Re: [PEN-L] deep critique of Hobsbawm
I used to know a bunch of people in Berkeley who called themselves "the meshugganahti." On 10/3/06, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: meshugganah is not as strong as crazy. It is almost an affectionate term. The WSJ editorial people know that. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com -- Jim Devine / "it is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be." -- KM
Re: [PEN-L] deep critique of Hobsbawm
meshugganah is not as strong as crazy. It is almost an affectionate term. The WSJ editorial people know that. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] deep critique of Hobsbawm
this person ignores the fact that the CP turned against Hitler soon
thereafter and was "more anti-Fascist than thou" for quite a long
time. (BTW, how old was Hobsbawm at the time? he may not have been
crazy as much as immature.)
On 10/2/06, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Letter to the WSJ
Even Stalinist's Mother Admitted He Was Crazy
October 2, 2006; Page A11
In Abheek Bhattacharya's review of Paul Hollander's book "The End of Commitment"
(Bookmarks, Weekend Journal, Sept. 15), he writes about British historian Eric
Hobsbawm: "As late as 1994, Mr. Hobsbawm told an interviewer that, even if he
had
known in the mid-1930s that 'millions of people were dying in the Soviet
experiment,' he would have still supported it, for 'the chance of a new world
being
born in great suffering would still have been worth backing.'"
My mother was a friend of Eric Hobsbawm's mother and I visited the Hobsbawms
with
her, where I listened to Eric's arguments. He supported the sabotage of the
British
army and the war against Germany because his messiah, Joseph Stalin had a pact
with
Adolf Hitler. I argued that the Nazis would not only kill him but also his
mother
and his sister Rita. He quoted Joseph Stalin to me: "You cannot make an omelet
without breaking eggs."
I was horrified; only years later did I realize that he was a Jewish Adolf
Eichmann.
I repeated his views to his mother, and she was succinct. "Er ist meshugganah"
("He
is crazy").
A few years later I was in the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry when in the spring 1945
we
liberated Bergen Belsen concentration camp; there, I saw the real-life
consequences
of the megalomaniac musings of so-called historians. It is a shame Eric evaded
reality so that he did not have to acknowledge what his stupidity helped bring
in
blood and bones.
--
Jim Devine / "it is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at
present: I am referring to ruthless criticism of all that exists,
ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it
arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict
with the powers that be." -- KM
Re: [PEN-L] deep critique of Hobsbawm
Every position is a class position. rash political positions emanating from deep hate as opposed to deep critique for imperialism and the sort make things happen. there is a world of difference between the organic intellectual surrounded by misery and driven by more hate than reason at times and the ivory tower intellectual. as to my hate versus reason thing, i should have said praxis vs. hypothetical analysis that which is divorced from reality and its gravely lopsided balance of forces in favour of the imperialist camp. the poor should have the right to hate-give'm that. Else they are stupid.
- Original Message From: Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDUSent: Tuesday, October 3, 2006 4:43:22 AMSubject: deep critique of Hobsbawm
Letter to the WSJEven Stalinist's Mother Admitted He Was CrazyOctober 2, 2006; Page A11In Abheek Bhattacharya's review of Paul Hollander's book "The End of Commitment"(Bookmarks, Weekend Journal, Sept. 15), he writes about British historian EricHobsbawm: "As late as 1994, Mr. Hobsbawm told an interviewer that, even if he hadknown in the mid-1930s that 'millions of people were dying in the Sovietexperiment,' he would have still supported it, for 'the chance of a new world beingborn in great suffering would still have been worth backing.'"My mother was a friend of Eric Hobsbawm's mother and I visited the Hobsbawms withher, where I listened to Eric's arguments. He supported the sabotage of the Britisharmy and the war against Germany because his messiah, Joseph Stalin had a pact withAdolf Hitler. I argued that the Nazis would not only kill him but also his motherand his sister Rita. He quoted Joseph Stalin
to me: "You cannot make an omeletwithout breaking eggs."I was horrified; only years later did I realize that he was a Jewish Adolf Eichmann.I repeated his views to his mother, and she was succinct. "Er ist meshugganah" ("Heis crazy").A few years later I was in the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry when in the spring 1945 weliberated Bergen Belsen concentration camp; there, I saw the real-life consequencesof the megalomaniac musings of so-called historians. It is a shame Eric evadedreality so that he did not have to acknowledge what his stupidity helped bring inblood and bones.--Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929Tel. 530-898-5321E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edumichaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] deep critique of Hobsbawm
Letter to the WSJ
Even Stalinist's Mother Admitted He Was Crazy
October 2, 2006; Page A11
In Abheek Bhattacharya's review of Paul Hollander's book "The End of Commitment"
(Bookmarks, Weekend Journal, Sept. 15), he writes about British historian Eric
Hobsbawm: "As late as 1994, Mr. Hobsbawm told an interviewer that, even if he
had
known in the mid-1930s that 'millions of people were dying in the Soviet
experiment,' he would have still supported it, for 'the chance of a new world
being
born in great suffering would still have been worth backing.'"
My mother was a friend of Eric Hobsbawm's mother and I visited the Hobsbawms
with
her, where I listened to Eric's arguments. He supported the sabotage of the
British
army and the war against Germany because his messiah, Joseph Stalin had a pact
with
Adolf Hitler. I argued that the Nazis would not only kill him but also his
mother
and his sister Rita. He quoted Joseph Stalin to me: "You cannot make an omelet
without breaking eggs."
I was horrified; only years later did I realize that he was a Jewish Adolf
Eichmann.
I repeated his views to his mother, and she was succinct. "Er ist meshugganah"
("He
is crazy").
A few years later I was in the 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry when in the spring 1945
we
liberated Bergen Belsen concentration camp; there, I saw the real-life
consequences
of the megalomaniac musings of so-called historians. It is a shame Eric evaded
reality so that he did not have to acknowledge what his stupidity helped bring
in
blood and bones.
--
Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA
95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com
