Don't make me defend Chavez
By Libby
This is choice.Lance Lee at Postpolitical disses me for a comment I made at The Reaction on Michael's post about Hugo Chavez.
Now if you actually follow his links to my comment, you will see he's done the exact same thing he's accusing me of doing. He smears me to distract attention from my links to Charles Hardy, who has lived for decades in Venezuela and offers an opposing view to Manny.
Since you have to go through some kind of tiresome registration to offer a response at Lance's blog, I'm just going to post my response here. I did not and still do not have any specific knowledge about Manny's background but he is espousing the view of the oligarchy whose organizations are being underwritten to some extent by US interests. [And by the way, as far as I know the funding organization is a GOP front for Bush.]
My remarks were not meant to defend Chavez but merely to point out that there is an alternative view to Manny's that I believe deserves to be heard.
My support for Chavez has softened in the last couple of years and frankly I don't follow the politics there like I used to. I've been focused on Iraq and there's simply not enough time in my day to stay on top of every front. But I met Charles Hardy and a few other Venezuelan journalists at a ten day conference several years ago. They lived through the one day coup in the early 2000s and had a hand in ending it.
Their stories were inspiring. This was truly what democracy looks like. Chavez was elected from a real life grass roots movement; one that bubbled up from the very bottom of their society and took back their government without receiving any funding from monied interests. Whatever Chavez has done wrong, what he did right was deliver on his promise to his people. The truly poor are better off now than they were under the former rule of the oligarchy.
That's why Chavez was elected and why he continues to enjoy the support of the majority of Venezuelans. Hugo's arrogance notwithstanding, I'm not so sure Bolivar wouldn't be proud of what Chavez has accomplished. And I still suggest you read Manny's interview and just as a thought exercise, substitute the word Bush for Chavez and see if it doesn't read like a history of the last six years of the Bush administration.
This is choice.
Libby Spencer (who blogs at Michael’s blog as well as with Manny at The Detroit News), had chimed in with perfunctory criticism of Chavez, weighted with subtle apologies for the purposes of his deeds. In so doing, Libby’s views represent the bad side of the American Left, which I was earlier praising Mr. Stickings’ views at the expense of.
In reading her remarks, notice how she almost immediately turns the attention away from Chavez and Venezuela and onto his critics, seeking to delegitimize them.
Now if you actually follow his links to my comment, you will see he's done the exact same thing he's accusing me of doing. He smears me to distract attention from my links to Charles Hardy, who has lived for decades in Venezuela and offers an opposing view to Manny.
Since you have to go through some kind of tiresome registration to offer a response at Lance's blog, I'm just going to post my response here. I did not and still do not have any specific knowledge about Manny's background but he is espousing the view of the oligarchy whose organizations are being underwritten to some extent by US interests. [And by the way, as far as I know the funding organization is a GOP front for Bush.]
My remarks were not meant to defend Chavez but merely to point out that there is an alternative view to Manny's that I believe deserves to be heard.
My support for Chavez has softened in the last couple of years and frankly I don't follow the politics there like I used to. I've been focused on Iraq and there's simply not enough time in my day to stay on top of every front. But I met Charles Hardy and a few other Venezuelan journalists at a ten day conference several years ago. They lived through the one day coup in the early 2000s and had a hand in ending it.
Their stories were inspiring. This was truly what democracy looks like. Chavez was elected from a real life grass roots movement; one that bubbled up from the very bottom of their society and took back their government without receiving any funding from monied interests. Whatever Chavez has done wrong, what he did right was deliver on his promise to his people. The truly poor are better off now than they were under the former rule of the oligarchy.
That's why Chavez was elected and why he continues to enjoy the support of the majority of Venezuelans. Hugo's arrogance notwithstanding, I'm not so sure Bolivar wouldn't be proud of what Chavez has accomplished. And I still suggest you read Manny's interview and just as a thought exercise, substitute the word Bush for Chavez and see if it doesn't read like a history of the last six years of the Bush administration.
Labels: bloggers, Venezuela, World politics
posted by Libby Spencer at 8:22 PM
1 Comments:
It is really funny how people might thing that in fact Chavez is doing something for MY COUNTRY VENEZUELA, where delinquency has been growing in an alarming way… I am talking about 11,025 Homicides in 2003!!! Don’t even talk about last year quantity of Homicides… I am wonder if Mr. Charles Hardy would like to write a book about the fast growing of delinquency on CHAVEZ PRESIDENCY!!!
Think for one second, what type of people in average is a delinquent, I would say that most of the time is people with low incomes and poor quality of live, ironically that is the People that the President Chavez says He “supports & Helps”, and so I ask myself who the delinquents in VENEZUELA are then???
As of today in Venezuela the word “crime” forms part of the daily conversations where you as an average person cannot have the beautiful dreamed home (even if you have worked your whole life to have it), and if you do… Well, you better have a lot of money because you might be kidnapped. Believed or not that is a fact and even do if you are a medium class or low class person you might be kidnapped as well because EVERYBODY HAVE A PRICE in the actual Venezuelan delinquency Era.
Criminality is so bad lately in Venezuela that you cannot use nice shoes, a nice watch or a nice cell phone (if you want to still alive) although you might have it you can use it very carefully, in private parties, inside your house or relatives homes, and if you go out you better take it all of and better try to have a “low profile life”… That’s the real truth of LIVING IN VENEZUELA …
I respect all comments and opinion although I don’t agree with them, and you know what that’s so beautiful about democracy, been able to express, think and be Govern by Yourself; because the only Cancer and Enemy of the people is the Government that tries to indoctrinate it, shout it up or intimidate it.
This criminality situation that all Venezuelan are living under Chavez Government not only happens in the Metropolitan City CARACAS it is actually happening all over the Country….
Yes, it’s a wonderful CHAVEZ PROJECT of SOCIAL DESTRUCTION!!
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