T. Tenente's Ezine Comments - Brought to you by JoeUserhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/rss/comments© 2006 - 2008 Stardock Corporation. All rights reserved.Taboo's Junk Trunk: A Storage Dump for Taboo's Random Literary and Cultural Blathermentsen-us2008-07-06T06:15:332008-07-06T06:15:33http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.htmlStardock Rss Generator v1.0, Andrew Powellinfo@stardock.comapowell@stardock.comcactoblastahttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261i guess i'm saying that identities take shape when you're at "home," but they become more crisp when they contrast with those in a certain social circle - such as the JU forum.

Sure. We define ourselves in opposition to others. When we're at home that definition is very fuzzy around the edges because the Other is fuzzy around the edges. When we're amongst the Other it becomes a very clear definition as the relative importance of that definition becomes more stark from our perspective.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33cactoblasta on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?AgentSmith512http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Now I'm stuck on room 31:thisishowleonardodavinciusedtowritebtwtheansweryouarelookingforisherebutitismissinginsomekindofwaysowhatstheanswer?WTF!!!

I tried putting 'nothing' as the answer and it says "No, even less than that!!"

What do you mean by the 'mirror technique'? I already did that, or is there another one? How many total mirrorings are needed ]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33AgentSmith512 on The Maddening P4X Riddlecactoblastahttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261granted, i don't know anything about aust. economics or politics; however, it sounds like your "self" identifies closely with your economic class . . .

Not exactly - most with a similar background would be a fair way to left of me - but it is a major factor. Money allows for greater opportunity and specialisation, which leads to a greater number of narrow, fairly discrete identities. To take it to an extreme, compare the variety of identities I can be at any one time to that of a remote rural aboriginal child. The number of identities that can influence me is greater, but that doesn't mean that I'm rule by more than one perspective at any one time. I'll still - whether consciously or subconsciously - gather the most relevant example and declare that as my identity in the situation.

but even when we have the choice to choose other, we rarely are allowed to simply sign our name - we are never aligning with our OWN unique identity, are we? not socially, at least.


In Australia it's illegal to require someone to fill in their ethnicity, disabilities or any other 'big-ticket' factor - you can usually get away with a name, date of birth and address. Other questions might be asked, but you can nearly always skip them.

In any case your name aligns you with a cultural identity just as sure as ticking ethnicity boxes does. John is probably Anglo, or at least from an Anglo culture, a Nguyen is probably Vietnamese or half-Vietnamese, Chan is probably Chinese, etc.

all of this is to say: we are given choices to choose from.


Sure, but do you want things to do be different? If people could do and be whatever they desired, they would choose the kind of world we live in - after all, they did choose it.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33cactoblasta on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?WIllythemailboyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33WIllythemailboy on The Maddening P4X RiddleAgentSmith512http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33AgentSmith512 on The Maddening P4X RiddleAgentSmith512http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552
thisishowleonardodavinciusedtowritebtw
theansweryouarelookingforisherebutitismissinginsomekindofway
sowhatstheanswer?

WTF!!!]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33AgentSmith512 on The Maddening P4X Riddle_dreamer_http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552if you want another tough puzzle like that, try this one...

http://deathball.net/notpron/

it's terribly challenging!

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33_dreamer_ on The Maddening P4X RiddleAgentSmith512http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314552Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33AgentSmith512 on The Maddening P4X RiddleCharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261what sort of culture would puerto rico need to sacrifice? we're basically talking about an essential, perhaps indescribable, sense of identity, right? if puerto rico became the 51st state, would puerto rican identity change? part this, part that?

Well for starters English would become the national language. School education would change from the current system (which is in part based on Puerto Rican culture) to the US system. Things such as restaurants and street vendors will be subjected to the US standards which are much more stricter and even Tv and radio could change as US law becomes the new rule. In essence everything that makes Puerto Rico what it is today would little by little be replaced with an American culrture that is already taking over very slowly.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?CharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261When do immigrants become full citizens? When they fill out the paperwork, pay their various fees, and take the vows of citizenship.

