SLSL 'Low-lands': racist, sexist and fascist talk

[tess marek]

> 
> But still, I don't really think that Low-lands is
> all that offensive. And
> Pig Bodine? Well, he's *meant* to be offensive, so
> I'm not sure why Pynchon
> feels the need to apologize for him....
> 
> --Quail


The language of the story is offensive to us (to me
and  I assume lots of "Modern" readers)  not because
we are hyper-sensitive to it but because it is the
language of the author. I don't have a problem with a
character that calls women "babe" but if the
character's language is also the language of the
author because the author shares this character's
attitudes, I have a problem with that.   Pynchon
doesn't apologize for Pig Bodine, he apologizes for
*his* language at the time he wrote the story because
*his* language  and his attitudes were Archie
Bunkerish. 

Does  P misread his own story? Do the comments and
statements in the Introduction  make any sense? I
think his reading of it is right on. His comments
about the story make sense. His statement about race
and class is confusing at best. It takes Pynchon a
long time to figure this stuff out. Got to to credit
his honesty and his efforts, but it's pretty clear
that he had some Learning to do. Jbor seems to be
sweeping it under the carpet with rediculous "maybe
this or that" is what P is talking about. It's strange
to see intelligent people make any excuse for their
heroes. Doug re-writes the entire Introduction to take
the burnden off P. The burden P puts their himself.
Others claim he was drunk or out of his mind or that
the Introduction is a "narrative" and that P is just
fooling with us. Others say he has created a
Reagan/1984 parody. How rediculous! What's the big
deal? P can't walk on water. 


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