urban75 in The New Republic

[D]

"Sidelines," which appears currently in the online edition (and in the forthcoming print edition) of The New Republic, the magazine where I'm employed as a reporter-researcher, contains repeated references to and quotations from the urban75 bulletin boards.

I have expressed my criticism to the editor (also the author of the piece) regarding what I view in one instance as a misinterpretation of a statement made on urban75 and in other instances as untenable or assumptive claims upon which the argument is based.

I encourage you to read and respond to the article as you see appropriate.

A number of other threads on the boards right now include some interesting comments that engage with the issues raised in the article.

It is my hope that this will catalyse valuable discussion. I know it has triggered significant reflection and introspection on my part.

 

[Nemo]

That is without a doubt one of the most biased articles I have ever read. Out of probably 1000 posts on the subject, they have chosen the few which joked about it. Anyone who is mentioned here should definately make a complaint. They are casting the movement in a totally unrealistic and heartless light. No one condoned the attack here but they just have to find a scapegoat.

Pax vobiscum, Nemo

 

[Callavera]

This guy Peter Beinart is either themost biased and sinister tabloid jockey there is or he's even dumber than Derek. This is class A tabloid "let's kill all lefties" rant and I am fuming tight now!

D: why don't you get that guy on the boards or chat so we can find out if he's really an evil fuckhead or just a dumb and desperate journo that needed some sort of story to write b4 the deadline.

 

[kained&able]

Didn't all those poeple mentioned in the article get total and utter abuse for saying what they said. Also i can't rember anyone saying looting anyone. Must of missed it.

But i have to agree with the writer. Stopping a democratic protest is obviously the way to do things. If democrtic avenues are closed off then people are more likely to use force to get what they want. This would mean he has more stuff things to write about. Nice one.

"Without free criticism and potent opposition democracy dies" Gahndi

Dave

 

[hipipol]

Please everyone write to him.
This guy needs to have it explained that selectively pulling two words out of two pages is not journalism.

 

[Steve]

(1) Whats the point in writing to him, what beneficial effect would it have.

(2) Any publicity is to an extent good publicity, if any of the readers of that piece are genuinely interested they'll visit U75 on the web and get the real picture.

(3) These are public boards, if anyone posts daft or nasty remarks here then they may be reported, whether out of context or not

(4) The article is junk, it just more "my country right or wrong" stuff.

(5) Anti globalisation protests in the US wouild not exactly be a good idea right now.

 

[inflatable jesus]

Seems like a very tasteless point scoring exercise to me. There is no real connection between the Attacks on DC and NY and anti-globalisation protests and to make that connection for this purpose is pretty low .

However I think the strategy for the IMF protest has got to be changed if it goes ahead at all.

IJ

[ 13 September 2001: Message edited by: inflatable jesus ]

 

[Voley]

Ludicrous article. D - massive respect to you for promoting it here and tackling this guy on his selective and out-of-context quotes.

 

[brew]

Do those mentioned in the article get a right of reply?

 

[RubyToogood]

Indeed, NVP, huge respect to D.

 

[Buddy Bradley]

D - do you have a direct email address for Peter Beinart, or do we have to write to online@tnr.com?

The "looting anyone" comment was made by zeedoodles, and (while a little tasteless) was not talking about New York, it was referring to the alleged evacuation of Canary Wharf.

 

[orangeade]

what a stinking heap of crap that is! Vague links, unsubstantiable claims, wilful misinterpretation, moral triumphalism, jeus.....what a stinker.

 

[freethepeeps]

Oi Beinart

I might as well address you here as you feel free to visit these boards and then misrepresent us here:

Answer me this :

If Washington needs time to recover, why is it still pressing ahead with the IMF/WB meetings? Those are an affront to many people and you know that! What happened on Tuesday was tragic for the innocent involved, but it does not change how we feel about US Imperialist Agencies. Why not postpone the summit until Washington feels ready to deal with it.

Bush bleats on about an attack on "Democracy and Freedom" and then you suggest BANNING demonstrations and declare internal dissent immoral. We sit here watching the US and UK military gearing up for the mother of all battles against suspects! Yes, that is all they are. I always thought that "christians" and "democrats" were in favour of the rule of law. And you tell us we have no right to voice our opinions about this unless we offer our support!

You say America is at war - With whom? Can a small group of people declare war on behalf of their nation. Clearly, if like Bush they are the Administration, they can - but if they are not in power, how can they do that? Is this not an International Crime rather than an act of war. But we understand that your attachment to the truth is tenuous, we have seen that in your treatment of this board. Should we consider that an "Act of war"?

 

[William of Walworth]

Peter Beinart is editor of TNR.

He is also (on this article's showing, anyway) a Grade A hard-right fuckwit. The sort of person who thinks any Brit daring to criticise Macdonalds is automatically a communist.

Editor -- representations for defamation? Considering how badly unrepresentative comments were wrenched out of context, I would thought a strong letter (at least) might be in order.

