Friday, August 12, 2011

Lil 'Ol Me?

I seem to have become for Enough what Rachel Maddow is for Newt Gingrich and gay terrorists are to the Family Research Council: a bogeyman to rally supporters around.

I don't mind. But I wish they'd spend less energy attacking me and more energy trying to figure out what to do about the million or so people they've helped immiserate.

Here's the first part of a letter they're sending around:


Enough Project
Dear Friend,
This past week, we've seen a flurry of debate surrounding the impact of the conflict minerals provision in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on the people of eastern Congo. Voices critical of conflict minerals reform provisions have seized on a New York Times opinion piece by David Aronson, which largely blames the current plight of eastern Congo’s local communities on Enough Project, Congress, and others.
I know you’ve been fired up by this intense debate and want to take action now.

4 comments:

  1. Enough isn't attacking you - they are correcting the misinformation you posted in the NY Times!!! It was YOU who did the attacking and were irresponsible.

    It would have served everyone well, including the Congolese, if you had consulted the Enough Project before submitting such a sensationalist piece!!!

    You would find the extremely hard-working, loving folks at Enough to have their hearts and minds with the people of the Congo and all disenfranchised people.

    Peter Rosenblum (Professor at Columbia and friend of JS) on Jason Stearns' blog...

    Jason went pretty easy on David Aronson. Many of us have struggled during field research, when the most recent grievance overwhelms all others. It makes sense for the people we encounter, but long-time Congo watchers presumably have a sense of context. David Aronson seems to have lost all perspective. The Eastern Congo was not 'devastated' in the last six months and certainly not by the US Congress.

    http://www.law.columbia.edu/null?&layout=profpopup&main.ctrl=contactmgr.detail&main.view=profiles.detail&global.id=8515

    http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2011/08/thoughts-about-conflict-minerals.html

    I hope you will do better next time!

    Sincerely, Nell Okie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enough isn't attacking you - they are correcting the misinformation you posted in the NY Times!!! It was YOU who did the attacking and were irresponsible.

    It would have served everyone well, including the Congolese, if you had consulted the Enough Project before submitting such a sensationalist piece!!!

    You would find the extremely hard-working, loving folks at Enough to have their hearts and minds with the people of the Congo and all disenfranchised people.

    Peter Rosenblum (Professor at Columbia and friend of JS) on Jason Stearns' blog...

    Jason went pretty easy on David Aronson. Many of us have struggled during field research, when the most recent grievance overwhelms all others. It makes sense for the people we encounter, but long-time Congo watchers presumably have a sense of context. David Aronson seems to have lost all perspective. The Eastern Congo was not 'devastated' in the last six months and certainly not by the US Congress.

    http://www.law.columbia.edu/null?&layout=profpopup&main.ctrl=contactmgr.detail&main.view=profiles.detail&global.id=8515

    http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2011/08/thoughts-about-conflict-minerals.html

    I hope you will do better next time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's a great debate, but I'd say you're more what Bill Easterly is for....well pretty much everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Welcome to my world, David. Just remember, as long as the facts are on your side, you're fine.

    ReplyDelete