Elsewhere (258)
Tim Newman on the bigotry of low expectations:
When I was in Melbourne, some government body or other put on a display of “Aboriginal culture” in Federation Square and advertised it all over town. I guessed in advance that it would consist of a bunch of primitives sat around bashing drums while metropolitan white folk looked on as if they were visiting a zoo. Child-like art would be on display wrapped in copious quantities of mumbo-jumbo. I passed by one Saturday afternoon and sure enough, that’s exactly what it was.
And somewhat related, William Buckner on the ‘noble savage’ fantasy, and the rather less charming realities:
Comparatively little attention has been given to the risk of ‘traveller’s diarrhoea’ common among hunter-gatherers. For mobile groups, infants, the elderly, and other vulnerable individuals have little opportunity to develop resistance to local pathogens. This may help explain why infant and child mortality among hunter-gatherers tends to be so high. Across hunter-gatherer societies, only about 57% of children born survive to the age of 15. Sedentary populations of forager-horticulturalists, and acculturated hunter-gatherers, have a greater number of children surviving into adulthood, with 64% and 67%, respectively, surviving to the age of 15.
Ah, but we must politely overlook the tedium and illiteracy, the malnutrition and dehydration, the alarming levels of child mortality, murder and infanticide, the sharply truncated lifespans, the child rape, and the delights of stone-age dentistry. We must see only how egalitarian and vibrant these exotic creatures are, if you squint and tilt your head, and then carefully turn away while the other stuff takes place.
And if you think such fantasies are confined to the distant past, consider the Utopian ruminations of Guardian columnist George Monbiot, whose urge to romanticise The Other – especially if The Other is brown and poor, and unable to challenge his bizarre worldview – is a thing to behold:
It is impossible not to notice that, in some of the poorest parts of the world, most people, most of the time, appear to be happier than we are. In southern Ethiopia, for example, the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter. In homes constructed from packing cases and palm leaves, people engage more freely, smile more often, express more affection than we do behind our double glazing, surrounded by remote controls.
That’s right. Forget about sanitation and drudgery, and the limited options in life. Think instead of how happy these Ethiopian peasants are, these beings we should emulate, with their quaint little shelters made of leaves and packing cases. It’s just so adorable. And not a single remote control to harsh the egalitarian buzz. Like his Guardian colleague Oliver James – another anhedonic hypocrite stressed by the contradictions of being a well-heeled middle-class lefty – Mr Monbiot wants us to believe that “wealth causes misery.” Yes, wealth is bad for “us” – by which of course he means bad for you.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
You Brits seem to have a corner on the market for strange people…
Somewhat related.
For an idea of what happens when an anthropologist goes against the prevailing ‘Noble Savage’ ideological view of primitive people, using decades worth of first-hand observations, see Napoleon Chagnon.
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Ms O’Toole bemoaned the colonial propagation of Shakespeare, whose works she denounced as “full of classism, sexism, racism and defunct social mores.”
Related, in South Africa things have gotten so splintered that a group claiming to be the real first inhabitants decided to protest by showing up to an ANC meeting in traditional garb which I guess is supposed to show their purity compared to people wearing western style suits. Note, however, the vertical abdominal scar on the gentleman on the right which shows he has availed himself of the colonial propagation of an exploratory laparotomy, culturally appropriating white medicine.
…feminist boyfriends…
Sort of related, car ad for millennials. (N.B.- this will probably make more sense to those in the US/Canada who have seen the crappy Chevy commercials)
Meanwhile, are your erogenous zones demilitarized ?
I am still trying to figure out how a self proclaimed gay guy is being “sexually assaulted” by women, straight or otherwise, other than that he has a rather overblown (no pun intended) opinion of himself.
I’m tired as hell. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired
It occurs to me that the entrances to every Angry Studies department should bear the warning Happiness Cannot Grow Here.
Curious regarding the Noble Savage thing as played in the UK and elsewhere in Boy Scout organizations. When I was in the Boy Scouts (now just Scouts) here in the US, Native American culture, especially plains Indians, was venerated. There was even a very NA themed honor group called The Order Of The Arrow. I presume that this was US-based only, and given that the organization originates with Lord Baden-Powell from the UK and in the context of South Africa and the Boer War, is/was there some similar veneration of other aboriginal cultures there?
is/was there some similar veneration of other aboriginal cultures there?
