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28 October

Perhaps this is just what ageing activists do when the fire starts to die, but I've been getting more and more troubled by some of the disturbing tendencies amongst parts of the radical movement in this country. Some of this I wrote about in relation to the recent European Social Forum. The real, and potentially scary, problem for me is the tendency amongst many of the more unthinking lefites to adopt a stupid 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' pose. It usually translates as: "anyone who opposes America/capitalism/war etc etc, or even just claims to, has my support - or at least I will overlook their excesses."

It's already led to very dodgy upsurges of opinion: support for Muslim organisations who see homosexuality as sinful, for instance. Anti-Jewish remarks. Refusal to condemn suicide bombers who kill civilians and even, in the latest instance, an apparent refusal by the asinine Stop the War Coalition to condemn the sort of Islamofascists who kidnap people like Ken Bigley and Margaret Hassan, and then behead them.

These are extremes, but I know a number of intelligent, thoughtful radicals who are still reluctant to publicly condemn extreme Islam in particular, for fear of 'offending' ethnic minorities or 'splitting' radical politics. To which I reply: anyone offended by a defence of womens' rights, homosexual equality and peaceful resistance rather than violence shouldn't be on our side anyway. Should they?

This path leads to dark places where the left has been before, and should have learned by now not to approach again. Here are two articles I have read today which touch on this, and which I recommend highly.

One, by a friend of mine, Lucy Michaels, is a personal account of the dangers of rising anti-semitism amongst people who call themselves 'progressive.' It's very well-written and argued.

The other, by Nick Cohen, tackles the Stop the War Coalition in particular, but also the left in general, on this issue and is largely, I think, spot on. You can read it here (though if the New Statesman tries to charge you to read it on their site it's probably cheaper just to buy the mag instead!)

See if you agree. Even if you don't, I hope you agree that it is worth discussing.

Posted by paul at October 28, 2004 03:05 PM

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