I am curious why you would repudiate the idea of "class warfare," I would say that class warfare has never been more out in the open. It's one of those things like "envy" that people bring up to justify the inability of the ridiculously wealthy to embrace the notion of "enough."
I reject a lot of the absurdities of what is now called "th…
I am curious why you would repudiate the idea of "class warfare," I would say that class warfare has never been more out in the open. It's one of those things like "envy" that people bring up to justify the inability of the ridiculously wealthy to embrace the notion of "enough."
I reject a lot of the absurdities of what is now called "the left" and I lose sleep worrying that the Democrats are going to make pronouns and bathrooms the foundation of their policy proposals.
Edit: Amazon just recommended "The Bell Curve to me. Just now. Is that what I get for recommending The Mismeasure of Man to you? ¡Wai! The perversity of the universe.
It's not that I don't understand the disdain for the obscenely wealthy. At one time I was the poor white trash living in a trailer park at the edge of the poor side of town. My concern is its purpose and goal.
Without regard to perceived justification for it, its purpose, both in its original state and now is the destruction of the existing system and replacement with another which may or may not prove to be improvement. Not incremental improvement, destruction and replacement.
You wish the destruction of America? I understand that America has not lived up to the lofty ideals at it's inception, but I do think that we are moving in that direction and that is a good thing.
When governments fall the replacement is often violent and harsh. I worked with a Vietnamese man whose father was sent to a reeducation camp after the fall of the South. He returned after three months missing an arm and an eyeball. He tried to flee thru Pol Pots Cambodia and failed. He finally made it as ones of the boat people I know personally. I understand that that was more about vengeance than communism, but it too often accompanies overthrow.
I just can't get on board with the BITFD crowd. That requires violence. I've seen that with my own eyes and don't want it.
Dave! I'm pointing out Lennon's weird lyric! Tell me you aren't serious! Why does Lennon say "in" as in "you can count me in" in both recordings of the song?
I was commenting on the weirdness of that, not endorsing destruction. Whatever my ideology, I have said here many times that my politics is based foremost on the natural kingdom and secondly that people have a right to reasonably stable and predictable lives. That is irreconcilable with lust for destruction.
And when I came here in 1998 as a tourist I saw elderly horrors, but they are all dead now. I will never forget the man with his face burned off.
Chris, I initially put a "like" on your comment and then I noticed the (in) and had a WTF? moment. I thought that was your modification and was shocked since it seemed out of character. I just googled for the lyrics. I never noticed the "(in)". I just put my hearing aids in and went to YouTube and watched the video. I see him move his lips but I still cannot hear the word "in". What a gutless POS he was to so clearly sing an emphasized out and inaudibly say in. I assume that the () around in indicates that it is inaudible in the written lyrics. After all these years you've just changed my thoughts about that song.
I apologize for thinking (in astonished wonderment) that you could have such a thought. My frequent use of () in writing is not for the purpose it appears to be for in that song. Mia culpa.
Don’t forget, Lennon wrote that song and it’s a broadside against the pretentious beret-wearing “revolutionaries" of the time. Putting on airs, talking about the proletariat, smoking imported French cigarettes; Lennon clearly disdained the shit out of them, the whole song does. I wouldn’t read too much into the one word, maybe it was just a dig at those who couldn’t decide.
Lennon took a lot of heat from the "revolutionary" left for the song and spent much of his life advocating for social change but always doubtful about violent means for achieving it. Remember the full page WAR IS OVER Xmas message in the New York Times?
I definitely don't think that extra word was him promoting destruction. Whatever it meant, we may never know (unless it's explained in some interview somewhere).
There are lots of strong feelings about that war. I have quite a few Vietnamese friends. We never discuss the war with the exception of the man who told me about his father and his escape after the war. Not the war, but the price of losing.
I don't know if you've watched the PBS Burns-Novick "The Vietnam War" 10 episode, 15 hour documentary. I needed a box of tissues to watch it, very emotional. I found hearing the thoughts of my old enemies worthwhile but agree with my veteran friends that he was too easy on them. I mention it because none of my Vietnamese friends would watch it. I'll never know what they think of me for my participation. I've been called a murderer, but never by a Vietnamese person. Since you did not participate in that war have they discussed it with you?
One of the times I put myself in counseling over my general ill fit in this world I had an epiphany that I will not repeat here, words coming out of my own mouth that rotated my world to a new axial tilt. I spent the rest of the day aglow, everything seemed saturated with meaning (but with no LSD). I went and had lunch at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant and read an English language Vietnamese paper that included a poem whose penultimate line was
Vietnam is not a war.
On most other days I might have just gone "huh," but on this day it shot right through me. Now I live here.
Honestly living here one would never know it ever happened. I've seen variety show reenactments and not a dry eye in the house among those old enough to remember; a mother hurriedly handing her baby over to someone on a yacht headed out to a rescue ship.
I've been to a village that Cambodians invaded in 1980 and slaughtered nearly everyone, a monument of human bone, a tiny monk pointed to the temple floor, "they beheaded my father right here."
But I have never seen a squint of resentment for being American.
Like I said, in 1998 there were still disfigured and maimed people, but they are all gone now. I saw one ticket seller with no hands, too young to have been in the war, and wondered if a land mine had gotten him.
I am curious why you would repudiate the idea of "class warfare," I would say that class warfare has never been more out in the open. It's one of those things like "envy" that people bring up to justify the inability of the ridiculously wealthy to embrace the notion of "enough."