I couldnt agree with you more.

My beloved Other is still a subject of the British Crown, and will remain so regardless of how long He lives here until He takes the above steps.

He was born in England, and that makes it so regardless of his racial makeup, which is of the mongrel variety, Black Irish, Egyptian, and god-knows-what-else. This may have pissed Him off as a young 'un, especially since they were Catholics, but His ethnic and religious background never aligned His sympathies with the IRA, nor should it have, because as badly as the Irish Catholics were being treated in Northern Ireland, it was His own countrymen and neighbors whose slaughter he witnessed on a regular basis.


The mere fact that he has spent so much money and has gone to hell and back for our beloved Gov't, it's a shame, a smack in the face and a total disregard and disrespect for those who have done and are doing it the right way to allow people who entered illegally to simply become legal just because.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?CharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261interesting - may i ask a political question? i seem to remember hearing that political alignment in puerto rico fell into four basic parties - and at least one of the major issues was that of defining the relationship with the united states. that seems like a crucial part of this identification process. do you have a take on that? maybe you don't feel like your identity is determined by that debate, but a lot of people seem to take it seriously, don't they?

Bare in mind I am hardly educated in the inner workings of the US political system so I know even less about the Puerto Rico political system. Now, it is my understanding that there are at least 3 political parties, not sure about the 4th one but have heard about it. This is my understanding of these political parties.

Partido Popular Democratico (PPD) - This party believes in basically keeping Puerto Rico the way it is, the best of both worlds. Not being part of the US yet having all the benefits and title (American) like every other American does. They want Puerto Rico to maintain it's culture while still adding and enjoying the US culture.

Partido Nuevo Prograsista (PNP) - This party believes Puerto Rico should become State 51 of the US. Become party of the US to take 100% full benefits of this joining. They believe Puerto rico should be more like the US, possible even willing to sacrifice some of what make this Island so unique (the culture) for the benefit of it's people.

Partido Independentista Puertoriqueño (PIP) - This party believes Puerto Rico should cut all ties relating to being part of the US. It wants Puerto Rico to be completely independent, kinda like Cuba. And maintain 100% of it's culture.

This is how I understand these parties. I may not have them down completely and might even be a bit wrong in my understanding, but it's what I picked up during my 8 years living there as a teen. I am a bit torn between the first 2 parties. I like the idea of Puerto Rico retaining it's culture while still benefiting from the US (PPD), but in the long run this will eventually become an annoyance as Americans are changing the look on how US money is being spent irresponsibly and Puerto Rico could get caught in the middle of this debate (in a way it already is), therefor I also tend to agree with the idea of Puerto Rico becoming the 51 State. But considering I don't live there, I am not deep into figuring out where exactly I stand, but my family does and so I do think about it. Worse case scenario, they'll move over here before all hell breaks lose.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?little-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261
My beloved Other is still a subject of the British Crown, and will remain so regardless of how long He lives here until He takes the above steps.

He was born in England, and that makes it so regardless of his racial makeup, which is of the mongrel variety, Black Irish, Egyptian, and god-knows-what-else. This may have pissed Him off as a young 'un, especially since they were Catholics, but His ethnic and religious background never aligned His sympathies with the IRA, nor should it have, because as badly as the Irish Catholics were being treated in Northern Ireland, it was His own countrymen and neighbors whose slaughter he witnessed on a regular basis.

In that regard, I think nationality transcends race, or at least it should.

As free agents, (in most of the western world, at least) we are able to CHOOSE our allegiences, we aren't tightly bound by race and class and circumstances of our birth. We certainly aren't legally bound by these conventions, and anyone who freely chooses to immigrate here has a moral imperative, then, to consider themselves fully American once those criteria are met, regardless of their cultural, religious, or racial past.

If you aren't willing to do that, you come here as little more than a parasite.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?CharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261i'd never heard the word "ame-rican" before (not surprising, considering you made it up) and i thought it was pretty clever.

