[lbo-talk] white Americans think Kanye West is wrong

[Charles Brown]

I  do not think that any reasonable person can disagree with the above.
However, I have an altogether different fish to fry.  I am basically sick
and tired of America and its many cultural tropes - from neo-liberal
pseudo-certitudes, to the vulgar in-your-face religiosity, to bombastic and
self-righteous politicians, to vulgar populism ands celebrity cults, to
brash shock-jocks and tv "personalities" to patriotic bumper stickers, and
-yes-  to Berkeley-style "leftism" of the
down-with-the-fascist-corporate-state, and
every-inmate-is-a-victim-racism-and-a-political-prisoner variety.  

I am tired of living in this country, Charles, and facing the copious
bullshit it oozes day after day every day - and one way of dealing with it
is ranting about what annoys me.  You surely agree that is ranting has any
sense at all it must be directed at the source of annoyance.  Hence my
ranting against the Berkley-style leftist tropes on this list.  It would
make no sense to rant about that on some right wing outlet, would not you
agree?  Likewise, it does not make much sense to rant about right wing
tropes on this list - it is kind of stale and predictable like bowel
movement.

I just feel so fucking out of place here - even among the seemingly
like-minded people - that it is not even funny.

Wojtek

^^^^^

I feel you , Wojtek. My own frustration with America is that in my youth
there was great movement to make things better. Whatever the shortcomings of
the "60's", it represented sincere desire, sacrifice and effort by masses to
end racism, poverty, war, general social ills. Idealism ( in the good
utopian sense) to change things for the better was strong. Reaganism
represented an incredible ( for me) betrayal of this idealism. It was like
America took back the effort it had just made to make itself better. It's
generosity and humanism lost out completely to its smallminded, selfishness.
It's bad side crushed its good side.

Perhaps one advantage I have over you as a native is that I am comfortable
and familiar with everyday people and happenings. It is quite understandable
that you would have some culture shock and just discomfort with the
quotidien.

In anthro, there is the idea that it makes people look at their own culture
in the way an outsider would.

Overall, your continual ranting and curmudgeoning probably does function
here to challenge us into self-critical thinking.

Charles