Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00353)

At 07:06 PM 5/5/96 -0400, you wrote:
>>>>>>>cut<<<<<<<
>	I guess since I was named as one of the "gang" I
>should say something, though I've hesitated to respond up
>to now - presuming (hoping) the remark was simply a jest
>(though in really bad taste). But a bit of history might be
>illuminating. The "Gang of Four" never really had power.
>Chiang Ching (Mao's wife) did effectively lead the
>"Cultural Revolution", and others of the gang seperately
>had various sorts of power, but it was only after Mao's
>death when Chiang Chang and the three others made a play
>for power - just a month after Mao's death she claimed
>the chairmanship for herself, and the positions of Premier
>and head of the National People's Congress for two of the
>others (Chang Chun-chiao and Wang). They were immediately
>taken from the meeting to prison.
>	The interesting thing is that they based their
>claims on scraps of paper they said Mao had written - and
>claimed they had the authority to rule based on his
>wishes. If there is any analog to the "Gang of Four" in
>Theosophical circles, it would probably not be four people
>who a century after HPB's death make a little ruckus on a
>small Internet list, but those who *did* claim the right to
>lead, and have imposed their wills on the TS ever since. In
>the TS the "Gang of Four" was not taken immediately to
>prison, they were successful in their siezure of power.
>Fact is, Rahda and Algeo are behaving a *lot* more like
>the members of the Chinese Gang of Four actually behaved
>than the four on this list are - during the Cultural
>Revolution she dominated Chinese Culture ... imposing one
>particular view on the "masses" (which she claimed were
>undisciplined idiots), siezing control over newspapers and
>magazines (what person attempting to impose power doesn't
>sieze control over the avenues of communication), and
>determining what was to be studied in schools - appearing
>often with Kang Sheng (the chief of the secret police),
>whose platform she adopted for her speeches ("Do you want
>to study the Communique and the Sixteen-Point Directive?
>Do you want to study them again and again? Do you want to
>learn them thoroughly? Do you want to understand them?").
>This does sound uncomfortably like some activity in
>Theosophical circles - but its not the activity of those
>named the "Gang of Four" - none of whom have any power to
>speak of, nor would ever be permitted to (its unlikely any
>of us will be published through the TPH, nor see
>articles published in the AT ...); most of us have been
>(at best) effectively marginalized by the powers that be,
>and certainly don't have any more power on this list than
>anyone else does ... and that's probably only because the
>nature of the medium is such that those with institutional
>power can't shut us up - though they can (and do) make sure
>our voices and views stay corralled within the confines of
>this small list ... and certainly are not given a hearing
>through the larger avenues of information dissemination
>(none of *my* views on the "intentions" in the Three Objects
>are likely to be mailed to the membership, now are they?).
>	Probably none of us fear, as you say, being "overthrown
>and falling into disfavor", because none of us has ever
>had the throne, or even been "favored" in the first place.
>	We are not analogous to the Gang of Four - rather,
>if anything, to the people who put the Gang on trial,
>charging them with the attempt to totally control Theosophical
>"culture", and with using institutional force to do so.
>	And it is to *this* group that your words might more
>profitably be addressed: Enjoy your power while you have it,
>for all things come to an end.
>						-JRC
>
>John:

That is wonderful! I thank you very much your deep knowledged of the subject
has made it perfectly clear what the real situation on this list is. It is a
honour to be slandered with a person like you for company. Keep in there
buddy, I'm getting all sorts of private messages that tell me we five are
not alone, and that there are some very nice folks out there who agree with
what we've been saying. When I made it clear I was thinking of removing
myself from this list, they all came on asking me to stay on as they found
what I had to say valuable and helpful. That goes double for you from me.
You are the only member of the "five" who can really deal with some of the
folks who coin epithets like "Gang of Four".

Alexis d.