Yea, I kinda stumbled onto that one.

the rest of it was serious. i was wondering if you ever feel like your puerto rican culture comes into conflict with your US culture. do you always feel like an "ame-rican" or do you sometimes feel split?


Well, not really. See the only difference I can see between someone born and raised in the US and someone born and raised in Puerto Rico is the language. But then Spanish is becoming very common in the US and English is becoming very common in Puerto Rico. Over there, the lifestyle is almost the same, fast food, movies, sports, cars, house and even TV shows. They just are not so accustomed of seeing cars with different license plates, if you get what I mean. Only people who travel by plane or boat are outsiders, not like here where you can't always tell who's from here and who isn't since all the states (except for a few) are connected with not restrictions.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?cactoblastahttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261True - everybody is part of several narratives. but those narratives conflict with each other all the time. you say, "usually only one label is dominant on any single issue," but i think "one label" is dominant in the most cut-n-dry situations. i mean, think about it. for example, think about when you're voting. you have to really distill all of those narrative down to an essence, when you're sorting out issues (or you could simply half-punch a chad and move on, i guess).

Not necessarily - my identity as a cynical Australian tertiary-educated public servant of mostly Angloceltic roots from a traditional family doesn't have any real impact on my politics. It's nearly always my personal views of the integrity and courage of the candidate that sways my votes, not the appeal of people who think the same as I do. I see that approach as a result of my status as a lapsed Catholic.

People tend to choose which identity/identities are most relevant in each situation. There may be a conflict, but only if they have a natural tendency towards indecision. But I haven't seen much evidence to suggest those who straddle more identities than most are particularly indecisive, so I don't think it's identity conflicts itself that make for difficulties.

- immigration . . . when do legal immigrants become "full" citizens? when do we stop discussing how "they" are stealing "our" jobs?


As someone who deals with this on a daily basis through work, I don't have much trouble in saying that it's as soon as they receive their citizenship. And they never steal our jobs - the idea is the most absurd kind of kneejerk reaction. If it was 'our' job we would be doing it.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33cactoblasta on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?CharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Ame-Rican . . . never heard that before, charles. i wonder whether you ever feel a conflict, on the level of day-to-day living, when you're explaining things to teachers, students, your kids, your friends . . . .

Not sure what you are trying to say. Care to elaborate? Not sure if yo were being funny or serious.

I just made that up, never actually noticed it before. Thought it was a bit funny since we have a word for an American Puerto Rican in Spanish, Ameriqueño which is American and Puertoriqueño together.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?CharlesCShttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33CharlesCS on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?foreverserenityhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261LOL!  Great article and some interesting points!  A white person don't have to lobby to be black or Hispanic, they are already many in the equation, it just depends on what they identify themselve as.  But there we go again, what do you identify with?  And the conversation goes on and on and on....etc., etc...

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33foreverserenity on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?cactoblastahttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33cactoblasta on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?Dr Guyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Unless you get to choose - can a black person lobby to be white? Is it that simple? If so, we should stop telling Michael Jackson jokes.

Can a white person lobby to be black? Hispanic?]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314261Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Dr Guy on What's Your Problem, White-Liberal-Jewish-Galician-American Boy?Dr Guyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314029

And thanks for the mention. We aim to please. ]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314029http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/314029Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Dr Guy on The Conservative Blog BumpMarcihttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/97586http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/97586http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/97586Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Marci on Pioneering Moon MountainSari (Bloom) Shumanhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820
It's Sari Bloom (now Shuman) from OSRUI. I, like Ben--who I remember from Shorashim, found your blog a while ago and have neglected to respond until now.

I think of Janna often and sometimes "Google" her name just to see who received the most recent Janna Sugar Memorial Scholarship at Glenbrook North High School, or if others have remembered her in ways which I was unaware, like in a Memory bench at our Junior high.

I read your blog and cried. You remember Janna in a way that is so different from Scholarships and Memory benches. Your words struck me with such a bolt that I cannot describe. Maybe it's because I knew you when yours and Janna's relationship was growing at OSRUI or maybe because I just miss Janna sometimes. For whatever reason, it meant a lot to me to read your entry.

