[OPE-L] Petty egoisms and pitiful absurdities

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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