New binarisms (aka Evil politicians)

[MASCARO at humnet.ucla.edu]

Paul's response to Diana is really on point:

>From Diana:
> If we
>continue to fetishize individuality and competition we continue to reap
>what we've sewn, vast wealth for a tiny few, paranoia, fear and hate for
>the rest of us
>
>But if we try to do away with individualism we get very nearly the same
>thing.
>
>What ya gonna do?
>
>				P.

And don't it look like we're falling into another of those dreaded --binarisms--
by 
positioning individuality against group?  Clearly it takes a village to do some 
things right, and there are other things--like the way information on sex or disease 
is presented to my child--where I don't really give a fuck what the village thinks, 
but I will do what my own lights lead me to do.

I think the word "village" is being used equivocally, drifting signifiers or  
something, different images for different people using it.  Is it Happy Town or the 
Village of the Damned you see when the word is slung around?  I am frightened at 
the knee-jerk acceptance of this new communalism, which, concurring w/ David 
C., Steely and others, ain't leading to no kinda village I want to raise my kids up in 
(Centreville--it's really neat!!),  I am surprised that my friend and erstwhile 
colleague Diana York Blaine, so astute normally, stops sounding so astute to me 
when this topic is broached.  I say respectfully Diana that in your last post you 
sounded less like Diana York Blaine and more like Diana Moon Glampers. 
Everybody should go read  Kurt Vonnegut's short story "The Big Space Fuck" 
published I think in Harlen Ellison's DANGEROUS VISIONS (the 2nd one), 
though Vonnegut touches on this theme i (and uses Diana Moon Glampers) in a 
couple of other works.

john m


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