From: GERALD LEVY (gerald_a_levy@msn.com)
Date: Thu Feb 14 2008 - 08:06:54 EST
> The question to me was whether his communication style is really "effective" with respect to foreign relations, or not. I personally have some > doubts about that, and therefore I think of a good international relations PR unit, i.e. a bunch of professionals who really know what they are > doing in that field, as a support. Many painful experiences taught me that that a good communication policy is a policy which really works, i.e. > it obtains the desired results (and not something different), and thus proves itself. I'm not an expert (insofar as you can be) but I understand the > value of it. Hi Jurriaan: There have been many socialists who could not be described as having a "strident" communication style: Allende, Ortega, Arafat, Ho Chi Minh, and even Mao Tse-Tung come to mind. And what good did it do them? The practical point here, based on many historical experiences, is that if an imperialist power identifies someone or a group as an obstacle that must be removed then they will try various methods, including demonizing, trashing, and libeling their enemies. Similarly, we know that they are not beyond manufacturing "evidence": i.e. knowingly fabricating false and malicious claims. And it's not just governments - the media, educational institutions, religious institutions, celebrities, etc. all very frequently join in these campaigns of dis-information and demonization. The bottom line here is that if Chavez were to "moderate" his communication style *it would not matter one iota*: US imperialism would *still* do everything possible to take him out. Indeed, they - very predictably - would use his less strident speaking style against him saying that he was trying to trick people: "a wolf in sheep's' clothing". The audience for his recent speech was not the US government or the UN. He was speaking directly to the Venezuelan people - his talk was on "Allo Presidente", a weekly program in which he has a national public dialogue with the Venezuelan people (i.e. it is a "talk show" where people call up and ask questions). He is savvy enough to know that _whatever_ he says will be distorted by the reactionary media, so he's not speaking to or for them. He speaks, instead, to his base: the poor and oppressed of Venezuela and the world. I heard Chavez speak at Cooper Union a couple of years ago, where he famously made a quip about Bush being the devil (something to the effect that one can smell sulphur around him). The so-called "liberal" media thrashed him for it, but his audience *loved* it. Lastly, I want to say that "communication style" is a *tactical* question and socialists from afar should be very hesitant to make this sort of tactical criticism. In solidarity, Jerry _______________________________________________ ope mailing list ope@lists.csuchico.edu https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope
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