From: ope-admin@ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu
Date: Mon Sep 04 2006 - 13:11:38 EDT
The following was rejected by the server and Stavros asked me to post it for him. / In solidarity, Jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: <smavro@uom.gr> To: "OPE-L" <OPE-L@sus.csuchico.edu> Cc: <dlaibman@scienceandsociety.com> Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 9:29 AM Subject: Petty egoisms and pitiful absurdities Dear comrades, this is adressed to the people that participate in OPE-L and are interested in its declared aims and not to a specific person (Rakesh Bhandari, RB) who I think has other motives. It is a belated message because I was on vacations and, afterwards, I did not find any reason to answer RB's nonsensical accusations. However, the whole affair seems to have erupted to something more general with RB continuing to smear persons and reputations (to the extent that he can) and having somehow flooded OPE-L with messages full of personal hate and devoid of any theoretical significance. If OPE-L is turned into a lunatic's playground it is a pity and it is a reason why serious people are driven away. My interest on Grossman is a long-term project having started some years ago, involving several references and publications in Greek and in English, conferences, supervision of several theses etc. Anyone familar with academic practice knows where and how to search for a subject, references etc. I do not read RB's messages for obvious reasons (incoherence, lack of proper references, flaming and personal attacks, verbosity etc.). Because of the current affair I read the particular thread on Grossman and I found that it contained nothing important to justify the time I spent. If RB thinks that he has something significant to contribute the road is open: write a formal paper and publish it. I think this affair highlights a growing danger for the OPE-L. Although it started as a closed list focusing on serious and comradely debate it has - sometimes in the past and certainly in the current affair - degenarated into an internet forum where dawdlers spent their time and try to boost their ego usually by accusing other people so as to attract attention. Of course such a thing does not contribute to the Left and Marxism but rather reproduces the worst forms of petty-bourgeois mentalities. I think that an end has to be put to this or else the OPE-L will become another lame duck. I think that those that do not abide by the aims and the rules of contact of the list do not have a place in it. Having said so, I feel that I do have to apologize for not having actively participated in OPE-L all these years. I would be more that willing to discuss any substantive issue arising from the Trigg paper and Grossman's contribution in general on the list (of course with anyone except RB). In solidarity Stavros Mavroudeas
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