I don’t recall any. But then I wasn’t in the Scouts.
…similar veneration of other aboriginal cultures there?
The aboriginal culture of Britain is British so, no. Baden-Powell himself held the Boers in high regard due to their courage, skill-at-arms and field craft but I imagine that these days that would be ‘problematic’.
Perhaps Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate*, from Inferno?
*Abandon all hope, ye who enter here
…the warning Happiness Cannot Grow Here.
Yes, and the motto, Problemata vera non habemus, ergo illis facimus.
…Native American culture, especially plains Indians, was venerated…
Meanwile in America’s Hat:
Unless I am mistaken, “Chaudhury” is a an Indian name, but dot, not feather, so Canada is not exactly “indigenous” for her. I guess she is just being a white knight for the “indigenous” – scratch that, a Non-white, But Not Black Knight.
The aboriginal culture of Britain is British so, no.
Well, yeah…kinda obviously. Though I have heard objections from Welshmen on the subject. ;). Not my monkeys, not my circus…but the Empire being what it is/was, sun never setting and such, there would have been quite a number of aboriginal cultures to choose from. Though I guess I take that in general as a no.
I distinctly remember being taught by our scoutmaster that the “Indians” were so honorable and honest that all they had to do was place a stick over the entrance to the teepee/wigwam (which of course all Indians lived in) and that symbolized that the door was locked. Made me wonder why they even needed the stick. But as a 13 year old, I wasn’t sure such a comment would be appreciated.
The aboriginal culture of Britain is British so, no.
Specifically…
Or, think Keira Knightley in that 2004 retelling of the Arthurian Legend.
… there would have been quite a number of aboriginal cultures to choose from.
Brits admire the Gurkhas and the Zulus as being worthy opponents, but not so far as to want to emulate their lifestyles. I was, briefly, a Cub Scout
forty-fiveseveral years ago but I couldn’t tell you about the modern Scout organisation. They allow girls now!The possibility that at any given time one set of values and insights might be preferable to another, even objectively better and markedly so, is apparently something that a “post-colonial theorist” mustn’t think about.
Clown school churns out clowns.
Clown school churns out clowns.
Having left London’s academic Clown Quarter, Ms O’Toole currently lives in Montreal and works at Concordia University, where she lectures the young and foolhardy in “performances of Irishness in a globalised world.” Specifically,
Oddly enough, Ms O’Toole has chosen not to live somewhere less bedevilled by the assumptions of cultural superiority that she claims to find so offensive and inexcusable. Say, Liberia, Eritrea or Somalia, where the prevailing culture is apparently no less glorious than our own, and where opportunities to get paid for peddling “critical theory” are no doubt plentiful.
And speaking of those defunct social mores:
Meh.
The article is mere handwaving and hoping nobody notices. The rather obvious questions to ask in Sweden—and to ask the writer of that article—are;
What is the total number of immigrants in Sweden?
–Hard numbers, as far as anyone can tell, don’t just state some handwaving recitation of There is an increase, therefore, everyone panic!!!!
What percentage of the immigrants are turning out to be criminal?
What is the total number of native Swedes?
By comparison, what percentage of the Swedes are turning out to be criminal?
—Again, stick to the hard numbers.
—And do remember to subtract both of the two populations of populace and criminal from each other when counting separately.
And. . .
If these hard numbers are not being made readily accessible, Why not? . . . . where that might be the most interesting question.
Ms O’Toole has chosen not to live somewhere less bedevilled by the assumptions of cultural superiority that she claims to find so offensive and inexcusable. Say, Liberia, Eritrea or Somalia
You clearly haven’t been to Montreal lately.
We all have our foibles, especially around symbols of national pride. I try not to mock others’ merely because they look odd to me.
Would it help if I told you that the ever-more-spastic end zone celebrations in American football strike me as equally clownish?
Bringing a neolithic warrior posturing dance to a modern sporting event is silly and self-parodying. But okay, I’ll bite; the next time the All Blacks trot out their dance routine, the opposing team should reach back into their history and respond with a warrior tradition of their own: charging the enemy lines astride a thousand pounds of horseflesh and barding.
