Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Cartoon
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
20 Nov 2019
Letters from Our Readers 
Letters from Our Readers 

This week readers discuss Trump and Syria, Obama’s presidency, and the return of McCarthyism.  We share your letters for “The Robbers Have Come Home to Roost,” “Obama Condemns ‘Call Out’ Culture Despite Being Its Biggest Beneficiary,” and “McCarthyism Redux.”

In “The Robbers Have Come Home to Roost” Dr Kweli Nzito reviews the hypocritical responses from the mainstream media to Trump’s declared policy of seizing Syria’s oil.

Stuart L. Cipinko writes:

“What we visit on other peoples will, sooner or later, be visited upon us in one way or another. And we have no right to cry ‘unfair.’ One problem is that the US has avoided signing some very important international rights treaties as well as abrogating others it finds inconvenient to its corporate-capitalist-imperialist ends”

In “Obama Condemns ‘Call Out’ Culture Despite Being Its Biggest Beneficiary” Danny Haiphong interprets Obama’s recent critique of youth activism as a dog whistle aimed at pleasing his wealthy, white supporters.

James Pitts writes:

“Though Obama may go down in history as one of the most so called ‘trouble free, clean cut presidents’ of our times, he will also have to struggle with having a legacy that failed miserably to address the most prominent issues that were problematic among so-called black people.”

Dawn Gibson writes:

“Black folks suffered under Obama. What is the point of representation if it's merely symbolic as conditions for Black folks as a whole deteriorated at home and on the African continent? We shouldn't seek to align ourselves with the very State that seeks to destroy us.”

“McCarthyism Redux” by Riva Enteen discusses the hesitancy to confront anti-Russia hysteria by progressive organizations like the National Lawyers Guild.

Larry Pinkney writes:

“This article should serve as a chilling wake-up call to everyone in this nation. The reality of the current self-imposed McCarthyism among so-called progressives is exposed front and center in this article. Read the article! Ignoring this hideous and dangerous reality will not make it go away. Thanks to Ms. Enteen for writing this incredibly thought-provoking and urgent article, and Black Agenda Report for having the unabashed courage to publish it.”

Carolina Cositore Sitrin writes:

“Yes, I too recognize this recurrence of McCarthyism among too many self-labelled progressives that one would hope knew better and it frightens me. When I returned from the citizen diplomat trip to Russia, the same CCI group Riva traveled with and one I both immensely enjoyed and learned immensely from, I laughed at Hillary's reaction to Tulsi Gabbard's antiwar stance. My immediate memory connection was mockingly humorous and musical: The Chad Mitchell Trio in the early 60s sang of the anti-socialist/communist rantings of the John Birch Society:

Norman Vincent Peale may think he's kidding us along

But the John Birch Society knows he spilled the beans

He keeps on preaching brotherhood, but we know what he means

“Any semblance of humor was rapidly removed by hearing from some very intelligent, well-educated people that ‘of course Tulsi and Jill are Russian agents’ and ‘Russia wants us to have a third party.’

“Just as the anti Soviet keepers of the gate at that time might condemn a minister for preaching equality, today's condemnation is for anyone against war.  Doesn't it raise a  question that to be antiwar is to be pro-Russia? It is sad to me that, for all the objectionable actions and positions of Donald Trump, he is the only likely possible presidential candidate who is remotely antiwar.

“And, as Riva writes of her nephew, there are too many friends and family who refrain in fear from commenting or even ‘liking’ some Facebook posts.  This calls up another quote, not musical this time: ‘Society develops a type of self-censorship, with the knowledge that surveillance exists -- a self-censorship that is even expressed when people communicate with each other privately.’ Not surprisingly, this quote is from Julian Assange.”

The new McCarthyism is meant to stifle critical thinking among activists.  We will continue to fight with this forum.

Jahan Choudhry is Comments Editor for Black Agenda Report.  He is an organizer with the Saturday Free School based in Philadelphia, PA.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at [email protected]

Comments

Trending

Elizabeth Warren Wants Green Bombs, not a Green New Deal
Parallels Between Black and Palestinian Struggles
Cory Booker Hates Public Schools
Bill Cosby Should Have Been Denounced by Black America Long Ago
The Black Wall Around Barack Obama: Who Does It Protect Him Against?
How Complacency, Complicity of Black Misleadership Class Led to Supreme Court Evisceration of the Voting Rights Act

Related Stories

Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
04 December 2019
This time readers talked about overcoming ingrained racism and the possibilities of a Bernie Sanders presidency.  We share letters for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
27 November 2019
Readers wanted to discuss police accountability, the impeachment hearings, the electoral college, and Barack Obama in this round of feedback.  We p
Letters from Our Readers 
Jason Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
13 November 2019
This week Black voters and the Democrats, the passing of John Conyers, and the alleged demise of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi were on your minds.  We share
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
06 November 2019
This week our readers discussed black feminism and the alleged killing of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.  We print your letters for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
30 October 2019
This week readers wrote about the Obama administration's role in Syria, a recent citizens’ delegation to Russia, and BAR’s 13th anniversary celebra
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
23 October 2019
This week readers discuss lead-poisoned water in Newark and the the imperialist attack on Syria.  We share your letters for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
16 October 2019
Readers discussed Facebook, Antifa, and the CIA’s recruitment of African-Americans.  We share your letters for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
09 October 2019
This week Barack Obama’s presidency and the Hong Kong protests were on your mind.  We share your letters for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
02 October 2019
Readers discuss the black electoral engagement and the politics of Hong Kong.  We share your comments for “
Letters from Our Readers 
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers 
26 September 2019
This week you discussed nuclear contamination, the electability of Joe Biden, and theories of racism.  We share your letters for “

More Stories


  • “Booming” Economy Means More Bad Jobs and Faster Race to the Bottom
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    “Booming” Economy Means More Bad Jobs and Faster Race to the Bottom
    05 Dec 2019
    For the past 30 years, no matter which party has been in power, the US economy has produced more and more “bad” jobs – because the Race to the Bottom is ruling class policy.
  • Freedom Rider: Liberals Love the Military
    Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Liberals Love the Military
    04 Dec 2019
    Self-styled liberals believe they are a better class of people than Trump, but are bigger supporters of unjust wars than the so-called “deplorables.”
  • Colin Kaepernick Shows that American Innocence is a White Supremacist Sport
    BAR Contributing Editor Danny Haiphong
    Colin Kaepernick Shows that American Innocence is a White Supremacist Sport
    04 Dec 2019
    The Black struggle for dignity and self-determination will forever be criminalized as a problem by the white elite and their hirelings in the Black misleadership class.
  • Millions Die in Congo While the UN Keeps the Peace
    Contributing Editor Ann Garrison
    Millions Die in Congo While the UN Keeps the Peace
    04 Dec 2019
    The UN Peacekeeping Mission has been in Congo for 20 years without protecting the people or the peace.
  • Boss Tweet’s Blitzkrieg 
    BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
    Boss Tweet’s Blitzkrieg 
    04 Dec 2019
    I wake in a cold sweat, scrambling for the internet— What salvoes were let loose while we slept?  How badly Bombed is the safety net? What rights are left?
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us