[lit-ideas] Getting Off
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 21:34:21 -0700 (PDT)
The atmosphere on this list has not been very pleasant
of late. It was objected by some to my being 'snappish
and condescending.' There may be some justification
for such complaints, though I suspect that some of my
utterances get interpreted as snappish when they are
not meant to be so. (I come from Montenegro, an area
in the former Yugoslavia whose people are known for
simple and direct expression, and I've never been very
good at niceties.) On the other hand, nobody seems to
object when accusations of anti-Semitism, paranoia,
fundamentalism, Nazism, and the like are hurled at me
for expressing views that are, frankly, considered
fairly standard almost anywhere outside the United
States. I wonder if it occurred to anyone here that
such attacks might influence my subsequent reactions.
Another thing is, I suspect that I am spending more
time and energy than most people here in arguing my
positions, looking for evidence, providing relevant
information etc. This has been largely ignored, while
many others have been freely engaging in
unsubstantiated assertions, false factual claims,
sloppy generalizations etc. When I tried to object to
this, to me unsatisfactory state of affairs, offence
has been taken in various quarters.
It may be that, because I have been posting a lot
recently, I have come to be taken for granted. I don't
like that. Now, it is the Labour Day holiday here in
China, my leg has gotten well enough that I can walk
on it, and presumably there is still some spring left.
I think that I will try to get off the list for a
while. See you in a few weeks, or maybe months.
(Though to hope that it is going to be months is
probably too optimistic, on both sides.)
Omar Kusturica
P.S. Best wishes to Mike Geary
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