Josh, after all these years to be reconnected with you via the internet with Janna as our link is telling. She made such an impact on so many lives and memories of times spent with her are still so poiginant to me. Yet, there is no way that her essence can be captured by my words. It helps to know that others are still in touch with how they felt about Janna.

You can find me again at saribb@yahoo.com if you want to touch base. If not, that's fine too.

All my best,
Sari

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Sari (Bloom) Shuman on In Memoryxtinehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137 I liked this.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33xtine on The Book of Dwindling RulesGenital Carbunclehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/100137Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Genital Carbuncle on The Book of Dwindling RulesBen Cutterhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820
I found your blog pretty much by chance. Someone I work with told me that a friend of hers had been killed in an accident this weekend, hit by a car while walking in NYC, and, as always, I thought only of Janna. To this day, almost 12 years later now, it still hits me like it was yesterday. I went to Poland and Israel with Janna in 1992, and if memory serves, I know who you are.

It's hard to believe, this far down the line, that I'm still as dumbstruck by Janna's death as I am. It's consoling, in a way I don't think I could ever have imagined, to read what you wrote. I don't want to go on and on here, because I could and because I don't know how I feel about sharing this with whomever might be reading. But I cannot be silent, either.

I spoke with her last about a week before she left for England, maybe two weeks. I was a Freshman at Vassar, and she was still figuring out where to go to college. We talked, as always, and said goodbye. When my call came, on Sunday April 10 at 9 or so at night, it was like someone had torn me to shreds from the inside out. But I'm not writing to share pain, although I'm happy to do so.

There are things I am compelled to tell you. The first is that I, too, have a picture. Of Janna standing with an Israeli from our trip. She is deep tan and smiling at me, a knowing smile that she always seemed to wear, full of the joy of the moment. I keep it near. The second...I was the one participant in the trip that summer (Shoreshim) from California. I didn't know a soul from among the 100 or so teens on the trip. I got sick in Poland...really sick. It was gross. My fever was so high that I was delirious for most of a day. When I came to, though, covered as I was in vomit and god knows what else, Janna was sitting there, in a chair next to my bed, with a cool, damp washcloth, a bottle of water and a box of saltines. 17-year-olds don't do that for someone they've barely even met. They just don't. But Janna did. I don't know what she might have done in life, what she might have become, but I know that she would have been Great. A great person, scholar, poet, whatever. Finally, April. April. I have, as I like to say, Kaddish issues. I hate the damn thing. And yet, I stand for it whenever I'm in shul, for Janna. So I commemorate her yahrtzeit in my own way. There are songs which remind me of her, so I drive around and listen to them. "Blister in the Sun"..."Classic Girl"...some others.

Anyway, I have more to say and don't know that I can right now. Thank you for your post. That may seem like a strange response, but thank you.

If you'd like, email me at benjamin_cutter@yahoo.com
]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/96820Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Ben Cutter on In Memorylittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
my interest in postmodernism is still kicking, and racial issues are always relevant.


Look for an advanced lesson (or lecture, if you will) on postmodernism on Simon's blog sometime this weekend. He honestly has neither the time or energy to engage in serious discussion during the work week.

Oh wait. He's not even "passingly familiar" with the subject. Never mind.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteDr Guyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
thanks for reading the entire post, nebraskawoman. on the way back up the page on your way out you might want to delve a little into emperor's responses, to at least get a glimpse of where i was coming from.

HOw about starting anew, and then inviting her in.  And the rest of us.  Just hone it and ask emp to assist if he wants, otherwise just comment, not pontificate.

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Dr Guy on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteUBoBhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758 That's mighty white of ya. (irony intentional) ]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33UBoB on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758 Seems like the only dialogue you're interested in is "lets mock LW" kingbee.

Have at it.

Reclaim that lost ground.

