Nick Cohen again
Apologies for another Nick Cohen post, but I finally realised exactly what it is about him recently that has been so disreputable.It was this post, called 'Face up to the Truth'. It starts with,
"The instinctive response of a significant portion of the rich world's intelligentsia to the murder of innocents on 11 September was anything but robust" and a few examples later (one a complete fantasy) it goes on to say, "In these bleak days, it's worth remembering what was said after September 2001.", and gives more examples of liberal-lefties trying to explain Al Qaeda terrorism.
The reason this is so bad is Cohen is clearly attempting to create two sides, the liberal-left who excuse or explain anything, and the robust, Decent Left, which stick to their principles and fight fascism, which of course is the side that he is on. But what he fails to remind his readers is that in those 'bleak days' he was clearly on the side he is so viciously attacking. Here's the classic column, which sounds eerily similar, right down to the blame America (he even seems to say that the Kyoto Treaty is a crucial fight against suicide bombers.
That’s why finding out what Cohen said in 2001 is not merely an amusing game. Cohen himself is very keen to dig up quotes from others of that period to attack (even to the point of getting it wrong, as with Stockhausen). He should admit he was saying the same things, at the least.
Even worse than that, Cohen has travelled so far, so fast, that he now attacks people who never held anything like as silly a views as Cohen did in September/October 2001, and of course still don't. He's gone from A to C, and now attacks B for not being there with him.
posted by Matthew @ 8/08/2005 07:07:00 PM
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