pynchon-l-digest V2 #1590

[Doug Millison]

>Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 16:49:46 +1100
>From: "jbor" <jbor at bigpond.com>
>Subject: Re: answering jody Re: pynchon-l-digest V2 #1582
>
>monroe expressed a desire for clarification about a notion that Pynchon's
>"genius" is indisputable and that this is then used as the starting point
>for interpretation of the texts. millison has, on occasion, argued 
>something approaching this I think.


Wrong, and this is a very good example of rj's straw man arguments. 
I have written more that once that I believe Pynchon to be a literary 
genius, hardly a controversial statement (although obviously some 
people dispute it, and they're welcome to that opinion but I will 
continue to disagree with it), but I have never taken the step that 
rj here tries to attribute to me, in which I would move from some 
sort of assumption of Pynchon's genius to support  some particular 
interpretation of Pynchon's writings -- that's simply not true.  I've 
argued that, having written a series of brilliant novels and stories 
and essays, it's worth paying attention to what Pynchon says, but 
I've laid out no argument in support of certain interpretations based 
on some sort of  authority stemming from Pynchon's genius -- that's a 
figment of rj's feverish imagination.  The interpretations I've put 
forward, in MDMD, VLVL, GRGR, etc., have all been based on the text 
and its allusions and my own reading of same, with occasional support 
from the writings of Pynchon scholars, and support from Pynchon 
himself in the essays he's published.

Moreover, anybody who tries to remain in dialogue with rj in 
Pynchon-L will soon see rj using this tactic, where rj just makes up 
some sort of outrageous assertion, attributes it to his interlocutor, 
then attacks it and attacks his interlocutor for supposedly holding 
that position or making that argument.  He's done this consistently 
with Monroe, with Terrance, with Hollander, with Derek Maus, & etc. 
It's one of the things rj does that helps to drag the general level 
of argument in Pyncon-L ever lower, along with his name-calling and 
bitchy word games.

You want to be in conversation with somebody like that, be my guest. 
I'm trying to have no more of it.  Although I do reserve the right to 
defend myself against outright lies and character assassination. 
davemarc, JBFRAME at aol.com, s~Z, Terrance, Otto, Derek, everybody else 
I've heard from offlist -- you're all correct, it's no use taking rj 
and kai and the rest of those yapping dogs to task for their bad 
manners, but I also know that you all understand the need to 
occasionally stand up and speak up when somebody just won't stop with 
the insults and poison, I've seen you all do it yourselves to one 
degree or another (well, not JBFRAME at aol.com, who always shows a 
pleasant way of talking on Pynchon-L).

Kai, you are way out of line  to criticize me the way you have in 
your recent long post.  Whatever you may think of the way I read 
Pynchon,  if you've actually ever read any of my posts, you would 
also know I've spent lots of time overseas, including nearly two 
years living in a third-world country (China) plus many more visits 
where in fact I've actually made a significant contribution to social 
construction in several important ways, I'm in an 
interracial/bicultural marriage, I'm raising a racially-mixed son and 
providing schooling and extracurricular opportunities that have let 
him learn to speak three languages and practice service and 
compassion to those less fortunate than him (through the liberal 
Christian church we attend), I'm politically active here at home in a 
way that I, and many others, believe might lead to the amelioration 
of some of the worst injustices.  Shame on you.  You are also out of 
line to attack Terrance the way you have today -- Terrance has done 
more to advance a reasonable style of discourse on Pynchon-L than 
anybody I can think of, and it's outrageous for you to attack him 
this way.  This is truly a fine example of the way rj's insidious 
nastiness has infected Pyncnon-L discourse, with you championing this 
style of talking to one another because it makes for a livelier 
discussion. It doesn't. It makes for a nastier discussion.  I feel 
soiled to even respond to you in this way, knowing that I'm just 
adding to the noise level in so doing. But I'm also a person whose 
favorite fairy tale is The Emperor's New Clothes, and I'm here to 
tell you, you are naked and ugly and doing as much or more than 
anybody to make Pynchon-L an unpleasant place to be.  You want to 
come back at me with more of the same, go for it, I'll do my best not 
to reply.


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