You go, guy.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteNebraskawomanhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758crikey, you're an asshole, icehole.Before that it seemed like an interesting debate.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Nebraskawoman on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758And no one, including that poor colored fellow surrounded by the equivilant of a JU lynch mob asked for your help in that regard

sarcasm? sarcasm fails to support a claim of opening a dialogue to which contributions are discouraged.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
And no one, including that poor colored fellow surrounded by the equivilant of a JU lynch mob asked for your help in that regard."


Obviously, ya'all missed the sarcasm in this statement too.

Forget it.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteDr Guyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
2) sorry to put you in the uncomfortable position of having to agree with dr guy.

I represent that remark!

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Dr Guy on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
? there seemed to be some debatable ground last time i checked--i dont know if i would go so far as to call it middle ground--but at least there was some room for interesting discussions. wasnt there?


i'm in total agreement with both drguy (jeez luiz ) and ubob. this is how ground is reclaimed.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
In other words, while my original article was indeed sarcastic, it opened a dialogue where there was some hope of understanding being incubated, and you ruined it with the same tired finger-pointing and blame game that I was using to illustrate that sarcasm.

And no one, including that poor colored fellow surrounded by the equivilant of a JU lynch mob asked for your help in that regard.


the last statement provides far more damning proof of the innacuracy of your first statement than anything else i could say.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
My paternal grandparents were slaves to the coal mines of eastern Kentucky, so where's MY affirmative action, hmm


apparently your concept of what it is to be a slave is a bit blurry if you see any equivalency whatsoever between your grandparents' situation and that imposed upon africans brought here in chains as property to be sold and owned in perpetuity.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
so i have about 23 bucks before i buy some printer paper. can i buy the rights to your short film? or i can work for film


save your money. consider this a full transfer of any rights i may have once the dw griffith estate is finished suing me.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteUBoBhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
Let's get back to it........you were saying?

]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33UBoB on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteDr Guyhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758 Taboo, you had a great article, but it seems to be deteriorating into a he said she said diatribe. Perhaps we can restart this fresh looking at another aspect of it and try again.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Dr Guy on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
first of all, none of these are simple facts, they are nuances of truth expressed in your emotional style of writing;


Are you being deliberately obtuse or just annoying, TT? Of COURSE they werent simple facts, nor were they even "nuances of truth" as you'd love to believe.

Ever hear of sarcasm? There's a slight difference between irony, sarcasm, and condescention, and perhaps you've been away from JU for too long to remember which style I prefer.

That you chose to respond to me as if I were utterly sincere, only speaking my own "truth" was condescending in itself, but swooping in to 'rescue' Jermayne was the icing on that cake.

you asked him to exhibit some of the empathy he required of you, but come on, LW! he's the only black guy in the middle of an unbridled conservative slugfest, and there wasn't much in the way of empathy in your article.)


I sure did, and you know what, TT? He stood and delivered quite nicely all by himself, without your super-hero-white-dude-here-to-save-the-poor-negro-so-I-can-feel-good-about-myself act.

Certainly I take no issue with you weighing in on the opposite side of the argument, but what frosted my ass was the fact that we were 40+ comments into a decent discussion and not once had anyone resorted to the old "yeah yeah you white folks raped the Indians buffalos, crucified peaceful Muslims, and produced Hitler from your gene-pool in ADDITION to enslaving the Africans, wild and proud and free" bullshit until YOU stepped in.

In other words, while my original article was indeed sarcastic, it opened a dialogue where there was some hope of understanding being incubated, and you ruined it with the same tired finger-pointing and blame game that I was using to illustrate that sarcasm.

And no one, including that poor colored fellow surrounded by the equivilant of a JU lynch mob asked for your help in that regard.

Did you find him so lacking in intelligence and sensitivity, so devoid of articulate and coherent expression that you felt the need to raise the very issues that I had bitched about in the article itself as always being thrown in white people's faces when a discussion of race takes place?

Jermayne was cool about it, he wisely avoided doing that, and focused on the more immediate problem, rather than continuing the brow-beating over past wrongs that you so gleefully reminded us all of, even though I had already done so in my original post.

Sheesh. You really must think I'm a total moron.

that doesnt change the fact that the black culture has been forcibly transplanted into our own culture.


