eric
Wingerter Juan
Santos Greg
Weiher Sam
Bahour Behzad
Yaghmaian Website
of the Day
April 17, 2006 Kevin Zeese Uri Avnery Norman Solomon John Ross Laila al-Haddad Jeffrey Blankfort Website of the Day
April 15 / 16, 2006 Jeffrey
St. Clair Ralph
Nader Thaddeus
Hoffmeister Kevin
Prosen / Dave Zirin Thomas
P. Healy Kristoffer
Larsson Fred
Gardner Edwin
Krales Brian
Cloughley John
Holt Seth
Sandronsky Rafael
Renteria Michael
Ortiz Hill William
A. Cook Gideon
Levy Andrew
Wimmer Madis
Senner Michael
Kuehl Mark
Scaramella Nate
Mezmer Jesse
Walker Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
April 14, 2006 Col.
Dan Smith Saul
Landau Stan
Cox Kevin
Zeese Brian
McKinlay Howard
Meyers Ishmael
Reed Website
of the Day
April 13, 2006 CounterPunch
News Service Norman
Solomon Stanley
Heller Jeff
Birkenstein Evelyn
J. Pringle Michael
Donnelly Kamran
Matin Website
of the Day
April 12, 2006 Vijay
Prashad Alan
Maass Dave
Lindorff Ron
Jacobs Ramzy
Baroud Randall
Dodd Missy
Comley Beattie P. Sainath Website
of the Day
April 11, 2006 Al
Krebs Lawrence
R. Velvel Sonia
Nettinin Willliam
S. Lind Robert
Ovetz Pratyush
Chandra Grant
F. Smith Laray
Polk Francis
Boyle José
Pertierra Website
of the Day
April 10, 2006 Ralph
Nader Heather
Gray Uri
Avnery Joshua
Frank Seth
Sandronsky Michael
Leonardi Evelyn
Pringle Tom
Kerr Lucinda
Marshall Website
of the Day April 7 -9, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Jeffrey
St. Clair Patrick
Cockburn David
Vest Dave
Lindorff Gary
Leupp Elaine
Cassel Saul
Landau James
Ridgeway Ron
Jacobs John
Walsh Ramzy
Baroud Christopher
Brauchli Todd
Chretien Jonathan
Scott John
Bomar Michele
Brand Ronan
Sheehan Mickey
Z. Don
Monkerud Michael
Dickinson Website
of the Weekend
April 6, 2006 John
Ross Dave
Lindorff Don
Monkerud Robert
McDonald Boris
Kagarlitsky Remi
Kanazi Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Robert
Fisk
April 5, 2006 Dick
J. Reavis Mark
Brenner Brian
Cloughley Jozef
Hand-Boniakowski Matt
Vidal Juan
Santos Alan
Maass JoAnn
Wypijewski Website
of the Day
April 4, 2006 Jackson
Thoreau Gary
Corseri Dave
Lindorff Paul
Craig Roberts Norman
Solomon Michael
Carmichael Winslow
T. Wheeler Ingmar
Lee Michael
Neumann Website
of the Day
April 3, 2006 Saul
Landau Richard
Thieme Timothy
B. Tyson Omar
Barghouti Iwasaki
Atsuko Julian
Edney Roger
Morris
April 1 / 2, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Dave
Zirin David
Underhill Earl
Ofari Hutchinson Dave
Lindorff P.
