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i remember back when i was a trot (more of convenience in hindsight), many years ago, still young & less cynical but more politically rigid than now, there was an older fella, a comrade, who i liked very much. he could be vicious with political opponents, sharp, funny. top man.
anyway there was a disagreement over something or other within this group, the EU if memory serves me right but it was a long time ago. i went in hard on somebody, something i'd watched this fella i looked up to do before now. afterwards he gently scolded me.
i didn't understand why, i knew politically he agreed with me, and my view was - still is - that robust debate sharpens politics, makes it consistent and considered and solid. irons out contradictions and makes you look into yourself.
he agreed with this but asked me if i thought the person I'd verbally gone in studs up on was on the same side as me or not. now my blood was up so it took me a few minutes to reach a conclusion, but i eventually said yeah or course they are.
well then, he said. save it for your enemies, tories, bosses, scabs etc. you can disagree, even over stuff you think is important, without writing the other side off as sell outs or whatever.
it isn't about letting stuff slide, he said, it's never about that, you challenge, you argue, that's good. but if you think you are on the same side then it's the manner you do it in and it's knowing when to stop. i'm paraphrasing a bit but this is the jist of it anyway.
tl;dr - if you think somebody is on the other side then cunt them up, if you think you're on the same side then... don't.
this memory came back to me today, can't think why. anyway we all have to make our own judgements about who we think is on our side and who isn't, and when stuff is beyond the pale. not for me to tell others where that line is.
anyway this fella is dead now, and all these years later i would disagree with him on loads, not least that i absolutely would not consider myself a trotskyist (he was a true believer but relatively normal despite this) or any stripe of leninist.
but he was a lovely, kind, sound man who gave his life to try to bring about something better, never had money or much comfort as a result, and - quite rarely - he did it in good humour without becoming a weirdo. not many old trots can say that. his name was andrew.
make of this what you will i suppose. i'm not one to judge, my base instinct remains cunting people off when it comes to politics, i have to try and keep myself in check.
