>>"well, someone has got to do" post, which I took as sort of "aw, gee, I am a strong secure person who is confident in my beliefs and thanks for recognizing that" sort of statement
Actually that is the way I intended it in my first post. But I've gotta confess there was an insecure "what are you telling me, am I being a jerk somehow?" undertone in my post. Then your written reply struck me as somehow sarcastic, like "you mean you don't even know???" So I dropped back, went defensive, and asked outright if I'd offended. I'm relieved that I haven't, and I thank you for your reply.
About PETA and paint: yes. I prob'ly was letting off steam. I'd finished watching Critical Mass newsreel, and I was probably feeling...rather facile of opinion that morning. I didn't take your reply in any way personal.
On a continued gentle note, I need to put in my vote of agreement with Del's sentiment. I'm a middle-class white male of European descent. I am emphatically individual, and I squirm when I'm put into a group and subjected to a collective (or composite?) judgment. I understand that for a coupla centuries, white boys from the right island Had It Made relative to the other demographic segments. But for a while now, there has been a reversal of opinion with a momentum all its own. That momentum means (imho!) that we've gone over the line of neutrality into an environment of reverse bigotry sanctioned by this country's intellectual and political leadership. I'ts now a stigma to be a white boy, and it's Cool to have Suffered, not individually of course. But a Heritage of Oppression is currently running at a pretty high P/E. Why is it okay to build categories like Black Studies, Women's Studies, Latin Studies but not White Dude Studies? The subliminal message I get is "You've had your time at the lead, now move over. Our turn." I submit that this perpetuates divisive, supremacist thinking. It defines, isolates and then promotes opposition between races, classes, sexes. (PS Personal jihad: People have sexes. "Gender" is a grammatical term!) I'd love to start a dialog on how to soften and ultimately remove the need to identify with a subgroup. Surely the preservation of cultural distinction can be achieved by family and community without making a political football out of it. I hope.
Hope I'm not being strident |
