<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body> Wojtek Sokolowski wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid000001c5d104$0ceab570$9e66dc80@WSokolows"> <pre wrap="">What? They are buying to it BIG time - just look at the enormous popularity of everything "gangsta" - video games, movies, attitude, music, fashion, shows, patterns of speech. Check the internet chat room - most of what you will find is verbal gangsterism, hurling insult sand verbal assaults with no shred of reasoning - just what Bush gang does in international politics, the industry does in advertising and entertainment, and the populace emulates in everyday life. </pre> </blockquote> I disagree. This is fashion without substance. The girls at my sister's private high school all wore tattered clothes the late seventies, cause it was the grunge look etc. This is no different. Poor people can't really afford to be vicious to one another. If you don't cooperate when you're poor, you die. Isolation is largely a luxury of people who are not living on the edge. <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid000001c5d104$0ceab570$9e66dc80@WSokolows"> <pre wrap=""> If you think it is about race, political views or any other REASONED point of view (no matter how virtuous or reprehensible, you are missing the point entirely. It is all about attitude, images of power, posturing and instant gratification of adrenaline rush. That is the only thing that 'works' i.e. seems to be getting any popular attention in this media-overstimulated world. Everything else is too brainy and booooring, too "libtard," too "gay" and too wussy. </pre> </blockquote> Well, yeah. Basically, the "gangsta" is the prevailing template for male identity these days. But it doesn't help you much if you're over twenty five and you know it. <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid000001c5d104$0ceab570$9e66dc80@WSokolows"> <pre wrap=""> Anyone who is serious about getting any political power needs to play this game or be lost. You can be an anarchist, or a libertarian, or whatever you want, but that will get zero attention unless you shout obscenities, act aggressively, viciously attack scapegoats, and insult your opponents. </pre> </blockquote> So, if we do all that, what would be the diff between us and them? What exactly would we be winning if we won? Joanna <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid000001c5d104$0ceab570$9e66dc80@WSokolows"> <pre wrap=""> </pre> </blockquote> </body> </html>