Sainath Fred
Gardner Clancy
Chassay Heather
Gray Greg
Moses John
Chuckman Ron
Jacobs Jeffrey
St. Clair Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
Subscribe Online
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May 8, 2006 Kenji Yoshino's Poignant, But Flawed Vision for New Civil Rights"Covering" and the Law By ROBERT JENSEN For very different reasons, personal and political, Kenji Yoshino's beautiful book on a new approach to civil rights is painful and important to read. On the personal: In a society saturated with confessionals, Yoshino's story of coming to terms with being gay and Japanese-American in a straight, white world is elegantly honest, infused with a critical self-reflection that avoids the all-too-common self-indulgence of the genre. The honest struggle he conveys not only touches but teaches, which gives the book its power; it is joyfully painful to read. On the political: Yoshino seems to be trying to reach the most privileged people in the United States -- a society not known for its ability to empathize with those it subordinates -- by pointing out that we all "cover," or hide some aspect our ourselves. But this attempt to find a common experience to ground a new conception of civil rights is dangerous because of its potential to obscure the power differentials at the heart of this society. That's a painful reminder of the insidious nature of the hierarchies in which we live. The title of Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights borrows from sociologist Erving Goffman's observation that people who have acknowledged some sort of stigma will still work "to keep that stigma from looming large." Yoshino observes that this covering -- the way in which people hide or modify some aspect of themselves to fit into the dominant culture -- is widespread, practiced at some level by virtually everyone. Declaring that "the mainstream is a myth," Yoshino describes the myriad ways people hide (to the degree possible) their deviations from that presumed center. Yoshino seems to hope the concept of covering can engage those with relatively more privilege and power to recognize a common humanity. This is where his argument is painful in the political sense. Is there reason to believe that people with privilege and power will be moved to see a common humanity through understanding this experience of covering in their own lives? I am skeptical, for the simple reason that while we all may cover, our covering is not equivalent. Yoshino is not suggesting it is, but he runs the risk of giving privileged people an opening to trivialize the nature of the core oppressive systems in contemporary U.S. society. It's a cliché to say we shouldn't "rank oppressions," but how can we not? Do we really want to suggest that all the various deviations from the mainstream are created equal or experienced equally? For example, Yoshino points out that the metaphor of the closet has lost its uniquely gay meaning, citing references in the news to closet "poets, Republicans, gamblers, artists, and fans of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays." He writes, "We all have secret selves." However true that may be, it's difficult to see how the concept of covering can be meaningful if it is attached to such a wide range of identities and behaviors -- from the relatively trivial hiding of one's love of poetry in certain non-poetic spaces to the more life-shaping covering demands faced by racial and ethnic minorities, women, or lesbians and gays. Here, Yoshino's own taxonomy of the gay experience is instructive. He writes about the progression from demands for "conversion" to "passing" to "covering." Gays have been asked to convert (renounce that part of their identity and become straight) and to pass (be gay in some private settings if you must, but avoid public identification) before the contemporary demand that they cover (be openly gay if you like, but eliminate any behavior that is at odds with heterosexual norms). No straight people ever experience that range of pressures around their sexual orientation. Just as no men (outside of prison) deal on a day-to-day basis with the threat of rape. Just as no white people deal with the association of their skin color with inferiority. Yoshino's analysis is most valuable on the issues of conversion and passing. On the former, he points out that even in this post-gay liberation era, conversion demands of various kinds are still made on "sexual waverers, individuals whose sexuality seemed ambiguous or unformed." He writes that it was not until he "came out broadly" -- that is, stopped giving any hint of wavering -- did the conversion pressure ease. Once he made that move, he writes, "angels and demons alike looked for other quarry." Yoshino points out that children are the classic waverers, which means that "gays will not achieve full equality until the ultimate orientation of wavering children is a matter of state and social indifference." The key question, he writes, is: "Who will change? The gay son or the straight parents? The homosexual or the homophobe?" Yoshino moves on to point out that a shift from demanding conversion to passing was at best a minor victory, because the two rise or fall together. "So long as there is a right to be a particular kind of person, I believe it logically and morally follows there is a right to say what one is," he concludes. The precision of Coverings analysis gets murkier, however, when Yoshino addresses the authenticity claims that are implied within his framework. To suggest gays are sometimes asked to cover is to imply there is a gay essence that is abrogated when a gay person "acts" straight. But beyond the biological sex of one's partner, is there anything we can say is definitively -- and authentically -- gay? Is a "straight-acting" gay inherently covering, or simply a gay who authentically prefers to behave in ways that are stereotypically