Mike?

W of W

 

[macca]

My response to this twat:

To dipict the Urban75 website as a hovel of sarcasm and illthinking, is an unjust and unsubstantiated misuse of quotations and creative argument. I am horrified to think that this media for creative argument and freedom of expresion is being not only abused but manipulated to speak ill of those that use it. You, in your petty strive for recognition and determination to cause uproar, have highlighted the whoredom that infests the smallminded, dictatorship that you perpetuate. I am dissapointed at you lack of dignity

Hope I didn't spell anything wrong, I was mad when I wrote it.

 

[D]

Letters to the editor may be directed to tnr@aol.com.

[ 14 September 2001: Message edited by: D ]

 

[han]

Peter Beinhart is taking a few remarks totally out of context. The vast majority of postings were ones of shock and abhorrence at what happened on 11th September. To imply that anti-capitalists are somehow justifying what happened is totally inaccurate. It's just that some people understand that America's foreign polices were bound to provoke a reaction sooner or later. And stated that.

 

[editor]

Here's the kind of responses I'm getting as a result:

"In consideration of the terrible recent events that have occurred in NewYork and Washington, D.C. and the state of shock and anger that US citizens are in. I would suggest that all upcoming demonstrations scheduled in your site be suspended for at least two weeks if not 1 month. This show of support and solidarity with the issue at hand would, I believe, go far in promoting support for your various causes (e.g. anti-globalization, enviromental, etc.) with those you could call the "silent majority" who do not normally participate in your protests. Your fellow countrymen (and women) would remember.
Thank you for your consideration,"

to which I responded:

"I feel I should personally respond to your comments, presumably made after reading the dreadful piece of right- wing, sloppy and mischievous journalism on newrepublic.com. The author has cherry picked facts and presented the parts he wants to completely misrepresent everything that urban75 stands for.

Might I suggest you read the reaction to the piece here: http://www.urban75.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=004461

And I see no reason to stop posting up links to events like this one tomorrow:

"15th DEMONSTRATE NOW FOR A PEACEFUL RESPONSE
Meet: steps of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London"

Do you?"

 

[Nemo]

One would almost think you schedualed all the demos yourself Mike. Some people seem not to realise that you only publicise them, not organise them for the most part.

Pax vobiscum, Nemo

 

[editor]

I've just written this to the author:

It was with some despair that I read your piece on the World Trade Centre disaster at http://www.thenewrepublic.com/092401/trb092401.html

I am saddened that you chose the lowest common denominator of journalism, presenting out-of-context, cherry picked quotes, while ignoring the hundreds of posts condemning this dreadful atrocity out of hand. Rarely have I seen such misrepresentation.

There are some very serious issues that this appalling carnage has brought to the surface, with many focusing on America's relationship with the world, in particular its attitude towards the Middle East. Had you bothered to read some of the well argued and intelligent debate on this subject instead of selectively pulling out juicy titbits for the cheap titillation of your readers, I may have had a little more respect for the piece, which contained some interesting points.

As it is, I'm now getting outraged mails from people who - thanks to you - have got entirely the wrong idea of both urban75 and its readers.

I note there's no means for people to interact with your comments on your site, so I shall invite you to contribute to the thread discussing your piece here: http://www.urban75.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=004461

I do hope you're the kind of person that has the decency to defend what he writes.

(sent to online@tnr.com)

[ 14 September 2001: Message edited by: editor ]

 

[RubyToogood]

There was a very polite visitor in the chatroom last night who claimed to have read the article, which, according to him, stated that there had been cheering in the U75 chatroom as the news broke of the attack. For the record, I was in the chatroom for part of the time and heard nothing but utter horror at these events. There is in fact nothing in the article which says this anyway.

 

[Katherine Toorcana]

Here's the deal. 'The New Republic' is a well-known, very conservative magazine which caters only to right-wing views. I'm not surprised that they chose to seek out urban75 because <when picked apart>, comments on this site provide fodder for promotion of their conservative trash. You all can write to those asses all you want but I can tell you, its only going to give them more ammunition against anti-globization believers.

 

[Hermine]

Edited to add, why don't we send this trash a link to the thread so he can see what we think of his PROFOUNDLY ANTI-AMERICAN smear job.

Joseph McCarthy wannabes like this are a greater threat to American democracy than any terrorist could ever be. I'm surprised he didn't quote exclusively from Perdedor.

