[NLA] Discussion: Should the NCL make Andy Hartman's... (very brief)

[PDRNRI@aol.com]

All:


I've enjoyed this discussion.  I think this is a very important debate.  Two 
quick thoughts:

The strategy being discussed here is indeed bold and decisive, and sends a 
strong message.  Enacting it, however, would create a void in our support 
system that we must be prepared to fill.  I am not in favor of cutting out an 
established government support program, with its many resources, unless we 
are ready to enact a clear and immediate plan for building an alternative.  

The proposal we're discussing might be useful as a final strategy, but I 
think in rushing toward it we risk writing off the potential of a movement we 
haven't yet fully developed -- a strong, aggressive grassroots push in demand 
of support for our field.  It seems to me that by moving directly to a last 
resort we admit an inability to advocate strongly enough to shape our field 
while maintaining conditions that enable it.  We need to exhaust the 
possibility of aggressive political action before moving to the proposed 
action. I recognize that the proposal is itself a decisive political action, 
but it's one that will sever a viable connection. 

David Hayes
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