SATIRE AS A MORAL MESSAGE?


Victor Pross

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I just thunk'd of something!

If I were to follow Nick's example, who should I be angry with?

Should I hate whites? My Great-Great Grandmother was named Jemmimah.

Should I carry second hand hatred because of the black blood in my veins?

Or should I hate Jemmimah and the 'black' Spaniard who washed ashore on the Emerald Isle after England sank his Armada? Hate them for muddying up my downy white gene pool.

Or should I take vengence upon the vile Moor who invaded the land of my Spanish blood?

Should I take up arms to second handedly defend my ancient English brothers against the Viking invaders.

Or do I stand with the Vikings? I am their blood too?

Should I dispise Americans? They whooped up on Germany twice!

Should I curse Danes? Should I cuss Swedes?

I am sure it is their fault I have blonde hair, blue eyes and can't dance.

Don't even get me started on those freek'n Irish bastards!

What were they thinkin' when they took in that greasy Spaniard?

Damn it! Can't any of my ancestors get along?

Thank god none of 'em immigrated to Canada or Oklahoma!

Whewwwwwww! That would'a really pissed me off!

If I stood up to defend the 'blood' of all my ancestors, I would be at war with everyone.

I would be miserable.

I would rather make fun of all of 'em.

And the French!

Silly notion; this whole race thing!

I like being a mutt!

gw

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Gee, you can't swing a dead, skinned cat without hitting some animal activist around here.

Okay, I admit it. I love dark humor. I love edgy humor. I dig Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Dennis Miller, Bill Hicks and a whole slew of others. What does this say for my “sense of life”? It’s fine, thank you. I love humor and love to laugh.

The belief that humour can't be had at the expense of people's mental or physical condition is rooted in the belief that such people need to be handled with kid gloves or only in novels Oprah likes. Such a belief is simply condescension dressed up as compassion. [This is not to say that all dark humor is subjected only to the above examples].

Humor that's dark is an instrument we use to come to terms with the world we live in. It allows us to ease the tension as we work towards understanding. Comedy needs latitude to push boundaries and nothing should be off limits. It needs to be edgy, a little dangerous and, at times, profane and offensive. In this regard, I'm not your garden-variety Objectivist.

Let me give you an example:

Let's say you go to the cinema one night, making sure not to park in the handicap spot, and settle in to watch a film. The image on the screen rises from black to reveal a man hobbled by cerebral palsy, his legs shackled in braces and his crooked hands clutching a pair of three-pronged canes. You see, the judge pronounces him victorious in his civil case against the province for not enforcing the law requiring places of business to provide adequate access ramps for disabled people. After much backslapping, the man departs to re-enter a new and more accessible world. The camera picks him up outside the courtroom staring down the huge expanse of stone steps. He smiles to himself and makes his way to the ramp beside the steps, whereupon he trips and proceeds to roll and crash all the way to the bottom. Splat!

That's funny. And it's all right to laugh at it. The problem lies in the belief that by laughing at the scene, you are laughing at the "the poor crippled man" when, in fact, it is the IRONY of the situation that is making you laugh. Sure, its dark humor. Yes, it may make some people angry or uncomfortable. But, while it's making you laugh, it may also be making you consider the plight of the disabled. This was the secret of Lenny Bruce’s comedy. He got people thinking about society’s stupid taboos and outer unspoken subjects...sex, relgion, race. People laughed. They also started to think.

Fuck you very much.

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Gary,

I just reread your last post, and while it is not totally my Grail (locating more than one Black Objectivist on the planet), it appears to me that you might be a ray of white, er...dark light.

From what you said, that might make you some kind of octaroon neo-O'ist creature. Let's put it this way- you have black blood in your veins and you read Atlas Shrugged. Pay Dirt, at Last!!

rde

And yes, occasionally I do order fried okra with my lunch over here

in the 'hood. And yes, I absolutely get the best homeade BBQ sauce on the planet, for barter- I designed the jar labels. Cubana, anyone?

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Is humor, by its nature, anti-heroic?

Is that why Ayn didn't likey?

Is that why Mr. Perigo & friends loves the funny at the expense of their enemies, but get hissy and prickly when the laughs are on them?

Is that why Nick objects to certain jokes, because they don't uphold the heroism of the oppressed, don't honor and respect their struggles?

