More Tex, less Mex

[Sojourner]

At 09:18 AM 7/3/97 -0500, Jules Siegel wrote:
>At 09:33 AM 07/3/97 -0400, Sojourner <sojourner at vt.edu> wrote:
>
>>Oh my word... you sound as if you are almost proud of the fact you lived in
>the mega-slang factory of "dope-dealing" northern California!  Are you?
>
>Very much so. And not "almost," either.

While I condemn no man, I'm curious why you would be proud to be surrounded
by criminals, especially if you weren't/aren't one yourself.  We can argue
the merits of dealing drugs another time, but surely if you find respect in
having lived with/among them, why did not not emulate their behavior?  Or
did you?

>
>>Did it sadden you so much that an author wrote a book of fiction which
>>INCORRECTLY used the slang and euphemisms of some dope dealers?  Did that
>>put a tear in your eye and an ache in your heart for them good old damned
>>days when you couldn't throw a rock without hitting some drug dealers?  I
>>am so sorry it annoyed you, you purist, you seeker of truths and honesty.
>>I'm sorry that poor Mr. Pynchon offended your sensibilities and ruined your
>>ENTERTAINMENT and enjoyment of his work.
>
>I didn't deplore his inventions. I said that they made it impossible for me
>to enjoy Vineland. You live in Virginia. Do you speak with a southern
>accent? Do you use regional idioms? If so, how do you feel when some Yankee
>jerk imitates all this on the basis of having read Mark Twain in high school?
>

People who live in Virginia, as I currently do, may speak with an accent.
This is something learned from birth, and from environment.  On the other
hand, people who engage in a criminal trade, however "authentic" their
slang/idioms may seem, have far less of a "cultural identity" than someone
with a southern accent.  What you are asserting is ludicrous.

>>I also pine for the lost and
>>misrepresented integrity of that honorable bunch of thieves which you are
>>so proud to announce to the world were your neighbors and companions during
>>your long and gritty life.
>
>These people were better to me and to each other than were most of the
>straight people such as yourself who seem to enjoy indulging in boorish
>rhetoric to the exclusion of real social contact.

*sigh* I am curious how straight I am, or that you assume I am.  One of the
significant factors in many people's employment with the state government
is that they do NOT require drug testing.  Federal law mandates only that
information pamphlets be passed out once a year.

As for my assumed lack of "real social contact", I have no clue what you
mean by this.  I have met many many people from many walks of life,
including some drug dealers who thought they were mega-cool with their 99
mystical names for marijuana etc.  I've also known conservative farmers who
read the Bible in their leisure time and drank a glass of wine on
Christmas.  And hundreds and hundreds of other people.

May I ask what will qualify me in your eyes to know what "true life" is all
about?  Or perhaps, if you prefer, what topic would be satisfactory to you
and not just "boorish rhetoric"?

Just so you and I are on the same page here, let's begin with some
definitions (Webster's).

Boor"ish, a. Like a boor; clownish; uncultured; unmannerly. -- Boor"ish*ly,
adv. -- Boor"ish*ness, n.

Rhet"o*ric (?), n. [F. rhétorique, L. rhetorica, Gr. (sc. ), fr.
rhetorical, oratorical, fr. orator, rhetorician; perhaps
akin to E. word; cf. to say.] 

1. The art of composition; especially, elegant composition in prose. 

2. Oratory; the art of speaking with propriety, elegance, and force. Locke. 

3. Hence, artificial eloquence; fine language or declamation without
conviction or earnest feeling. 

4. Fig. : The power of persuasion or attraction; that which allures or
charms. 

 
Am I, in an uncultured, clownish manner, speaking with artificial eloquence
or elegant composition?

*grin*

>
>What is it with these smalltown college librarians? Too much time on their
>hands?
>

First of all, I am not a librarian.  I do not hold a degree in Library
Science or in any other science.  The town which I work in may be small,
but the library is not, so I do not see how your assumptions about me have
anything to do with what I said.  I am a low-level employee who WORKS in a
library, but I am neither dedicated to this field, nor is this my career.

Please let's stick to the subject, slippery as it may be, that you are
riding high upon a white charger because an artificially created
subculture's idioms and expressions were incorrectly represented in a work
of fiction, which therefore insulted your sensibilities.