Editor of the Critic: Communist?

A certain letter to the editor from a giant purple people eater spliced with a fairy in last week's edition of the Critic caused a minor uproar in production, generated a rift between co-workers and divided readers. Never before (at least in my estimation) has two seemingly harmless sentences caused such a heated debate of what is and what isn't proper to publish.

The editor of the Critic, Eric Blaisdell, has recently made it a goal of his to never even consider censoring what his writers choose to write, what his readers choose to read, or what those inclined to write a letter to the editor choose to send in. These newfound revelations, as well as a strong penchant to wear red and the sudden appearance of a photograph of Kim Jong Il that made it on to the wall of the Critic office have caused some to wonder: is it possible that the editor of the Critic is a communist?

Unlike what the United States generally considers communism, Blaisdell believes in not putting a filter on what the people say.

In June of 1928 James P. Cannon - former national secretary of the Communist League of America - wrote a letter to the political committee who was postponing the publication of his own paper, the Daily Worker due to the content of the stories, the small amount of "experienced" writers, and the supposed lack of direction and support. "Our paper… should not be confined to the groove of any established ‘newspaper' standard. We should not fear to blaze a new trail in form as well as in substance and to make a pattern of our own. We must have more features in the paper, especially light and interesting features, as a balance to the heavier material."

Though Blaisdell was not familiar with Cannon, his newspaper, or the excerpt above from "James P. Cannon and the Early Years of American Communism," his beliefs in what the Critic is, what it should be, and the direction the paper is going in are strong - echoing to a certain extent Cannon's sentiments.

"The paper (the Critic) is for the people. It is the voice of the people. It is made by the people," Blaisdell said. "Everybody has the chance to say what they want to say. Everyone who has an opinion is welcome to that opinion. I'm not going to put my own bias, my own views into what gets published because this is a student paper for the students."

The changes the Critic will be going through will be "subtle at first," according to Blaisdell. "It will gain momentum. A story here and there. Get people thinking about what's best for the people, not so much what's best for the individual."

 Understanding that Blaisdell's views are not directly associated with communism, this still has not explained the photograph of Kim Jong Il on the wall.

"Well," Blaisdell said while glancing at the photo. "He seems to be doing pretty well."

Blaisdell believes that "Kim Jong Il has nothing but North Korea's best interests at heart. He's a role model to try to base your life around if you want to be successful and spread your word efficiently and effectively." Blaisdell added that "there shouldn't be dictators or tyrants. No leaders; no anarchy. For the people."

When asked if he was concerned that people may believe that he is communist by taking on these views and suddenly hanging photos of Kim Jong Il on the walls of the Critic office, he answered "I don't see the downfall."

So is it really possible that a red shirt wearing, Kim Jong Il worshipping editor of a college newspaper is in fact a communist? Perhaps. Or maybe the Critic will just publish anything.