DeR! The fact can't BE changed, TT, only our future perceptions of it. Another obvious fact you forget is that it was their ancestors that were forcibly transplanted, not Jermayne himself and his modern day peers.

You might as well say I was forcibly transplanted here because my Irish ancestors fled the potato famine and damnit, I never ASKED to be born here. My paternal grandparents were slaves to the coal mines of eastern Kentucky, so where's MY affirmative action, hmm?

and by the way, when you criticized me for vague language


I did no such thing, and I also refuse to be held responsible for the comments that other people made on the thread in question. I also reject your insinuation that I myself should have jumped to Jermayne's defense. I asked people to keep it civil, that's all I felt was necessary, and I never once assumed the patronizing position that Jermayne was unable to craft his own defense.

As I said, he stood and delivered, and more power to him.

So did you, but unfortunately the load you delivered was just that, a load of the same old crap.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758TbT I take offense at the "where is the discussion remark"

Ahh, MM, dontcha know, ol' TT here is such an advanced thinker, is so far ahead of the rest of us, that he even finds the comments of a PhD "fuzzy and irrelevant."]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteModeratemanhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758 TbT I take offense at the "where is the discussion remark" I am open to your thoughts and have always remained civilized and respectfull when answering you.

MM]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Moderateman on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
the only reason i presumed to define his personal blog as neo-nazi propaganda" is because he came on to my site to spout it.


I see nothing nazi-like in what he posted here, TT, and to be perfectly honest, the man is an old-school liberal, as in liberal by the English definition, as in liberal before American leftists co-opted and corrupted the term itself.

the problem with "what it's like to be white" is not so much the article but the weight of all of the responses it received


I get it now. You write an exceedingly condescending response on my thread, (repeating it here in case anyone missed it) not because of anything I myself had to say about the matter but due to the "weight of all the responses it received" and then call my Husband a neo-nazi even though you readily admit you know nothing of him nor have you ever read his blog? What's up with that, TT?

my position on the subject of "who has a hard life?" is that we all have hard lives. shit is going to happen, and often it is going to happen to white people. also, sometimes the shit that falls on black people is not going to be white people shit, it's just going to be shit.


Again you leave me puzzled, as that was the EXACT point I was making on the thread that prompted this response from you. (ie: white people get fired from jobs, turned down for credit, and all that crap just as often as blacks do, and when blacks experience these things it's not necessarily due to the actions of some white racist who is out to get them. The only difference is that many Blacks can and do use whites (or white society, if you prefer) as a scapegoat when misfortune befalls them, and whites do not have that luxury.)

It seems to me, then, that we agree on my main point, so why you felt the need to make a mockery of it is beyond my "uneducated" comprehension. Perhaps you'd care to explain it to me some more? I'm a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to things like that.

As far as whether or not His response is philosophically "appropriate" I'll leave that to the two of you to work out, because I wouldn't know the difference between a postmodernist and a frog, to be honest, nor do I have any burning desire to find out. If I did, I have a teacher right here who would be more than happy to drive me to distraction with these sorts of discussions.

And yes, TT, He really did teach the subject, He really did spend much of his previous life (that being His life in the UK, prior to our meeting) in the hallowed halls of academia, and He really does hold several advanced degrees in Political Philosophy.

So...is He right? Since I have no idea as to the level of your education in this particular field, and He doesn't seem much impressed by it Himself, if I had to bet a dollar on who's right and who's wrong in this discussion, I'd put my buck on my Husband.

I realize that degrees do not make one infallible, but I'm quite sure everything He said was relevant, even if you yourself don't grasp the relevance of His commentary.

I do know He has more to say on the matter, if (and that's a big IF) I can persuade Him to spend any more of His time on it here. And who knows, if the two of you can get past the hostilities, you just might learn something if He does.

Right now the man is at work, so at best, don't expect any sort of elaboration from Him until much later this evening.

