[Horse] Alternatively, don't read the sodding posts if the conversation or the words in the conversation are too long and complicated - just don't complain because some people are too damn lazy to make the effort to understand the conversations that they choose to read - and if you can't stand the heat then get the hell out of the kitchen.
[Arlo] Agree, and well said. There is room enough on the list for everything from Marsha's "meows" to DMB's detailed posts on James; from John's attempt to synthesize Pirsig with Royce, to Ham's ongoing argument against Pirsig's work. No one has (I've checked the archives) ever suggested Platt's "random thoughts" are detrimental or improper here, and this is a key point in how the "talk-radio mind" operates. Its not enough for Platt to simply bow out of "academic" discussions if he finds them uninteresting, or is incapable of keeping up, he has to vocally demonize anyone engaged in academic discourse, to the point of suggesting that the list suffers because of them. This is simply part and parcel of the (sadly, growing) anti-intellectual drumbeat the right has been beating steadily for decades (remember that when Pirsig was a teacher in Montana, the right-wingers attempted to get him fired for being a "radical", which has made for some good irony). The media is bad. The Academy is bad. Guvmint is bad. Everyone who does not bray "dittos" is a leftist, and therefore bad. When I was mentioning this at dinner the other night, my teenage daughter said "Its like saying you advocate 'free speech', but that any discussions about what that means is bad." I think its a great analogy. Does free speech include yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater (ethics 101)? Does it cover pornography? What about a company that wanted to put a giant billboard showing graphic sex along Highway 101? Free speech? What about inciting violence? What about slander? What about national security issues? Obviously, Pirsig has demonstrated a vested involvement in bringing his ideas into the world of "academic philosophy", and into the Academy's classrooms. His ongoing support of Ant and DMB alone negates the implication that there talk is dismissive as "philosophology", let alone something Pirsig would rather not see here. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
