Pokler

[barbara100 at mail.jps.net]

Then tell us, David, by all means--What does Pynchon mean to say with Pokler? He's my favorite part of the whole book, and I'm really quite interested. It doesn't serve your point very well to just hammer me with condescension.   

I got the chills yesterday when I re-read the passage where Pokler admits to helping along with his own blindness and being sold on convenience. "If he must curse Weissmann, then he must also curse himself. Weissmann's cruelty was no less resourceful than Pokler's own engineering skill, the gift of Daedalus that allowed him to put as much labyrinth as required between himself and the inconveniences of caring. They had sold him on convenience, so much of it, all on credit, and now They were collecting."

The inconveniences of caring--chills, I tell you!  

Do I think Pynchon is opposed to rockets?  Hmmm.  No, I'd have to say.  I suspect he's just opposed to using them to kill people. But I'll go read that Luddite article. Maybe then I'll be more sure.    


Original Message:
-----------------
From: David Morris fqmorris at hotmail.com
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 13:02:49 -0500
To: barbara100 at jps.net, pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Re: Re: NP - Stem Cell Fumble



You really should find out who Lud was, because his crusade speaks to the 
topic of technology's (bio/genetic engineering being our present topic) 
place in this world.
http://www.fastlink.com.au/subscrib/hit/smash.htm

Then try reading Pynchon's "Is It O.K. to Be a Luddite?"
http://www.subsitu.com/kr/luddite.htm

And I would also suggest that your emotional feelings have overcome a 
rational consideration of what I've posted on this topic resulting in your 
characterizing my position as "giving up."  I'd also suggest that Pynchon 
might be pointing out a little more than this "giving up" attitude in the 
subject of Pokler.

Related to all this, let me ask you a question:  Do you think Pynchon is 
opposed to rockets?

Sincerely,
David Morris

>>Me:
>>It will not go away, no matter how morally upright your futile position 
>>may be.
>
>From barbara100 at jps.net:
>I don't really know who Luddite was, or for that matter King Richard,  but 
>I sensed it before, and I sense it again now--you're "giving up" on things. 
>Giving up control and giving up responsibility.  Your attitude reminds me 
>of the attitude that leads people not to vote or recycle or save energy or 
>be nice because, Aw, fuck, the world's gone to hell in a handbasket anyway, 
>so what difference does it make! I could be entirely wrong about you, but I 
>know that attitude's out there, and I was just pointing it out that day 
>arguing with you because Pynchon pointed it out to me the day before in 
>Pokler.

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