Tuesday, October 16, 2012

James Wolcott Versus Welfare Academia

Talent.  Versus.  Not so much.  The comments are especially precious; nothing like a bunch of rock-ribbed right-wing Democrats to hate on anyone smarter or more liberal than they are!

What Wolcott understands, I think, is that the mission of Cockburn and Counterpunch is to expand the range of facts, ideas, and opinions beyond the very narrow scope of establishment media, including entry-level establishment media.  Now, I would like to believe that the sub-50th percentile graduates and professors and their sycophants also understand that, but I'm really not hopeful, because the brain-dead snark makes me think they don't get it.  The readership of Counterpunch are expected to know how to employ scepticism and evaluate the thing they read and hear--unlike, well, you get it--and would in no way infer that living or dead Alex Cockburn fully agreed with everything he read or printed while working his entire life.  I'm sure the LG&M folks are fine guys, even if their academic careers aren't quite what they'd hoped for, but their soft-headedness and jealousy of people who have been more wildly successful and influential is tiresome.  And don't forget, who did some important work regarding the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam's military intervention?  Why Noam Chomsky, of course, bringing some understanding to the people not so firmly entrenched in intellectual mediocrity about the role of military interventions vs. humanitarian interventions.  The LG&M fools hate and fear, and fail to understand,  Chomsky at least as much as Cockburn's ghost.  Go figure...

No comments:

Post a Comment