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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (78171)	2/27/2003 10:44:18 AM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 281500

OK, I'll take the last word. I used to take part in demonstrations myself, I know the difference between real grassroots and paid activism. I dismiss, as not authentic political expression, most of the annual demonstrations against the WTO, the IMF, World Bank, etc., because the people in the demonstrations are paid activists. This is what they do for a living. I recommended Tom Wolfe's 1972 essay, Mau-Mauing the Flackcatchers, because he described a group of paid political activists demonstrating against some bureaucrats, and everybody on all sides knew what the score was. Business as usual. Please note that I am not saying that all activism is paid activism. But, for example, the Saudi government funds some of the anti-war groups that demonstrated. If you knew that some pro-war protesters were funded by, say, the Republican party, but hiding the connection, and pretending to be genuine grassroots, wouldn't that bother you? You saw Wag the Dog. It's a funny movie, with elements of the truth of politics, especially here in DC.