On Sep 10, 2008, at 9:01 PM, Joseph Catron wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 8:52 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
> wrote:
>
> For me the issue is that these assholes denounce redistribution & gov
>> spending and then benefit from it bigtime.
>
>
> If I didn't know better, Doug, I'd think you were accusing these
> assholes,
> whichever assholes they are, of being politicians.
No. The whole Western ideology, which Alaska shares to some degree, purports to be individualistic and opposed to handouts. It's not just politicians - it's pretty deep in the political culture. Common sense. Just like the view that drug use, adultery, and teen pregnancy reflect moral failings, and aren't just things that happen to people.
When I was in Italy in 1976 I heard a guy tell the story of bicycling past a mental hospital in Sardinia. A woman was tied to a tree, and guys in white coats were slapping her, saying "You're not the Virgin Mary!" I suspect that's bad therapeutic practice, but I often want to sic Sardinian psychiatrists on some people. The kind I was describing in the last paragraph are among them.
Doug