Reply #17: Those railing against Kerry are betraying the "margins of society"

[IrateCitizen]

There was a letter written to The Nation recently after the passing of Sen. Paul Simon of IL, by a former aide of his. In the letter, the aide describes driving through Washington late one evening with the Senator, when they passed a homeless man sleeping on the street.

Sen. Simon's face turned into a frown, and he pointed at the homeless man and said angrily, "THAT will always be the legacy of the Reagan administration."

I can think of no other story that better demonstrates the very REAL and MEANINGFUL differences for those dwelling on the "margins of society" between two candidates like Bush and Kerry this year. Chomsky obviously recognizes this in this instance too -- even though those differences will be seen as slight for those of us lucky enough to NOT be on the margins.

The thing that completely blows me away are those who simultaneously chide Chomsky for being a bourgoise academic, completely out of touch with the REAL needs of the least in society -- while they go about advocating the same kind of political miscalculations that will actually bring this plague down upon those on whose behalf they claim to advocate. I mean, it's almost Orwellian!