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Hmmmm.
Lance, What you've written here reminds me of a story, possibly false, but useful nonetheless.
Niels Bohr, the father of quantum theory, was listening to a grad student present his ideas on some area of theoretical physics. After giving the young man some time to make his case Bohr quietly declared that what he'd just heard was so wrong it wasn't even wrong -- as in slightly off-target -- but simply nonsense.
...
Kelley called Moore "incompetent" and I think that's about right. This doesn't mean he never presents issues we're concerned about or is an adversary -- it means precisely what it means, his method for presenting these issues is, when examined carefully, clearly incompetent.
No LBO-talk-er is tugging uncomfortably at his/her shirt collar, squirming with discomfort because Moore's working class origins are distasteful to their delicate sensibilities. One of the funniest and most off-target criticisms ever leveled against listmembers is this charge of being pampered liberals (which is really what you're saying here). People assume that because someone can string more than two sentences together coherently and perhaps even with some flair they must be the sort of person who can pop out to the Saab dealer for a little shopping jaunt in seach of a new summertime fun machine (winter's for the Land Rover, don't you know?).
Are you paying attention sir? Have you noticed that many LBO-Talk contributors are working class and more than a few are facing serious economic stress?
Speaking for myself, I'm white collar -- for now -- but certainly grew up rather poor. Yet, I'm not at all uncomfortable with working class folks and I think Moore's a showboating incomptent too. How do you explain this? Have I lost my 'roots' somehow and this alienation leads to my negative reaction to Moore's work and personna?
The idea that a person's reaction to Moore can be used as a measure of their comfort with the working class is so wrong it's not even wrong.
It's just nonsense.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to rush off to the Saab dealer where I'm meeting an old Yale alum, Thurston Howell the third.
.d.