Because some humor says, "You're oppressed? So fucking what? You want a medal?" or "Yeah, you're oppressed! Frickin' deal! And shut up while yer at it!" or even "You feelin' oppressed? Well, obviously not enough! Here, bend over!"

Such sentiments, though caustic, are nonetheless expressive of realities and feelings anyone can recognize in themselves--feelings that are in most cases, contrary to accepted norms. Isn't the reason that any mean-spirited joke stings us is because it's true--not absolutely, nor definitively, but true, real, valid--specifically, in a way which we're trying to deny?

At times, all of us take our suffering into the realm of self-importance and moral superiority; all of us have felt at one time or another that the world owes us because of our hurts, haven't we? And all of us, secretly at least, have revelled in the power our suffering can give us over other people who are susceptible to guilt?

I didn't find that tsunami "song" funny. I might even go so far as to say the folks that do find it funny are some species of "sick puppy." But then, such overwhelming catastrophes tend to make everyone connected with them at least a little sick and at times puppy-ish. Haven't you heard of nervous laughter?

I don't know what tangible good it does to "denounce" a joke. We can't really help what we find funny, all we can do is stifle it or let it be. I'm in favor of letting it be.

Oh, and here's a sick joke you haven't heard:

Q: How many incest survivors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

A: I can't remember but I have the scares.

-Kevin

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Rich,

You should'a seen the reaction of some of my relatives when my geneology search turned up Grandma Jemmimah!

Needless to say the Klan meetings were never the same again!

And you won't get me within 10 feet of an okra pod.

But I do like sauerkraut. Go figure.

Romeo y Julieta?

gw

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The time has come to stop living in the past.

That, I think, is what the beloved Ayn Rand was getting at when she developed her philosophy and wrote her books.

Her philosophy is a philosophy for living. Not living in the past!

Wow, my cock eyed friend, you nailed it on the head in more ways than you can imagine. It's about the present; i.e, introspection, extrospection, judging, especially enjoying the moment, Living, and all the other little goodies that go along with it is about the "present" and NOT the past. Of course, you plan ahead, etc. But, for me, the philosophy is very much about the "present" and living and not the past. This is one of the aspects I've come to learn almost 17 years ago when I went through what I did and saw way too much. For me, all those things and in particular intro and extro was never done regarding the past and past situations, it was always done as I went along and was done in the "present," by asking myself question after question and always answering those questions as to "What" I was doing and "Why" I was doing it. It truly is about living in the present and not the past. For me, you hit the nail directly on the head !!

"It does not matter that only a few in each generation will grasp and achieve the full reality of man’s proper stature—and the rest will betray it. It is those few that move the world and give life its meaning—and it is those few that I have always sought to address. The rest are no concern of mine; it is not me or "The Fountainhead" that they will betray: it is their own souls.”

~ Ayn Rand

I also agree with every single word in this quote, particularly the first sentence but do agree with all of it. Thank you for sharing that, my cock eyed friend !! :D

Angie

Hey, I actually got the dang quote thing working...wooohooo!! LOL

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I've finally found a nickname I can live with: "igloo noogier"

Thanks gary. You damned Captain Kirk hating, Canadian bashing, Shania screwing... Hmmmmmmmmm... racist bastard, you.

Screw you too!

Paul

Why does everybody pick on Captain Kirk?

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Wait a sec.............................................................................

......................................................

Had to put on my asbestos skivies; you never know when Angie will show up!

Laughing is a gift that only comes from conscienceness (did I spell that right?)

Stop disecting it.

Just enjoy it!

Just enjoy what only a human can enjoy!

Go laugh at a monkey or a donkey or a Frenchman and say...........

I am Human! Hear me Laugh!

Hahahahahahahaahahahahahahahah............Ya stupid monkey...er Dude from France! Hahhahahahahahahahahaha!

It is a pure gift for the present.

Enjoy it!

Even if the Devil made you do it!

Mmmuuuuuaaaahhahahahaha!

I'm next in line for his job! I will make you all proud!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ate at an Ethiopian restaurant the other night.

It took an hour for the plane to air drop my order & at least 10 minutes to get that damn sack of flour open!

I give that restaurant 4 stars for authenticity! (did I spell that right?)

