AtD/VL: The Traverse Clan

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Thanks for the kind feedback, everyone, to my story.  WHat the guy who said "No one fucks with my partner" exemplified to me is that old, romantic union solidarity that's fast fading.  I was lucky to work with a handful of electricians who understood the concept of solidarity, but for most, it was a screw or be screwed mentality.

There's discussion in another thread of what it is that makes many of us think that Pynchon's sympathies are leftwards.  The Traverse family seems to be one piece of evidence.  Webb embodies the One Big Union mentality, as does Jesse later in Vineland.  Their unionism descends directly from the anarchist Wobblies.  The union solidarity of my partner in the story descended from the romantic brotherhood of the craft unions, not leftist in ideology, but anti-boss and anti-the-powers-that-be in instinct.  One contributing factor to the demise of power of the present-day AFL-CIO is that the industrial union model loses out on the gut-level brotherhood mentality of the old craft unions (which the early sit-down striking industrial unionists retained) and also loses out on the romance of One Big Union.  There's no room for passion - just stepped pay-scales, percentages and bottom lines.  Why should Pynchon, young or old, have any affinity with that?

What I don't get is why Pynchon sets up the Traverse women, Lake and Frenesi, as the Enemies of Labor/progressive activism.  Can't think of any real-life counterparts, although American labor history is full of male union official sell-outs - to government redbaiting, corporate "sharing" and mafia coercion.  Probably the most famous case of male perfidy:  James McParlan vs. the Molly Maguires.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McParlan

Laura


-----Original Message-----
>From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>

>
>I LIKE this story...and the way it is told....nice