On 20 Jan 99 at 19:30, Dennis R Redmond wrote: > On Wed, 20 Jan 1999, James Michael Craven wrote: > > > I wonder how many working class women or women on Reservations could > > relate to or understand the rhetoric in the example of Butler's > > writings given in the Doublespeak award? I suspect few if any. > > So what? Are all those scientists who use mathematical tools > noone else understands just wasting their time? Are people who read > foreign languages we can't read indulging in nonsense? If Butler > claimed to speak for the people on the Rez, then you could slam her for > yakking away. But she's not. Writers don't just write to be understood; > they write for the future readers who may someday understand what they > were trying to say. Adorno said somewhere that the only thoughts worth > thinking are those which do not fully understand themselves, i.e. do > something new and unexpected, which hasn't yet fully emerged into its > content, and is therefore open to history and dialectics. > > -- Dennis No I have no problem with people writing convoluted stuff not designed to be read or understood except by a few or to narcissistically savor their own rhetoric. I just have a problem when they pretend to be progressive instead of the elitist, self-indulgent, narcissistic, careerist rhetorical masturbators that they obviously are. At least Talcot Parsons openly admitted to being an effete elitist and reactionary who was not writing to really change anything but rather carve out a small but elite market niche for himself. I am reminded of a saying in Kerala: In the land of the people with no nose, the one with half a nose is king. I suspect this woman has a following of groupies too pretentious or too mediocre to admit there is a lot of wind and not much substance there. Again, I am waiting for some stuff from her admirers that they think is really innovative, compelling, significant, useful and relevant to something serious and let's take a look at it and deconstruct it. That's my opinion. Jim Craven James Craven Dept. of Economics,Clark College 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd. Vancouver, WA. 98663 [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tel: (360) 992-2283 Fax: 992-2863 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards Indians; their land and property shall never be taken from them without their consent." (Northwest Ordinance, 1787, Ratified by Congress 1789) "To speak of atrocious crimes in mild language is treason to virtue." (Edmund Burke) *My Employer has no association with My Private and Protected Opinion* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