Peace, love, out!

gw

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Quote:  

Why does everybody pick on Captain Kirk?  

He's played by a Canadian and he gets all the green chicks!

Yeah, he was my hero growing up. ;)

Now it's Captain Picard because we have the same hair style: the reverse Mohawk.

Paul

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Let's not forget that Kirk did the first-ever interracial kiss on network TV.

Shatner...I love that guy. Odd parallels between he and NB, too. Both around the same age, both from Toronto. I asked NB about that once and he said they had met socially at one point.

Minor housekeeping: The mention of Charlie Chaplin... Ahh, the way to my heart! I recommend his autobiography. And, Downey was superb in the film, I believe...one of the few out there that still brings a tear to my eye after a hundred viewings...

Q: What's the best thing about child molesting?

A: They think you're just HUGE!!

Oops...

Life is fully brutal, and fully beautiful. It is a full-spectrum experience, at least if you're in the business of grokking it that way... I remain nonplussed that humor mirrors that- The Total Heights, The Total Lows. (Total Boner Time too, apparently, MSK).

People that talk about tastelessness are usually sticks-in-the-mud. They are the Mrs. Grundy lurking in every neighborhood. Lowbrow is every bit as joyous as highbrow- they just don't always mix well. For me, equally good dates could be an elegant dinner and thee-ah-tuhr, or swilling beer and eating greasy BBQ chicken with your hands, replete with flickering neon sign outside the seedy motel room window. Why deny yourself just because you think you're so bloody principled?

Does Perigo, for instance, realize how funny he really is going on and on about Lanza (whose singing, for the record, I enjoy, respect, and even understand, though he was only an artist, not Alpha/Omega), while at the same time making giant, ignorant, goofy and sweeping remarks about rock music and electronica- muziks of which he displays near-zero specific understanding, muziks of which he cannot take to the sub-category level? And would not bother to look into doing so anymore than learning what the 6 Pillars are?

Heavens, I keep with this deadhorse flogging only because, because, because, because of the wonderful things it does.... :D/

So while I lie deep within that obssessive riff...

Did you notice he went to the buff, younger, tuxedoed picture, replacing the more realistic curmudgeonly-photo? Ah, beloved vanity.

I put my avatar up today (doesn't "avatar" sound so...menacing?)... one done not 3 weeks ago in the middle of Chapin Forest. Not bad for a pushing-fifty half-geek guitarist, I s'pose... And more importantly, sitting at a trim, healthy fighting weight. A solid, spartan bachelor diet, a heavy performance schedule, lots of nooky, and lots of swing dance does wonders for a man!

Perigo- perhaps to cut back on that mandatory red meat would make that lean, mean AirConductor<tm> that resides within.. Nay, better yet: put down the fork for a bit in general? Let your Vanity inspire to the Total Height, the Total Leanness!!!

Housekeeping issue: I have a conflict and cannot dig up Mario Lanza this weekend, after all- I am playing a showcase. If anyone has the right tools (night ops gear including nightvision would be good as well as a medical transport container) , he is over at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA- a hop skip and jump from the TOC thing.

Here is a surveillance shot of the territory:

619b.jpg?grwSXpEBdPBkX4rl

Here is the target:

8c9e.jpg?grwSXpEBTWQpkXHi

All I ask is that you mail me a drumstick. I will supply my own Cubana sauce.

rde

Ain't Life Grand? :lol:

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Rich, I see you're not wearing your Brazilian cut speedos in that picture, [-X [-X You really should have put that one up instead. You'd make my cock eyed friend with the big weenie envious....LOL

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My cock eyed friend, Dragonlady as a nickname is fine with me. Trust me, I've been called worse.....some appropriate, some vulgar, some so true. One obvious nickname is spanky but have also been called Big Foot amongst many others.....LOL Not because of what I look like, I don't think I would consider myself a Big Foot. Rich can attest to this one I think. It's just I have a Big Foot....LOL Well, I think they are size appropriate for my height. But at any rate, your nickname is fine with me. Or if you want to call me something more vulgar, be my guest, I'll be laughing along with you :D

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Angie-

Well, I was on a hiking trip when that was taken. Not the time for butt-floss; rashes and bugs and stuff. And hey, I have that all the time anyway.

rde

This weekend on ESPN:

KASS Thong AirConducting Playoffs<tm>: Weiss Vs. Perigo

"You Will Pluck Out Your Own Eyeballs"

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Rich, you know that's not true, although I can picture you streaking through the woods. Oh, I would be laughing so hard if you did that....LOL

Wasn't that pix taken on your photo shoot to the tropics? Remember, it was taken before you stripped down almost butt naked and donned the butt-floss. See, don't you remember, shit, you're already warming up to the camera, you're already striking one of your sexy poses.

