>How old is the guy who has a view about Communists? I
>guess the thing I find remarkable is that the thought
>of Communists would come into his mind at all.
both 30ish. Well-educated. He's a graduate student in creative writing, part-time of course. Wife, kids. Wife works at the local public radio station. She's got a film studies background, was a nanny for awhile. Married a Navy guy, raising family.
> In this
>country, and especially today, any views about
>Communists are sort of like the Elizabethan idea of
>atheists, no one had ever actually met one, spoken to
>one, seen one even, but one knew, somehow, that they
>were the Enemies of Humankind.
:) Well, they both work with me everyday, though not directly. They're just
part of the larger TEEM. I'm not properly a commie anyway but I wouldn't
use the term Marxist with shame.
>Most of my non- or semi-political friends think I am
>just Very Liberal, not in the slightly technical sense
>that I use the word, but just in a commonsense sort of
>way, meaning (for them) that I am basically a yellow
>dog Democrat and like the Clintons. (This despite my
>polite but firm statements that the Clintons refuse
>the term "liberal" in any sense, that I think they are
>basically Reaganites without the charm, and that I
>think the Democratic Party is a pathetic joke.) A few
>others -- or some of the same people! -- think that I
>am a "Communist" or a "Marxist," even if I tell them I
>don't call myself those things and that people who do
>call themselves those things think I don't qualify.
>Way too liberal.
I'd think that he'd characterize himself as liberal -- he thinks cars and teevee are 3vil. But, he'd be one of those liberals who wants to quickly point out that they have no love of the state -- not b/c this is well-thought out, but because it's de rigeur, lest anyone think you're too liberal, too commie.
She's similar in these respects, though disdains his views about cars and teevee. They spend quite a bit of time analyzing the latest films and teevee shows, discuss Harry Potter, that sort of thing.
It's one thing I enjoy about the place, most of the people who are in management or something similar tend to spend their time discussing films on public teevee, documentaries, something they caught on the history channel, discovery, etc. Reading seems to be mostly fiction -- sci fi, historical novels such as a series by some guy who supposed to have really done his homework on the Civil War (though the author was recommended by one of the few freepers (the only?), there, so I'm not sure of the author's politics).
We did discuss religion today, though. I'd say 50/50 but I wouldn't characterize anyone there as an atheist. They'd see themselves more as spiritual.
I'd call myself that, too, but most people would be aghast to learn what I think spiritual means.
>--- bitch at pulpculture.org wrote:
>
> > conversation at work:
> >
> > She, reading an email from an online friend who is
> > Greece: My friend from
> > Greece. *sigh* We get along so great, but there are
> > some things that just
> > upset both of us.
> >
> > He, listening to her, rather used to the prattle but
> > relieved because it
> > breaks up the boredom of the day, says, "Oh?"
> >
> > She: "She's very opinionated. And you know? Greeks
> > don't always like
> > America. Some of them hate America."
> >
> > He: "Oh certainly." He roots around in his head for
> > a reason why this is
> > so, some bit of world history class or something he
> > might have read in the
> > news.
> >
> > He, again: "Oh, in that part of the world you can't
> > take it for granted
> > that they love the US. And Greece has a large
> > communist presence.
> > Communists run for office there pretty regularly."
> >
> > It was such a classic conversation. Communist =
> > America hater. Muslims can
> > break out of that a bit, if they just become
> > American. heh.
> >
> >
> >
> > At 01:42 PM 9/27/2007, Doug Henwood wrote:
> > >Ok, Americans don't think too highly of Moslems or
> > Mormons. But they
> > >think even less highly of atheists!
> > >
> >
> ><http://pewresearch.org/pubs/602/public-expresses-mixed-views-of-> >islam
> -mormonism>
> > >
> > >Scroll down to table at bottom for a full view;
> > here are the highlights:
> > >
> > >favorable opinion of
> > >
> > >Jews 76%
> > >Catholics 76
> > >Evangelical Christians 60
> > >Mormons 53
> > >Muslim Americans 53
> > >Muslims 43
> > >atheists 35
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >___________________________________
> >
> >http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
> > "You know how it is, come for the animal porn,
> > stay for the cultural analysis." -- Michael Berube
> >
> > Bitch | Lab
> > http://blog.pulpculture.org (NSFW)
> >
> > ___________________________________
> >
>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
>
>
>
>
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"You know how it is, come for the animal porn, stay for the cultural analysis." -- Michael Berube
Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org (NSFW)