[lit-ideas] Re: YOU'RE MORE WRONG THAN I AM. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE.

From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 22:52:00 -0400

"Anyway, give it a break, guys.  We're all as stupid as Andy accuses us of 
being, but oh so much more fun than she has ever imagined."

Okay, I'll bite.  I don't think people are necessarily stupid.  I think they're 
emotional.  When the emotions take over, thinking goes out the window.  
Unfortunately, emotions always take over; emotions rule.  Thinking is something 
that's done in the intervals between emotional episodes, whether the emotions 
are expressed directly or indirectly (passive aggression, projection, 
whatever).  (For those who think they express their emotions through poetry, 
forget it.  Can't be done.)  Sooner rather than later the emotions begin to 
bubble, very nearly always from childhood; the unfocused emotions latch onto 
something in the present, and bingo, conflict.  Joseph said writers are above 
this.  Writers are absolutely not above this.  Across the board, regardless of 
religion, language, occupation, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, economic 
status, nearly everybody is controlled by the crocodile brain and/or the inner 
child.  Something can be done about it, which is the emotions hav
 e to be dealt with directly.  Unfortunately, emotions are virtually never 
dealt with directly, instead they're always dumped on somebody.  Once the 
emotional episode passes, it's business as usual for a while until it builds up 
again.  That's why words like "clash of civilizations" are so dangerous.   In 
addition to being meaningless (like Simon mentioned, are we going to send in 
the troops to wipe out Catholicism?), they're just a way to take the fear and 
rage that we carry inside and externalize it onto something.  There might be 
something to it if war was rare, but war is continual, so clearly it's just 
another piece of fashionable externalization for universal internal crap.  

And regarding terrorists Eric, do you ever wonder why, if terrorism were such a 
problem, we're not doing something about it instead of ignoring it while 
simultaneously making it worse?  Why did NYC's terror funding get cut?  Why do 
people walk in and out of the country at will by the millions while authorities 
check for nail clippers on airplanes?  Obviously those who should be worried 
about it are not worried.  I guess it's up to us to do their worrying for them? 
 How else do you explain it?



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Mike Geary 
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: 6/13/2006 8:14:54 PM 
Subject: [lit-ideas] YOU'RE MORE WRONG THAN I AM. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO 
YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU 
ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. 


I have always enjoyed both Eric's and Omar's posts.  I find both usually very 
illuminating.  I wish though they'd stop butting heads and beating their chests 
and get back to argumentation.  Both are wrong most of the time, btw, but 
that's for another post or rather many posts.  Luckily though I've erased them 
all.  

I'm surprised that Eric with his poet's sensitivity to language doesn't realize 
just how cartoonish he makes many of his posts when he restorts to calling 
terrorists "monsters", "thugs," "goons", etc.  The word "terrorist" apparently 
has no 'bad guy' cachet with Eric.  I'm not surprised really, not with that 
clown Dubya saying through his smirk:  "Heh, thair terrorist, doncha getit?  
Thair the bad guys, thair eavil."  Uh oh, there I go with one of my cartoons.  
Ah, well, Eric, shouldn't do that if he wants to be taken seriously.

I'm surprised that Omar with his experience of so many difference cultures 
isn't more adept at handling Eric's cultural biases.  Could it be because of 
Omar's own cultural biases?  Who knows?  The Green Shadow, but who else?  
Anyway, give it a break, guys.  We're all as stupid as Andy accuses us of 
being, but oh so much more fun than she has ever imagined.  

Mike Geary
Memphis

[lit-ideas] Re: YOU'RE MORE WRONG THAN I AM. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE. NO, YOU ARE. NO YOU ARE.

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