On Feb 18, 2007, at 12:48 PM, curtisdeltablues wrote:
I guess I would ask all of the people who seem to go out of their ways
to attack MMY on a personal level--what has he ever done to you that
you guys dislike him so much?
Sal
Me: I'll bet anyone who worked full time for the guy could come up
with a list of being screwed financially or otherwise directly
deceived by MMY.
I never even worked full-time for the TMO but I could come up with a
pretty good list myself.
I know I sure could. But I can't get my knickers in
a knot about that stuff because it was too long ago and it was the
life lesson I needed to become cynical and jaded, which has served me
well since.
Exactly. You learned what you could and moved on.
If and when I goof on MMY personally it is the same as I
do with that other billionaire, The Donald. Pompous fools are a
legitimate targets IMO. The Pope in his dress and phallic hat, the
Rajs with their silly Queen-of-the-May crowns, and yes, MMY with his
sycophant entourage all speaking like they are effusing over their own
Off Broadway production of Cher, the Musical. Part of me will always
be the 10 year old reader of Mad Magazine (does that mean I molested a
kid this morning?) and I will alway delight in poking fun at guys like
MMY.
I guess I could see the Pope as a more legitimate target because he has
so much more influence (supposedly). Part of me recoils from this
constant trashing of MMY (IMO) on account of the fact that I do have
some--very limited--personal dealings with and knowledge of him, which
for me renders him more human and thus more prone to human failings.
I'm sure the Pope does too, but hardly anybody is permitted to get
close enough to see.
It's probably not anywhere near as logical as your conclusions, Curtis,
but that's just the way I feel.
I also don't get the Guru Dev worship.
I don't either, and have never felt particularly reverential towards
him.
He was a defender of the caste
system who wouldn't allow women in his presence. I know that this is
a traditional thing for these guys, but it seems to me that hanging on
to this type of tradition is not doing the world any good.
Which is one reason IMO why India is such a mess and has been for so
long.
Same for the Pope of Christianity, they both uphold values that most
modern
people find repugnant.
But a lot of people still follow what he says, or at least go through
the motions. At least India is making some effort to distance
themselves from many of their worst traditions.
And they both hide behind the assumptive
dignity of their positions and their silly outfits to attempt to keep
mankind in the same dark ages the ideas their religions represent. I
don't believe that either Guru Dev or the Pope had a special channel
to any version of the creator of the universe and I resent them both
for acting like they do.
People can act in any way they choose, and as long as its just them it
usually doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It's what their
followers do that messes things up so much.
Meanwhile some kid in Africa is growing up
with AIDS,
Millions of kids.
an epidemic assisted in part by religious fools promoting
ideas dangerous to public health, and other kids in India are
repressed by the same Sanatana Dharma's support of the Caste system
that Guru Dev devoted his later years to promote.
IMO the problem is not people making fun of these guys, it is that not
enough people who oppose their actual positions on things that do
matter feel free to throw a rotten tomato at their silk evening gowns.
(My response had nothing to do with your point Sal, but thanks for the
ramp to get my skateboard over the half-pipe lip! That was fun."
Glad to be of help. :) Your statement was an excellent, well
thought-out response.
Sal
