>As for personal experiences of the Soviet system. They may be genuine. But
>they are beside the point. I have listened to the heartfelt accounts of
>whites who feel wronged by the "liberal establishment" who use "reverse
>racism" to prevent them from holding a job they were qualified for. I have
>listened to an impassioned and articulate neo-Nazi talk tell me personal
>stories of black violence. But I don't let the emotion of these personal
>accounts distract me from the bigger picture. These are "horror stories."
>They are used to prevent socialized medicine by insurance companies. They
>are used to justify the death penalty. They are a tried and true method of
>persuasion--the testimonial. I believe that such accounts may be racists
>and reactionary in the same way I believe that personal accounts of
>suffering at the hands of Soviet authorities may be used for
>anti-communist purposes. It is the function of the testimonial that I
>expose here. It is not an attempt to diminish personal suffering. It is to
>dismiss the relevance of this to the discussion at hand. You can continue
>to distort this aspect of my argument, but it should be clear to anybody
>who uses reason to debate where reality lies. And I think you are smart
>enough to figure this out, too.
>
>Although (perhaps unfortunately) the wsn list has an audience of 20, it
would still be a good thing if the above paragraph written by Austin became
famous. It basically says that the victims of the Gulag deserved what they
got (like racists and neo-nazis). God save us from those who love mankind!
>
>