With that, I bid you good day. I am not qualified to participate in this discussion, so I'll go back to something more my speed, like poop stories and soup recipes.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteFurry Canaryhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90753 'twinges of concious ...'
But mainly unconscious, right MM? ]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90753http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90753Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33Furry Canary on The Liberal Playbook's Missing Reference Pagelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
but keep the profanity isolated to your own neo-nazi propaganda-spewing site


It's obvious that you've never visited his blogsite, TT. He rarely even writes about politics there, much less "neo-nazi propaganda" so perhaps you ought to take a look before presuming to define his personal blog.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
huh?


huh?


huh?


huh?


'nuff said on that, hehehe.

I think you'll find he has taught at college level?


He did, for 6 years, while researching his PhD in Political Philosophy.

And while I have neither the intention nor education required to involve myself in this particular argument, I do wish that if kingbee has further pithy remarks to make about something I've written he'd do it on the thread where the comment he refers to was originally made, rather than drop it like an irrelevant turd in the midst of an entirely different article.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitedrmilerhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
crikey, you're an asshole, icehole.

let's (temporarily) assume that you have at least a low-level awareness of what you're talking about:


I'd be very careful on this. I may not agree with what Simon has to say, but I think you'll find he has taught at college level? Please correct me if I'm wrong Simon. And "if" he has then he more than likely has more than a low-level awareness]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33drmiler on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitekingbeehttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758 on 2nd thought, perhaps a film would be more effective.

working title: 'afterbirth of a nation--the blacklash'.

synopsis: america finds itself again besieged by colored tricksters determined to milk the huge white teat for all its worth. outnumbered 8 to 1, they plot to goad & beguile our fair-skinned majority population (descendants of those hearty pioneers who purchased the country at highly-inflated prices and have the deeds n titles to prove it!) by orchestrating decades of intentional victimization. this insidious strategy succeeds when all but the most steadfast voluntarily relinguish their right to celebrate a collective heritage while wearing hoods and gowns rather than endure the torment of the worst 'n' word of all: nazi.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33kingbee on The Contextual Blindness of Being WhiteEmperorofIceCreamhttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
again, it's difficult to know where to begin. How about at the beginning, with communication as punishment. Because that's the motive behind the production of this effusion of pseudo-intellectual vomitus. You intended to chastise my wife for having the gall to stand up and say what it's no longer considered polite to say - that the narrative of the White man has as much validity, as narrative, as any other. Which is why the body of what you posted is phrased in terms of mockery, and lessons handed down from on high to the ignorant masses.

You should be careful what you mock, TT. It takes a very wise person to not reveal the extent of his folly in what he chooses to laugh at. And that, in this case, is simply another measure of your failure.

I'm going to assume, since you label yourself a postmodern, that you have read Jean-Francois Lyotard, in particular his seminal text of the postmodern movement The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1979), as well as his Libidinal Economy (1974). But then again perhaps I shouldn't since the entire thrust of those books is towards a statement such as 'no discourse is privileged to pass judgment on any other' - which is the very point you fail at every level to appreciate.

im just too tired to take responsibility . . .


Then remain asleep. Who asked you to take responsibility for anything? And what are you too tired to take responsibility for? Learning to comprehend a discourse you claim to understand, perhaps? On the basis of what we've discussed so far I'd say you were certainly too tired to do that. Or perhaps it was simply too difficult. Over-reaching oneself is very tiring after all.

But what was it you thought you were being asked to take responsibility for? Educating the ignorant? Illuminating the unenlightened? Saving the whale? Patronising incompetent wannabe that you are, you fail even to realise the first and most glaring consequence of postmodernism as a movement of thought: that a) there is nothing for which we can be held responsible for (since narative is just that and no more, stories about the world, not real events with real consequences) and b) that there is no one to take responsibility since every social actor is no more than an unwitting participant in an on-going fiction.

In the hands of an actual postmodern this can lead to the realization that irony and laughter can serve to return us to a 'moral' (as opposed to moral) universe, and a politics of civic equity founded on a real grasp of the inability of any narrative to explain the way the world is.

But you suffer from a peculiarly American disease(irrespective of whether you are American or not): chronic iron-y deficiency.

