>
>
>Gawd. Did I say any of this? or are you simply projecting? I didn't go to
>college, am autodidactic, and do not in any way look down on education or
>intellectual labor (I married a Cornell gal who force feeds me classical
>music when I'm in the mood for NIN). I am against the intellectual class,
>especially when it takes imperial form. But as with your tired "macho" rant,
>the "anti-intellectual" bit falls flat at my feet.
>
>DP
yes, you've said over and over again that you think what gets discussed here is useless. that's anti intellectualism. your rant at doug was a form of anti intellectualism. and it's always a hoot to me when such a claim-how useless and boring it all is--gets trotted out: what exactly do you expect to take place on a mail list? when you denounce theory and learning--and i was self taught for a long time as well b/c i couldn't afford college--you give ammo to those who lobbed grenades at my efforts to learn on my own and then go to college. the kind of silence that ensued when co-workers learned that i studied philosophy as an undergrad. or the, "what on earth are you studying *that* for?" it's good ole american anti-intellectualism. i have a good healthy dose of it myself, as does everyone here--we all carry those attitudes around with us to one degree or another.
and now you've resorted to another klinker -- we're all humorless left intellectuals. HA. i'm a bit insulted as i believe it's hardly the case that i'm humorless -- though carol thinks i'm too emotional.
you may think that it is all "just" about your experience, that none of it has implications beyond your corner of the world. i differ. i firmly believe that attitudes such as you've conveyed here have been significant contributions to the misery in the lives of men i know. and it's too bad that you can see how glorifying the labor that you do and denouncing intellectual work (and you did do that) and restricting your claims about manual labor to certain kinds of labor that fall in your own experience are exactly what is meant by "privilege". if you can't see how claims about the glory of manual labor uttered from your own experience, as if that experience isn't one of privilege, is likely to fall on hostile ears, then its a good thing you're starting to learn. presumably that's what you came here for, as i and others participate in this forum -- to learn? to share knowledge?
you unfortunately seem to espouse a view that is read as hostile to the reasons for this list's birth in the first place. it's in the welcome message to the list. that may help explain why a significant number of people find the manual/mental labor distinction deeply problematic. it has little to do with defensiveness. and if you insist that it does, perhaps turning that analytical lens to your own posts is, likewise, revealing.
if there's any chance, could you change the time on your 'fuser? you have it set at easter std time, even tho you are typing from michigan. this means that all your posts land in my inbox way out of order and i don't see them unless i seek them out. i enjoy your posts to the list. people criticize because that's what email lists are, basically, about. so, none of this should be construed as some sort of attack on you. kelley