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Rich wrote,

"Not bad for a pushing-fifty half-geek guitarist, I s'pose... And more importantly, sitting at a trim, healthy fighting weight."

Not only trim, but you also look tall.

Ever play any ball?

(In addition to having been The Student Conductor, Band President, and Recipient of the John Philip Sousa Award in high school, I was also the Captain and Starting Center on the basketball team. So take it from me that Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins was the greatest basketball player ever. I love Dawkins. Darryl Dawkins, Darryl Dawkins, Darryl Dawkins! Most other people think that Jordan was the greatest, but they don't know what they're talking about. Jordan was a gimmicky pomo. Dawkins, on the other hand, was a god who played with total passion for the total height, and his dunking was KASS!!! If there's any hope for the future, it's in swamp-dwellers learning to recognize the unmatched greatness of Darryl Dawkins, so tonight, like every night, I'm going down to the local sports bar with my copy of highlights of Dawkins' greatest moments. I'm going to use my Chaucerian style to gripe about all of the uninformed sports "fans" who hang out there watching current games played by the vile, disgusting players of today, and I'm going to heroically demand that the bartender, if he had any sense at all and wasn't such a fucking scumbag, should shut off that crap and play my tape of the great and mighty Darryl Dawkins to show the pusball patrons what excellence is all about. Why is everyone in the world a low-life asshole except me and Darryl Dawkins?)

J

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I don't think I would consider myself a Big Foot.

Bigfoot? No.

Sasquatch? No.

* Almas - Mongolia's Bigfoot

* Barmanou - Afghanistan and Pakistan's Bigfoot

* Ebu Gogo - A similar creature from the Flores Islands of Indonesia

* Fouke Monster - The Bigfoot sighted in Fouke, Arkansas.

* Kapre - A similar creature from the Philippines.

* Momo the Monster - Bigfoot-type creature from northeastern Missouri.

* Nguoi Rung - Vietnam's Bigfoot

* Orang Pendak - A similar creature from Sumatra in Indonesia.

* Orang Mawas - Malaysia's Bigfoot

* Skunk Ape - Florida's Bigfoot

* Woodwose - Medieval Europe's Bigfoot

* Yeren - China's Bigfoot

* Yeti - Tibet's Bigfoot

* Yowie - Australia's Bigfoot

* Perigo - New Zealand's Chickenfoot

Nope! I don't like any of these.

How about Vixen?

Hoochie Mama?

Tart?

No?

Oh well!

I like Firecracker!

This weekend on ESPN:

KASS Thong AirConducting Playoffs<tm>: Weiss Vs. Perigo

"You Will Pluck Out Your Own Eyeballs"

BOOOOYAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!

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Jonathan asks if I played b-ball:

Nope. But people asked all the time. No good at it at all, I stuck w/ martial arts and sailing.

Angie- OK, it wasn't a hiking trip. But it wasn't the Hawaiian Tropic Girl shoot either, like you thought; you're confusing events.

My, you were a randy little vixen on that trip though, now that I think of it... [-X

This shot was actually from when we were out in NZ, crossbow hunting for wild curmudgeon. Damn near bagged what looked like a fine hairy three-hundred-pounder, but it went skittering off into the bush with a bolt stuck up its blowhole.... the cries were horrible...like kassssss, kassssss, kasssssss...

rde

I'm not mean, you're just a sissy.

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Not only trim, but you also look tall.

He's not tall, he's just got on his 4 inch hot pink stilettos. Oh, yeah, I remember now, Rich, after this shot was taken, you got all decked out as a cross dresser hunting 300 pound wild curmudgeon and maybe a Big Foot or two.

Yeah, you did bag quite a few rewards !! We definitely had a lot of fun on that trip !!

Angie

Vixen, Hoochie Mama, and Firecracker !!

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