answering otto Re: pynchon-l-digest V2 #1590

[Miguel Esteban]

Amen!  

I recently joined the list -- a total neophyte, not a lit theory weenie -- because I was 3/4 through Mason & Dixon and realized that although I had a decent understanding of the text's face value, I was certainly missing out on a lot.  I was about to unsubscribe (I can't even find the old group readings about M&D when I run a search on the archives, if anyone can enlighten me on that one, I would appreciate it).  I was hoping to receive some insight to M&D and become enthused about attacking other Pynchon novels by joining the list, but I agree with Ivan that many of the messages are simply not worthy of public circulation (although several are very interesting).

Best,

Miguel
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ivan Z. Cestero 
  To: jp4321 at IDT.NET ; pynchon-l at waste.org 
  Sent: mercredi 10 janvier 2001 09:31
  Subject: Re: answering otto Re: pynchon-l-digest V2 #1590


  jews, nazis, holocaust deniers, rhetoric users and abusers, pynchon experts, et al:

  i'm curious as to how much time each day, on average, you spend reading and contributing to the pynchon list. this is espcially for those 10 or so of you who contribute somewhat regularly. i'm also curious what type of educational backgrounds, occupations, and social lives you all have; but i won't actually ask that because i have no right to ask or know this, and understand that one of the reasons you all prbably like the P-list is that none of that personal stuff is relevant. this is coming from someone who is a pynchon fan and most certainly an overall lit fan, sometime lit theory, phil, etc, someone who likes to engage in intellectually-based discussion and stuff. to me this list has been quite a revelation, because you guys just take this to the next level. i'm not sure it's all a positive thing. it certainly is great to talk abou thte minutae of pynchon narrative and criticism and p-related stuff. and i am really impressed by the your various bases of knowledge--quite fantastic. what's maybe not so much distressing as just plain weird is the frequency with which many of you get caught up in either really petty arguments or really tired/dead deconstructions and analyses. and i can't help but feel that, for all the genuine exchanges in teh spirit of sharing thoughts, communicating, and loving up ole TRP, there so often take place what might innoecently be described as intellectual pissing contests. or, more often, discussions about stuff which is inconceivably boring to even a pynchon and lit fan (though not a fanatic, i suppose). 
  all of which leads to the above questions and curiosities. perhaps it is my insecure side-- jealous that lots of you are pretty obviously smarter or at least better-read than i, better writers, etc--perhaps it's that part of me which imagines many of you to be real geeks and/or nerds with poor social lives (or perhaps just no jobs or lots of free time) who are on email like 24/7/365 and foaming at the mouth to engage in teh next argument and show how smart and capable you are, not just w/r/t TRP but history, politics, language, phil, etc. and that many of you are willing to spend what seems like alarmingly much time doing this, as if you were practicing for writing a dissertation and wanted to keep your skills sharp. the anonymity of email is on one hand a great level playing field, but of course one can't help but wonder which of you are college professors and which are people who would like to be professors, which are maybe like bankers and firemen, etc. most of you are, as david foster wallace would call you, lit theory weenies, that's for sure. and yes: i know that's why we're here on this list to begin with: to share our lit theory weenieness. but all the same, if anyone would like to answer any of my questions, i'd be really siked to try and formulate a general picture of what kinda people are on teh list, because i find it fascinating not so much as a way to learn about TRP stuff but more as a way to like spy on this small but thriving subculture of smart people who seem so distantly far down the rabbithole of high intellectual discourse that i fear they might not anymore be bale to crawl out and, you know, chill out. there aren't enough jokes like good ole sZ's just now. 
  i guess most of youwill consider this a waste of a post to the list, and for that i'm sorry to waste your time (but from what i can see you waste a lot of it anyway) but i figure i should speak my mind since i've tried to get off this list like twice now and somehow have been unsuccessful. 

  last question: has anyone here met good old TRP? (if one of you is TRP, which i suppose i could picture TRP participating in this service as a way of keeping track of his most rabid followers and half-learning what they have to say and half-fuckign around w/them) i have a friend whose daughter goes to school w/TRP's kid in NYC, and he told me that if i teach spanish at his school he'll arrange for me to meet him. TRP goes to PTA or similiar type meetings--i'm talking confirmed sitings here. so, the last question is, should i take the job (which itself would be cool, teaching little kids spanish) in hopes of meeting the Pynch and becoming a friend/mentee of his? i could help us solve this Holocaust dilemma once and for all. 

  i
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