associated with heterosexuality? The same question is ever-present in the discussion of non-white people who are said to "act white." Yoshino writes, "If conversion divides ex-gays from gays, and passing divides closeted gays from out gays, covering divides normals from queers." He defines normals as "openly gay individuals who embrace a politics of assimilation" and queers as "gays who emphasize their difference from the mainstream." But does that mean that there is some "real" gayness that is in inherent opposition to heterosexuality? If one says gay people are covering when adapting themselves to heterosexual norms, it implies that there is a distinctly gay way of being in the world. Is there an "authentic" identity we can find in any category? Here a feminist analysis would be helpful. In some ways, for example, gay men's common (but not universal, of course) rejection of traditional monogamous values that are identified with mainstream heterosexual culture is thought by many to be a defining characteristic of gay identity. But what if this stereotypical gay acceptance of promiscuity is not a gay thing but a guy thing? What if in this regard gay men have more in common with straight men, the only difference being that heterosexual women are less inclined to participate with straight men in that game? What is seen by some gay men as a defining aspect of their lives as gay men is more likely simply an aspect of conventional masculinity in patriarchy. What if a gay man who approaches questions of sexuality and intimacy in ways that are straight-acting in this regard is not covering but is adopting a radical feminist sexual ethic? Who is most authentic in his choices? Yoshino realizes he is venturing into confusing territory when he writes about a true or authentic self. His philosophy is deeply rooted in the concept of autonomy, and he accepts a distinctly individualistic notion of self that comes with such a project. He offers a commitment to "autonomy as a means of achieving authenticity, rather than to a fixed conception of what authenticity might be." This is where his argument turns in on itself. Covering occurs when one hides a part of oneself that comes from a particular facet of one's identity, such as being gay; identity is not individualistic in this sense but group-based. But at the same time, "authenticity will look and feel different for each of us," he writes, implying there is no aspect of that gay identity that is intrinsic to being gay. Yoshino tries to move out of this swamp to make a case for the future direction of civil-rights law, but by this time he is boxed in when offering prescriptions. He argues that group-based accommodations are the answer, and that the state and employers should shoulder the burden of justification when they demand that members of protected groups engage in covering behavior. But if the concept of covering encompasses an ever-growing list of groups, Yoshino argues, such a legal approach becomes unworkable: "The explosive pluralism of contemporary American society will inexorably push this country away from group-based identity politics -- there will be too many groups to keep track of, much less to protect." Yoshino advocates that the "new civil rights" leave behind this "equality paradigm" in favor of a "liberty paradigm" rooted in the centrality of autonomy. That's his solution to the courts' general hostility to group-based accommodations and the society's ever-exploding pluralism. While Yoshino's argument is intriguing, I fear is that it will be diversionary from what should be the core project -- a redistribution of power and resources that can come when unjust systems are transformed through collective action. My fear is that Yoshino's rejection of equality in favor of liberty as the defining concept for civil rights only further distracts from recognizing the core problem is the oppressive systems: white supremacy, patriarchy, and heterosexism, playing out in a world structured by the hierarchies of corporate capitalism and U.S. hegemony. Yoshino is right to recognize that the existing framework of civil rights law is fraying and that a rethinking is due. He's also right to point out that there are limits to what the law can accomplish as we move forward, and that solutions lie in other processes, institutions, and movements. This is fundamentally a political project that requires movement building, and rebuilding. It's difficult to imagine much progress being made in the years to come without a holistic left/progressive politics that connects the way in which all these systems of oppression attempt to naturalize a hierarchy of domination and subordination. In the United States, we are only at the beginning of such a project. But, even with those concerns about the fundamental basis of Yoshino's philosophical and political project, this book is a beautiful mix of memoir, legal scholarship, and polemic. That the polemic is, in the end, not completely persuasive for me doesn't detract from the value of the book; even when I'm not won over, I appreciate the elegance of Yoshino's argument and his anticipation of counter arguments. I stress the adjective "beautiful"; in a world in which there is so much writing that seems to be offered to the world without editing (blogs) or concern for gracefulness (most scholarly writing), such a book is a gift, one that eloquently forces us to confront not only the problems in our society but our own complex place in that society. Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University
of Texas at Austin and a member of the board of the Third
Coast Activist Resource Center. He is the author of The
Heart of Whiteness: Race, Racism, and White Privilege
and Citizens
of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity. He
can be reached at rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu.
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org. |