Yeah, ok, so I'm still living in squalor. These things happen.
Been following the debates on the Letters Page at the Portadown News. A lot of good, thoughtful people, and a lot of assholes --often the same folks (myself included, no doubt). Still, it's good to see people "break[ing] down the discourse of bigotry with our rampant satire," as feline1 says.
One of the things that has come up on the boards is the whole "Goddamn Americans are supporting these bloodthirsty bastards, and that's what's causing the problem." While I don't think that's true -- people have managed to hate and kill each other long before this country even existied -- I have to say I see where they're coming from. What gives us, as Americans, the right to say "this group is right and this group is wrong, and I know this because five generations ago my father's family fled that country to avoid starving"? I mean, the conflict in Ireland has been going on for more than 400 years -- do you really think one side is all right and the other side is all wrong? And how would we know? But there are still plenty of us supporting groups that advocate or perpetrate violence. What the hell? Now, granted, I was educated by Quakers and therefore lean towards non-violent solutions, but doesn't that reflexive "Fuck the [insert groups name here]" make anyone else uncomfortable?
Flames/responses welcome/expected. And I say this with the full knowledge that nothing particularly traumatic has happened in Denmark, where my father's family is from, in a very long time.
Right. Um, There's some sort of police action going on across the street -- there seems to be something of a manhunt in a house just down the block, with about a dozen cops checking around the house and property. Very odd. The joys of urban pioneering. I emphasize that this does not happen often -- you should still come to my parties and such. I'll let you know what the deal is if I ever find out.
Been following the debates on the Letters Page at the Portadown News. A lot of good, thoughtful people, and a lot of assholes --often the same folks (myself included, no doubt). Still, it's good to see people "break[ing] down the discourse of bigotry with our rampant satire," as feline1 says.
One of the things that has come up on the boards is the whole "Goddamn Americans are supporting these bloodthirsty bastards, and that's what's causing the problem." While I don't think that's true -- people have managed to hate and kill each other long before this country even existied -- I have to say I see where they're coming from. What gives us, as Americans, the right to say "this group is right and this group is wrong, and I know this because five generations ago my father's family fled that country to avoid starving"? I mean, the conflict in Ireland has been going on for more than 400 years -- do you really think one side is all right and the other side is all wrong? And how would we know? But there are still plenty of us supporting groups that advocate or perpetrate violence. What the hell? Now, granted, I was educated by Quakers and therefore lean towards non-violent solutions, but doesn't that reflexive "Fuck the [insert groups name here]" make anyone else uncomfortable?
Flames/responses welcome/expected. And I say this with the full knowledge that nothing particularly traumatic has happened in Denmark, where my father's family is from, in a very long time.
Right. Um, There's some sort of police action going on across the street -- there seems to be something of a manhunt in a house just down the block, with about a dozen cops checking around the house and property. Very odd. The joys of urban pioneering. I emphasize that this does not happen often -- you should still come to my parties and such. I'll let you know what the deal is if I ever find out.
posted by SAJ at
9:10 PM
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