Or, you know, both teams could shake hands and just play some football.
You clearly haven’t been to Montreal lately.
Heh. And I’m pretty sure that Ms O’Toole and her circle spend plenty of time feeling culturally superior to people who feel culturally superior to illiterate cannibals.
Meanwhile, at Buzzfeed…
Mme Oakes is the *Science Editor* at Buzzfeed UK, because of course she is. Isn’t her scintillating analytical mind in sharp relief?
All I want for Christmas is full communism now
As you wish:
For five months, The New York Times tracked 21 public hospitals in Venezuela. Doctors are seeing record numbers of children with severe malnutrition. Hundreds have died.
…Venezuela…
“Thats not real socialism.”™
“They weren’t doing it right”™
Perhaps it’s redundant to point out that an entire country of Little Match Girls is not what anyone sane would want for Christmas, seasonality aside.
All I want for Christmas is full communism now
For Christmas, it would be nice if some people bothered to find out exactly what it is that they’re wishing for.
Shrugs. Well, there are quite a few of us who are categorized at being at risk (~4 million). From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221310/:
…it would be nice if some people bothered to find out exactly what it is that they’re wishing for.
Some men, you just can’t reach. Read this steaming pile of tweets wherein various idiots blame the kulaks for the Holodomor.
One “Fred X” particularly has an odd view of what happened.
Shrugs. Well, there are quite a few of us who are categorized at being at risk (~4 million).
Isaac Asimov died of AIDS.
In particular . . .
…it would be nice if some people bothered to find out exactly what it is that they’re wishing for.
Shadow Home Secretary says what ?
“…the lady demonstrated that it was possible to extract half-digested berries from elephant poo…”
If that disgusts you, you are raaacist!
There is a show on Netflix right now called Genius of the Modern World. Episode 1 is Karl Marx and episode 2 is Friedrich Nietzsche. A Marx biographer named Rachel Holmes literally calls Marx a hero while in the Nietzsche episode the host, Bettany Hughes, declares “The sister and the brother must share responsibility for the life that his work took on after his death.” Sure Marx saw revolutionary terror as necessary but there was no comparable measuring of responsibility of the consequences of his writings in the Marx episode.
clips at the link.
While I’m American, I do recall hearing that Diane Abbott isn’t very good with numbers. I suspect the response would have had more enthusiastic scorn and scowling if something similar had been said of Hitler as opposed to the smiling and laughing that occurred.
I’m especially impressed by Mao’s accomplishment of preceding but not at all participating in or causing an economic boom. I wish someone had asked her for a breakdown : how many deaths is each of Mao’s accomplishments worth? How many Britons would you murder in order to leave the UK on the verge of, but not at, an economic success?
“…the lady demonstrated that it was possible to extract half-digested berries from elephant poo…”
If that disgusts you, you are raaacist!
Kopi Luwak.
Farnsworth,
Read this steaming pile of tweets wherein various idiots blame the kulaks for the Holodomor.
It is quite impossible to distinguish parody from genuine dumbfuckery these days.
One “Fred X” particularly has an odd view of what happened.
I recall a great deal of “Fred X” types a couple of years back when the Ukrainians deposed their corrupt Putin puppet president (and installed an allegedly equally-corrupt EU puppet president). Even the “respected” pseudonymous Spengler insisted the Ukrainians had no real claim to independence (there wasn’t even a Ukrainian language dictionary until the 20th century!) It was all very odd.
I’m tired as hell
I felt depressed and fatigued too until I got a CPAP machine, I’m energetic and pumped and more right wing than ever!
other one that annoys me is the deference and official accommodation given to the performance of the Haka by South Pacific rugby teams.
Sometimes they can be very special events. These boys adore their teacher…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFGort3K9W8
I must be doubly aware of how my body is being desired, feared, and chosen for discipline by all genders, Black or White, straight or otherwise.
In your dreams. Tosser.
Sure Marx saw revolutionary terror as necessary but there was no comparable measuring of responsibility of the consequences of his writings in the Marx episode.
Imagine my surprise.