For Beinhart(I'll probably email him when I'm calmer. That article really pissed me off):
I know what you are, Beinhart. My family has run into your kind before. My mother didn't know her own last name until she was in her mid to late twenties because scum like you managed to get power in the country and drive my family into hiding for their beliefs, showing their contempt for the freedoms that are the true meaning of America.
I am an American and deeply patriotic in the sense that our founding fathers truly intended, a sense that you couldn't even begin to understand. I believe that social action is necessary to protect the rights that are the soul of my country. My loyalty is, in the words of one of our founding fathers to "My country right or wrong. When right to be kept right, when wrong to be put right."
I have not missed an election since I turned 18. My senator, my representatives, and my President (despite my questions about his validity) hear from me at least once a month. I read the Constitution word for word when I was eight. I consider all of these things to be my civic duty.
I DARE you to call me anti-American and I dare you to call my friends here on this board anti-American. The only anti-American we have here is a troll who has apparently given up because he got tired of getting flamed to a crisp every time he posted.
As for my feelings on the WTO, I oppose it, not because it is American but because it is a threat to the national sovreignty of America and the civil liberties of Americans, as it is to every other nation in the world.
My loyalty is to America, not to General Motors. That is something an enemy of the Constitution like you can never understand. Both Alexander Hamilton and Alexis De Toqueville warned about the accumulation of governmental power in the hands of major industrialists. I will continue to oppose that accumulation, not out of anti-Americanism, but rather, as in the words of Lincoln's Gettysburg address: "That government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth"
As for my feelings on the attacks, of course I was appalled. My uncle was flying to LA that day; thank the Gods he was not on one of the hijacked planes. Killing civilians is never acceptable. However, I fear that this is exactly what my government will do. I do not see how more senseless death can improve America's security or unseat the Taliban. I have actually written my senator advocating some sort of intervention in Afghanistan after they started forcing the Hindu people living there to wear yellow clothing (something you probably either didn't notice or thought was just fine because your government didn't tell you they were evil. It was a couple months ago. Look it up, moron.). However, a ground invasion is clearly futile and I am expecting either a typical American air war, which will only solidify the Taliban's power, or the use of nuclear weapons all across a nation, or even a region, an unprecedented atrocity. Regardless, more civilians will die from the bombing and we will accomplish nothing if we do this.
Perhaps this is unpatriotic in your eyes. In my eyes, if my government is taking a foolish and destructive course of action, it is my duty as a citizen to tell them so.

[ 14 September 2001: Message edited by: Hermine ]

 

[frogwoman]

Spot on Hermine, respect.

 

[Derek]

We should email the editor some of the comments made on this board when Iraq and Serbia were bombed back in april 1999 and state that we condemn all acts of terrorism including state terrorism like the bombing of Iraq and Serbia as well as Tuesdays terrorist attack, and also state our total codemnation for any planned retalitary air strikes against Afghanistan.

 

[bruise]

go Hermine

compared to the dick-brain

This nation is now at war. And in such an environment, domestic political dissent is immoral without a prior statement of national solidarity, a choosing of sides.

with his nazi-slave conception of belonging to a particular country.

(I have to ask, what family, why driven into hiding?)

 

[Hermine]

My grandparents were Communists during the McCarthy era and they wouldn't give names. They were persecuted for thoughtcrimes, and for refusing to give names of other thought criminals, and it looks like this bastard wants to do this to Americans again.
America is founded on freedom. Fascism can never serve freedom at any time, peace or war.
Also, let's try to get these bastards to post a link to our response in the article. Of course, I doubt that anti-Constitutionalists like these care about equal time any more than they do the First Amendment.

[ 14 September 2001: Message edited by: Hermine ]

 

[Hermine]

Mailed 'em this. It's still pretty nasty, but at least it's a bit calmer than my previous post.
http://www.tnr.com/092401/trb092401.html
I was apalled by Peter Beinart's opportunism at the WTC disaster. He used the tragic death of thousands of civilians to push his own reprehensible brand of latter-day McCarthyism. People like him are a far greater threat to democracy than any terrorist could be.
I am a deeply patriotic American. I also disagree with many policies of the current regime. But my loyalty is to America, to Americans, and to the Constitution, all of which Beinhart would trample in the interests of General Motors and George W. Bush. The American government should be guided by American citizens. I feel that my country needs me now more than ever, not as a mindless number, but as an independent thinker, able to judge rationally what is best for her country and pass on that reccommendation to her government.
As for his journalism, he found two quotes, one of which was a criticism of U.S. foreign policy, much like many that I have emailed to my senators (they hear from me regularly. I consider it a civic duty. I don't expect you to understand that), and the other was a flippant comment about an event in London. There was no mention of the many expressions of sympathy and concern posted on the board.
Beinart knows full well that the board is not anti-American, nor am I, nor are any of my friends on there. There is one anti-American troll who gets flamed to a crisp whenever he shows up there. I'm surprised he didn't quote him too. This reactionary hack has gone out of his way to misrepresent a wonderful, international community, a forum for reasoned discussion of world events, such as any American citizen who truly understands his/her civic duty as a member of a well-informed electorate would be glad to have available.
If you wish to even pretend to be real journalists, you will post a link to our response to this disgusting smear job at http://www.urban75.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=004461. However, I doubt that you have any more interest in equal time than you have in the First Amendment.

 

[brew]

fair play Hermine!

 

[Blagsta]

spot on