VLVL (6) Sasha

[jbor]

on 29/9/03 10:11 AM, Mike Weaver at mikeweaver at gn.apc.org wrote:

> I thought you might say that. Only true if that polarity is 100% of the
> equation. To measure the degree of turn you've got to add up all the
> factors in the equation.

But I must have the edition of the novel without all the Venn diagrams and
sine charts which document these polarity quotients and moral ratios you've
been banging on about. What a gyp!

According to the text in front of me, Sasha stops organising and lobbying
when the war in Europe begins -- not because of the Nazis, but because of
her attraction to "revved-up gentlemen" in uniform and because of something
closely approaching a patriotic streak (75-6). She characterises her
motivations and actions (generally, not just during the war) as "a helpless
turn", perhaps an "ancestral curse", and she explicitly compares all this to
Frenesi's own conduct (83).

The opposite of "join" is "doesn't join". First Hub doesn't join, then he
does. A perfect 180.

And it is odd that those striking airport workers would set aside their
principles and let Frenesi through their picket line. Unanimous vote, too.
Wonder why *they* sold out?

best


> Rob excluding middles as he goes:
> 
>> Anti- to pro- seems like a 180 to me.
> 
> I thought you might say that. Only true if that polarity is 100% of the
> equation. To measure the degree of turn you've got to add up all the
> factors in the equation. Factors like the importance of defeating the Nazi's.
> 
>> Resist --> join: another 180. He goes along with the system.
> 
> Same again The opposite of goes along with is not resists, it is non
> participation. The Conference of Studio Unions had been defeated, Hub had
> to leave his profession or pay more dues to the system. No other choices.
> 
> P 74 tells us that Sasha and Hub were still politically active in the
> 1950s, so by your argument they turned again.
> 
>> And just like her parents, Frenesi's "left" sympathies remain intact
>> throughout. She won't cross that airport picket line until the striking
>> workers take a vote (!) and let her pass (351-2).
> 
> You gotta look at the sum total of energies expended as well as the
> differing strength of influence of each particular occasion of
> expenditure.  Y'know what I mean?
> Seriously, an act of solidarity hardly registers against 14 years of state
> agency. And compromises brought about by special circumstance are refuted
> by the resumed commitment to resistance.
> 
>