I reject a lot of the absurdities of what is now called "the left" and I lose sleep worrying that the Democrats are going to make pronouns and bathrooms the foundation of their policy proposals.
Edit: Amazon just recommended "The Bell Curve to me. Just now. Is that what I get for recommending The Mismeasure of Man to you? ¡Wai! The perversity of the universe.
It's not that I don't understand the disdain for the obscenely wealthy. At one time I was the poor white trash living in a trailer park at the edge of the poor side of town. My concern is its purpose and goal.
Without regard to perceived justification for it, its purpose, both in its original state and now is the destruction of the existing system and replacement with another which may or may not prove to be improvement. Not incremental improvement, destruction and replacement.
https://youtu.be/BGLGzRXY5Bw
"But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out (in)."
both recordings of the song
You wish the destruction of America? I understand that America has not lived up to the lofty ideals at it's inception, but I do think that we are moving in that direction and that is a good thing.
When governments fall the replacement is often violent and harsh. I worked with a Vietnamese man whose father was sent to a reeducation camp after the fall of the South. He returned after three months missing an arm and an eyeball. He tried to flee thru Pol Pots Cambodia and failed. He finally made it as ones of the boat people I know personally. I understand that that was more about vengeance than communism, but it too often accompanies overthrow.
I just can't get on board with the BITFD crowd. That requires violence. I've seen that with my own eyes and don't want it.
Dave! I'm pointing out Lennon's weird lyric! Tell me you aren't serious! Why does Lennon say "in" as in "you can count me in" in both recordings of the song?
I was commenting on the weirdness of that, not endorsing destruction. Whatever my ideology, I have said here many times that my politics is based foremost on the natural kingdom and secondly that people have a right to reasonably stable and predictable lives. That is irreconcilable with lust for destruction.
And when I came here in 1998 as a tourist I saw elderly horrors, but they are all dead now. I will never forget the man with his face burned off.
Chris, I initially put a "like" on your comment and then I noticed the (in) and had a WTF? moment. I thought that was your modification and was shocked since it seemed out of character. I just googled for the lyrics. I never noticed the "(in)". I just put my hearing aids in and went to YouTube and watched the video. I see him move his lips but I still cannot hear the word "in". What a gutless POS he was to so clearly sing an emphasized out and inaudibly say in. I assume that the () around in indicates that it is inaudible in the written lyrics. After all these years you've just changed my thoughts about that song.
I apologize for thinking (in astonished wonderment) that you could have such a thought. My frequent use of () in writing is not for the purpose it appears to be for in that song. Mia culpa.
Don’t forget, Lennon wrote that song and it’s a broadside against the pretentious beret-wearing “revolutionaries" of the time. Putting on airs, talking about the proletariat, smoking imported French cigarettes; Lennon clearly disdained the shit out of them, the whole song does. I wouldn’t read too much into the one word, maybe it was just a dig at those who couldn’t decide.
Lennon took a lot of heat from the "revolutionary" left for the song and spent much of his life advocating for social change but always doubtful about violent means for achieving it. Remember the full page WAR IS OVER Xmas message in the New York Times?
I definitely don't think that extra word was him promoting destruction. Whatever it meant, we may never know (unless it's explained in some interview somewhere).
That's what I thought the was about until you told me about the word. I guess I'll just give that a pass.
I don't remember the story. Google sent me to this, not a full page ad. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/07/opinion/l-the-war-is-over-107182.html
There are lots of strong feelings about that war. I have quite a few Vietnamese friends. We never discuss the war with the exception of the man who told me about his father and his escape after the war. Not the war, but the price of losing.
I don't know if you've watched the PBS Burns-Novick "The Vietnam War" 10 episode, 15 hour documentary. I needed a box of tissues to watch it, very emotional. I found hearing the thoughts of my old enemies worthwhile but agree with my veteran friends that he was too easy on them. I mention it because none of my Vietnamese friends would watch it. I'll never know what they think of me for my participation. I've been called a murderer, but never by a Vietnamese person. Since you did not participate in that war have they discussed it with you?
One of the times I put myself in counseling over my general ill fit in this world I had an epiphany that I will not repeat here, words coming out of my own mouth that rotated my world to a new axial tilt. I spent the rest of the day aglow, everything seemed saturated with meaning (but with no LSD). I went and had lunch at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant and read an English language Vietnamese paper that included a poem whose penultimate line was
Vietnam is not a war.
On most other days I might have just gone "huh," but on this day it shot right through me. Now I live here.
This is not the NYT but this exact image and words was a full page there. I kept it for years but like so much memorabilia it is long gone
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/politics/images/blog/happy-christmas-war-is-over-blog.jpg
Honestly living here one would never know it ever happened. I've seen variety show reenactments and not a dry eye in the house among those old enough to remember; a mother hurriedly handing her baby over to someone on a yacht headed out to a rescue ship.
I've been to a village that Cambodians invaded in 1980 and slaughtered nearly everyone, a monument of human bone, a tiny monk pointed to the temple floor, "they beheaded my father right here."
But I have never seen a squint of resentment for being American.
Like I said, in 1998 there were still disfigured and maimed people, but they are all gone now. I saw one ticket seller with no hands, too young to have been in the war, and wondered if a land mine had gotten him.
I'm happy to read of their recovery. It actually seems amazing to me.
Mines. I have no words for how much I hate them.
My hearing is awful (tonsillitis) and I’ve always heard that.
No foul, though. Cheers.