Given how hard it is to miss the class-genocide fantasies of Marx and Engels, or any of the other warning signs that practically scream these are not good people, it’s remarkable how often, and reliably, some people do miss them.
It occurs to me that this is inadvertently revealing – though not of men, as claimed, but of feminist vanity:
Yes, of course. Men must be afraid of books preferred by feminists. A more prosaic explanation – that many men (and women) simply aren’t that interested in the kinds of books that animate feminists – is apparently unworthy of consideration.
Men are afraid of the stories that aren’t written by them.
No, we just don’t find them very interesting ( with a few honourable exceptions).
BTW, why does a literary festival in India have a backdrop of Egyptian hieroglyphics? Cultural appropriation!
No, we just don’t find them very interesting
And by extension, the reason that Laurie isn’t a best-selling author is because of all her dark and terrible wisdom, all that searing truth, which we menfolk fear.
Men are afraid of the stories that aren’t written by them.
Men – who’ve brushed up against malignant feminism and gotten some on them – generally find it pitiable. If it assaults them directly, they find it annoying.
That tends to be the case upon inevitably realizing that the whole bizarre leftist movement is rooted in impacted dysfunction: Projection and splitting, appropriation and outright theft, abject dishonesty and intentionalism, simple aggression and the collective force behind all of it.
When your shtick is to intentionally see the world in an artificial way that bolsters your rampant selfishness, folks generally see right through you, although if you’re typically uncivil about it, some will rise to the occasion and think you an unbridled ninny.
Here’s one: As an unbridled ninny you immigrate to some socialized communist paradise and try that same shit. Odds on your next birthday? And there we have it. Your own people won’t endure your mental illness.
Sometimes they can be very special events.
Indeed. I am failing to see why I should get exercised over this, for a sportsball team is just another way for a team to get psyched up before a game, and the Maoris don’t seem to be bothered by having their culture appropriated.
If you want to see a haka type thing taken to the next level, I give you the India and Pakistan Border Retreat Ceremonies.
Kopi Luwak.
I’ve heard of those. I cannot find the words to adequately describe such kooks.
and the Maoris don’t seem to be bothered
In my peripheral vision that first seemed to be “Morris”. Now, I don’t know much about Morris dancers, but Terry Pratchett did warn us about them.
I cannot find the words to adequately describe such kooks.
I have a confession to make. In my defence, it was a gift.
I cannot find the words to adequately describe such kooks.
Speaking of kooks, back in the great North American frozen wasteland, Wilfred Laurier University has decided that Miss Shepherd wasn’t out of line.
The immediate response of her inquisitors is to go full Orwell.
Riiiiiight; never go full Orwell.
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by the Arctic, an Antipodal kook join the fray.
Yeah, that will show The Colonel™. You really have to wonder what goes on in these nitwit’s minds so that they think that is actually going to accomplish anything, or is any way a Bold Stand™ against Teh Man™.
Yeah, that will show The Colonel™. You really have to wonder what goes on in these nitwit’s minds so that they think that is actually going to accomplish anything, or is any way a Bold Stand™ against Teh Man™.
Reminds of that guy who went through a Chik-Fil-A* drive through for the sole purpose of obtaining a free water and abusing the teenage attendant about corporate’s open Christianity. Of course, he filmed the whole thing as a triumph of Progressive-ism, only to demonstrate that the attendant was extraordinarily polite and he was dick. These people really don’t understand they’re not helping the cause.
*What is it about tasty chicken that drives Leftists insane?
Riiiiiight; never go full Orwell.
It really is astounding that Ms. Shepherd’s detractors cannot/will not bring themselves to accurately describe what she did: show a clip from a publicly televised debate about an issue wherein both sides of the issue were represented. The response is Exhibit “A” in the case for Leftist/Progressive bad faith in argument.
… Wilfred Laurier University has decided that Miss Shepherd wasn’t out of line.
One of the confusing aspects of this case is why Lindsay, not unintelligent and with many admirable qualities, invested so much time and money in pursuing a higher degree in ‘Communications’. It’s not like a hungover matelot waking up with tattoo regret: there were surely many missed opportunities for her to have been guided towards something more worthwhile.