Dip him in the river that loves water.
This blog entry is inspired by an unwanted discussion I had with a local radical dude at a local coffee shop. This guy was all about protests, vegetarianism, being pro-choice, anti-bush, organic anti-consumerism, and what not. He also had alot of cool pins on his backpack (even though he was my age). Dudes who wear their radicalism on their shoulder always rub me the wrong way. In fact, I find the radical preachy ass lifestyle to be as empty and vacant as the culture it strives so hard to run counter to.
Why should I be more impressed with this moron and his naive moralism than with a pro-Bush business dude and his shallow materialism? Granted the pro-christian, pro-suburb people are far more frightening to me because they actually have power, and our disagreements actually affect my life, but still, does anyone really think this country would function better if women studies majors ran things? I don't mean to be apologetic for mainstream America and republican politics, but given the vanguard of the "enlightened" opposition, I am left disgusted with both. This brings me to my actual point. The problem with the dumb ass protesters is that they have no idea what is to be done to stop whatever disaster they seek to avert...be it economic, environmental, human rights related and so on. All they really have to offer is the fact they care. Wow. They care.
"What do people really want? We say justice, but blush when it is bloody. We say charity but acquiesce when its administration is denied. It is only pity that we demand without fear or qualification, a pity without magnitude and a pity without value. "
I found this written in one of my old notebooks from my army days. I think now I would change the word "people" to "moralists". Anyway I bring this up because it reminds me of something I recently read in Spinoza's (my hero's) work. Check out his much better quote: "Pity in a man who lives under the guidance of reason is in itself bad and useless"
Hell yeah. All that the fashionable radicalism of today has to offer is a support group for people to express their concern and pity. If any rad dude has a policy solution to any of the worlds ills, I'll be glad to hear it. If it sounds good, I'll even support the sweet struggle to see it implemented. Otherwise shut the fuck up, stop "educating" me with your bullshit, educate yourself instead (this means read an entire book instead of an Amnesty International pamphlet), and give some money to poor people while being kind to your fellow man. That way your values and concern may actually amount to something that I could appreciate and I won't have to call you "needle dick" in my blog. Needle dick.
Why should I be more impressed with this moron and his naive moralism than with a pro-Bush business dude and his shallow materialism? Granted the pro-christian, pro-suburb people are far more frightening to me because they actually have power, and our disagreements actually affect my life, but still, does anyone really think this country would function better if women studies majors ran things? I don't mean to be apologetic for mainstream America and republican politics, but given the vanguard of the "enlightened" opposition, I am left disgusted with both. This brings me to my actual point. The problem with the dumb ass protesters is that they have no idea what is to be done to stop whatever disaster they seek to avert...be it economic, environmental, human rights related and so on. All they really have to offer is the fact they care. Wow. They care.
"What do people really want? We say justice, but blush when it is bloody. We say charity but acquiesce when its administration is denied. It is only pity that we demand without fear or qualification, a pity without magnitude and a pity without value. "
I found this written in one of my old notebooks from my army days. I think now I would change the word "people" to "moralists". Anyway I bring this up because it reminds me of something I recently read in Spinoza's (my hero's) work. Check out his much better quote: "Pity in a man who lives under the guidance of reason is in itself bad and useless"
Hell yeah. All that the fashionable radicalism of today has to offer is a support group for people to express their concern and pity. If any rad dude has a policy solution to any of the worlds ills, I'll be glad to hear it. If it sounds good, I'll even support the sweet struggle to see it implemented. Otherwise shut the fuck up, stop "educating" me with your bullshit, educate yourself instead (this means read an entire book instead of an Amnesty International pamphlet), and give some money to poor people while being kind to your fellow man. That way your values and concern may actually amount to something that I could appreciate and I won't have to call you "needle dick" in my blog. Needle dick.
posted by Old Stallion at 12:10 PM
1 Comments:
I concur. What burns me up the most is any event purporting to "raise awareness," usually for something of which everyone is already aware, like AIDS, poverty, racism, or cancer. It's a never-ending loop of awareness-raising that leads to zero progress or any idea, no matter how silly, of how to attack the problem. If they would have spent half the money they gathered to put on ice cream socials, dinner parties, big blank sheets of paper and magic markers, and buttons and gave it to a single, solitary AIDS or cancer patient, they would have done more than any of them will ever do in their lives. I like cake.
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