Letters
Shining Path Exchange In recent months, readers of this magazine have been treated to an increasingly common spectacle on the Left-published letters which seem to "cross the line" between...
...This lack of discussion can lead readers to be skeptical about the balance of letters included for publication...
...We are part of a society which is quick to answer the question, "What do you know...
...I am glad that NACLA does not adhere to so-called "canons of scholarly objectivity," which would preclude the publication of this impassioned exchange...
...Impatience, self-indulgent hostility, and meanness, to the extent that they find space within our work, betray our claims to represent an alternative to the competitive and violent ruling ethic which has trampled on Latin American interests for far too long...
...I would assume that in the course of putting together a magazine, editors must frequently make decisions about the suitability of articles and letters for publication...
...Such considerations should be informed by a broader and open discussion of how NACLA can best serve the interests of its readership...
...Passion manifest as frustration is hardly surprising...
...Many of us came of age during the 1960s, when the women's movement began promoting the slogan, "the personal is political...
...Shining Path Exchange In recent months, readers of this magazine have been treated to an increasingly common spectacle on the Left-published letters which seem to "cross the line" between legitimate, passionate statements of political beliefs and virtual assassinations of character...
...Today, "the personal" is too frequently expressed as righteous moralism...
...The letter writers themselves are engaging difficult issues in a particularly polarized moment in Western history...
...The exchange of letters began with the publication of Carol Andreas' letter (July/August 1993), in which she takes issue with NACLA author Virginia Vargas' depiction of Marfa Elena Moyano and explains why Shining Path felt obliged to assassinate the grassroots women's leader...
...but which hesitates to respond to the more important and process-oriented question, "What have you learned...
...Robert Zuber World Order Models Project New York, NY...
...We tend to speak as if these lines are objectively determined when in fact, they are often quite flexible and rarely the subject of public discussion...
...This tendency has seeped into debates among those of us on the Left...
...They constantly draw lines on the basis of "appropriateness...
...After a brief reply by Vargas, and a letter from Peter Waterman criticizing Shining Path's world view and methods, the exchange ended with the publication of Robin Kirk's enraged personal attack on Andreas, in which Kirk extends the logic of Andreas' letter to its most extreme conclusions...
...I am left to wonder why NACLA decided to publish Andreas' letter in the first place, and, given that initial decision, if the publication of Kirk's response served any reasonable purpose...
...I strongly urge the editors to carefully consider the criteria by which letters such as Andreas' and Kirk's merit the forum of such a respected magazine as NACLA Report on the Americas...
...Why, for example, did NACLA decide that one letter merited three replies...
...Too often, rather than taking on the more challenging task of critiquing ideas and the ways ideas impact community hisContinued on page 54 LETTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 tory, we choose the easier path of attacking the person who espouses the idea...
...However, letters akin to Andreas' denunciation of a woman unable to defend herself, and the harsh moral indignation of Kirk's reply, can too easily mute healthy argument, create enemies, and reinforce hardened positions...
...Readers may well assume that the letters section Readers are invited to address letters to The Editors, NACLA Report on the Americas, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 454, New York, NY 10115 is a mere extension of editorial policy, as it seems to be in, for instance, the New York Times...
Vol. 27 • January 1994 • No. 4
