Pynchon's interview with Playboy Japan

[Ghetta Life]

>From: Paul Mackin <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
>
>>The problem that a lot of people who think the interview is a hoax have 
>>is, I am certain, that they do not agree with the opinions expressed.  But 
>>they will never admit that.
>
>OK. You've call my bluff. I admit it. I don't agree.

http://www.ottosell.de/pynchon/playboy.htm

It's hard to know whether one agrees or disagrees with a confused 
presentation, which is the case with this piece as a whole, but one can cull 
out some of the major points made, not that they cohere into a logical 
whole.  If one starts from the top and works through to the end, these 
points stand out:

1.  Pynchon's doesn't ride the subway for fear of chemical weapons.

2.  Pynchon doesn't like "affectless" reporters. and yearns for "human 
touch" and "power of emotion" in reporting.  He also dislikes hidden 
earpieces.

3.  Pynchon thinks "news" is scarce, but "propaganda" abounds in the media.  
And this is bad because "The problem is the ordinary citizen cannot 
distinguish the news from the propaganda."

4.  Pynchon offers a definition of the two words above, which presumably he 
agrees with:  “News is something somebody wants to suppress. Everything else 
is propaganda.”

5.  Pynchon has many paranoid thoughts about "Bin Laden" (but he says "it is 
not only I who thinks like that").  These thoughts are:

5a.  The Bin Laden we've seen pictures of on TV might not really be him (if 
a real him even exists).

5b.  Bin Laden is likely a "front man" for some other person or group which 
is actually responsible for the WTC attacks.  Pynchon offers no specifics, 
but includes these tangents for consideration: "We should not forget that 
many of Bin Laden’s brothers were once the business partners of George Bush 
jr. in oil ventures. The doctor who always stood by Bin Laden was a member 
of the group who killed Sadat. There might be others who ran away from Egypt 
after the assassination in Afghanistan."

6.  Pynchon says that it is natural and unavoidable for poor to feel anger 
toward the rich, and that since Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations 
around "[Afghans] just cannot help from hating [America].

7.  He also offers this bit of wisdom:  "However, from the Arab perspective, 
Israel is the origin of all the wrongs."

I can definitle say re. #3, it is obvious that no news is unbiased, 
especially that which comes directly from the White House.  This is no big 
insight, but I'd say most people on this forum would conclude they don't 
swallow the news without personal anaysis and consulting numerous sources.  
The "ordinary citizen" is an insulting staw man who empowers the hidden 
menaces which move the mouths of affectless news anchors.

#4 is a cute phrase, but shouldn't be taken literally.  Those that do 
usually subscribe to theories on websites like these (and maybe Pynchon is 
truly one of such):

http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/

http://www.prolognet.qc.ca/clyde/illumin.htm

#5a&b are worthless random musings which don't lead to any cohesive 
conclusions or theroies.

#6 is crap.

#7 is obvious beyond all get-out.

As a whole, if the interview is legit, it serves to lower my opinion about 
the insight of this author ito any sophisticated wisdom.

Ghetta

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