I read with interest this post & the comments. I appreciate the thoughtful way you laid out your thesis.
An observation: this area of human interaction (and how each interaction comments on intention, conscience, mores, etc.) is so hopelessly complex, that each new incident almost requires its own small thesis.
Two examples from my week: I'm reading a bio of Rimbaud. There are oddly no illustrations yet interesting descriptions of the few photographs, sketches, and the one painting that contains his image. In my surfing to find the images themselves I ran across a Patty Smith song: Rock n roll n*****. I really don't know much about the song other than it was written in 1978. A brief perusal of the lyrics seem to indicate that Smith is appropriating the n word for [artistic] purposes. [Not sure if that is the right word]. Is this OK? Was it OK in 1978 but not now? If a Texas songwriter in 2014 tried to use this as a title, it would be quite controversial.
This week, Israel & myself went to a family wedding in Santa Cruz. I was a stranger to many people there, and had to introduce myself over & over. I usually just abbreviated it to: I'm Israel's partner of 32 years. Oddly enough, out of the 10 or so people that were actually from Santa Cruz or the neighboring villages, 5 or 6 of them immediately responded: Oh you'll find Santa Cruz is a very accepting place. My gut feeling each time was: Really? We're not only in northern California, but in a small town with one of its famous liberal colleges. And you still have to say that? I can't imagine a local gay stranger immediately coming back with this.
In both situations, my mind is filled with questions & potential questions, but doesn't resolve to a thoughtful explanation. Only to a numbness with the multiplicity of implications.
no subject
An observation: this area of human interaction (and how each interaction comments on intention, conscience, mores, etc.) is so hopelessly complex, that each new incident almost requires its own small thesis.
Two examples from my week: I'm reading a bio of Rimbaud. There are oddly no illustrations yet interesting descriptions of the few photographs, sketches, and the one painting that contains his image. In my surfing to find the images themselves I ran across a Patty Smith song: Rock n roll n*****. I really don't know much about the song other than it was written in 1978. A brief perusal of the lyrics seem to indicate that Smith is appropriating the n word for [artistic] purposes. [Not sure if that is the right word]. Is this OK? Was it OK in 1978 but not now? If a Texas songwriter in 2014 tried to use this as a title, it would be quite controversial.
This week, Israel & myself went to a family wedding in Santa Cruz. I was a stranger to many people there, and had to introduce myself over & over. I usually just abbreviated it to: I'm Israel's partner of 32 years. Oddly enough, out of the 10 or so people that were actually from Santa Cruz or the neighboring villages, 5 or 6 of them immediately responded: Oh you'll find Santa Cruz is a very accepting place. My gut feeling each time was: Really? We're not only in northern California, but in a small town with one of its famous liberal colleges. And you still have to say that? I can't imagine a local gay stranger immediately coming back with this.
In both situations, my mind is filled with questions & potential questions, but doesn't resolve to a thoughtful explanation. Only to a numbness with the multiplicity of implications.