And yet, little hero that you are, and despite your avowed weariness, take responsibility is just what you do.

You take on the responsibility of showing us (everyone other than yourself) all the WICKED AND HORRIBLE AND EVIL AND BAD AND NASTY SHIT THAT HAPPENS IN THE WORLD ALL THE FUCKIN TIME, MAN.

Genocide, Imperial expansion, racial conflict, social marginalization and... and... and...

Shall I hold your hand while you go back to sleep, little hero? Or wipe the snot from your upper lip while you weep your crocodile tears you posturing infant? The point of criticism is not to show the world how clever the critic is but to bring about a shift in consciousness. That such a shift is possible is demonstrated by the relevance of Plato and Aristotle to the present, by the overwhelming role played by Kant's work on reason in the development of that passing curiosity, the individual; by the role of Marx, Hegel and Feuerbach in creating the intellectual conditions necessary for the development of Modernity and the rise of commodity fetishism (which is the true and abiding religion of Corporate Capitalism the world over).

But then, these people were thinkers and real human beings, as opposed to self-satisfied puppets jerking off as they yank the string of their own ego (do you recognise yourself in that last statement, little hero? No? Then go back to sleep, little man, go back to sleep).

you have to take an african studies course or an alternative lit course to read a quality selection of black authors. and if you get one, you've probably already read it. what about in history? cool to have a black history month. that way you can spend at least one month searching for references to influential black citizens. world of science, world of art, world of . . . why go on? as if you did not know, this western world is a white world, built on white philosophies and religions, built on the backs of two old civs, greek, roman, and every ounce of our language and our understanding of the world comes through WHITE SENSES.


I confess, little hero, it's this passage in particular that's made me angry enough to spend this amount of time whipping your worthless hide.

Tell me, TT. Do WHITE SENSES feel hunger in ways that differ from black senses? Do WHITE SENSES experience pain, love, fear, doubt, differently to black senses? If you cut WHITE FLESH does it bleed something different to what black flesh bleeds? If you say yes to any of the foregoing you demonstrate that you are a racist, since you reify universal human characteristics on the basis of skin color. If you say no, you demonstrate that there is no such thing as a WHITE SENSE, just as there is no such thing as a BLACK SENSE. If you say nothing you admit only what is readily apparent: that you are a fool who does not understand what he says even as he says it.

You could of course say that you were arguing in terms of sensibility and aesthetic. A statement such as 'the white world can only be understood in terms of a white sensibility, the black world only in terms of a black sensibility' is perfectly acceptable and demonstrably true. The aesthetic semsibility underpinning the canon of Bach's work is fundamentally opposed to that underpinning the canon of the works of a black rapper. There is no point of communication which makes those two worlds comprehensible to each other.

But so fucking what? To say such a thing is to point out only what is blindingly apparent, as well as glaringly obvious in its absence from the nonsense you actually produced. Your entire production is a demonstration only of what postmodernism is not (an explanation) and an eminently successful presentation of your own ingrained, unquestioned bigotry.

Let me put it in words that even you can understand: to claim to be a postmodern makes it impossible to speak of such a thing as a WHITE SENSE, the former nullifies and makes impossible the latter. A 'WHITE SENSE' would be, if it could be shown to exist in any sense at all, a meta-narrative: the very thing which postmodernism calls into fundamental question.

And yet you present this impossibility to us as if it is a thing existing self-evidently and to be accepted at face value as in some way abrogating the right of the 'white narrative' to exist or be given consideration.

Go back to sleep, little hero. Go back to your dreams of self-importance and your delusions of comprehension. And should you wake up, bear one thing in mind.

Don't ever again presume to condescend to my wife, you arrogant little shit.]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33EmperorofIceCream on The Contextual Blindness of Being Whitelittle-whiphttp://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758
#10 by EmperorofIceCream
Sunday, October 30, 2005


Yeah, what HE said.

(smiles)]]>http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758http://tabootenente.joeuser.com/article/90758Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:15:33 -04002008-07-06T06:15:33little-whip on The Contextual Blindness of Being White