rubrics (I like that word), wrecking crews and hugfests

[Joseph Tracy]

On Dec 1, 2009, at 9:00 AM, David Morris wrote:

> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 11:09 PM, Michael Bailey
> <michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
>> David Morris  wrote:
>>> I think Pynchon takes occultisms (not to mention Lemuria or  
>>> hollow earths) about as seriously as he takes zombies.
>>
>> which is to say, sees parallels between the description of the  
>> obviously fake phenomenon and one or more objectively verifiable  
>> phenomena
>>
>> thinks it worth mentioning several such items, and elaborating on  
>> the correspondences frequently and to good dramatic effect
>
> Right.  Thinks about, not Believes.

No one but you said believes. You said "takes seriously". He  
obviously does take these phenomena seriously enough to give them a  
great deal of attention. I would suggest that they are much more than  
the object of satire or ridicule, they are keys to the collective  
unconscious  and the imaginative inner life of the time and culture  
they reflect.

Zombies exist in the imagination because they exist in the real world  
as a state of mental subjugation and control by master manipulators.  
How else do you explain the power of Hitler or Sarah Palin or perhaps  
on a more subtle level Obama and his patriotic jingoism that will  
announce a "renewed commitment" to our atrocious behavior in the  
greater middle east. People partake of certain poisons and soon they  
are eating other people's children. Kinda gross, but it happens a lot.