What's what?
On a tangent, the ABC, SBS and also The Conversation website have published steaming piles of hagiography on George H.W. Bush.
Has anyone seen a balanced obituary on Bush in the mainstream Australian press?
Interesting read I focus - it even touches on both positives and negatives.
I was intrigued by the suntan lotion story - I’ve worked for some rich and powerful people, including the guy who is now supposedly Russia’s wealthiest man, but with the exception of Sir Phillip Green, I’ve never heard of someone at that level being such an obnoxious cunt.
But back to my point, how under the thumb is Australian media, especially with regard to global politics aka our subservience to the U.S.?
Unless we’re talking about sledging Trump, but that’s a whole nother story.
News: Liberal Party to ordain Saint Scomo
Libs reach new low kissing Scomo's ring.
Win/Lose/Draw Lib PM to be unsackable!
Bloody closet Communists!
His Grace! impossible! what dead!
Of old age too, and in his bed!
And could that mighty warrior fall?
And so inglorious, after all!
Well, since he’s gone, no matter how,
The last loud trump must wake him now:
And, trust me, as the noise grows stronger,
He’d wish to sleep a little longer.
And could he be indeed so old
As by the newspapers we’re told?
Threescore, I think, is pretty high;
’Twas time in conscience he should die
This world he cumbered long enough;
He burnt his candle to the snuff;
And that’s the reason, some folks think,
He left behind so great a stink.
Behold his funeral appears,
Nor widow’s sighs, nor orphan’s tears,
Wont at such times each heart to pierce,
Attend the progress of his hearse.
But what of that, his friends may say,
He had those honours in his day.
True to his profit and his pride,
He made them weep before he died.
Come hither, all ye empty things,
Ye bubbles raised by breath of kings;
Who float upon the tide of state,
Come hither, and behold your fate.
Let pride be taught by this rebuke,
How very mean a thing’s a Duke;
From all his ill-got honours flung,
Turned to that dirt from whence he sprung.
Jonathon Swift on the death of an equally reprehensible character
Andy I wasn't surprised when I was in the US in 87 on my way south witnessed and experienced that behaviour at all levels some thing I hadn't in Oz.
Bush was ridiculed in the press on occasions both as VP to Reagan and President.
As for Trump his behaviour and the administrations ructions serves up so much material its ridiculous just watch some of Sarah Sanders answering questions totally out there so much so its painful.
I've read some damning obituaries so far, pics of Iraqi soldiers burned alive in their convoys, etc.. Being the only survivor of his entire squadron as a naval aviator was remarkable though.
Slight change of topic, have any of you noticed what is going on in France? Bloomberg link follows, although there are better links elsewhere depending on your political slant:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-03/there-may-be-a-bigger...
It appears that Macron, in raising fuel tax and banning diesels from areas to make good on his climate change pledges, has ignited a real working class revolt. It has spread to the cities (targeting wealthy suburbs straight up and elitist art galleries); it (like the autists at 4chan) are internet organised and have no leaders so cannot be negotiated with, and like 1789 it has begun to attack and torch government buildings. But it is protecting French monmuments like the flame of the unknown soldier, and communicating this to the French military. The protesters include grannies in wheelchairs, the young - French people haven't rioted like this since the late 1960s, and they are holding the Tricolor high.
Go the french, gotta love em, no left, no right, no leader, just le let's fuck shit up
le fail macron
When I think of Bush I can only remember the hubristic certainty with which he ordered the liberation of Kuwait. Absolute confidence matched by almost complete ignorance. I had, coincidentally, been reading The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence's account of the rebellion of the Arabs against the Turks during World War 1. What struck me then was that they were about to destabilise the complex web of relationships that not only held Iraq together but that provided stability to the entire Middle East.
This struck me with such force and conviction that I immediately became involved in the tiny demonstrations against the war and ended up being ejected from the Senste for disrupting the "debate" on sending Australian forces.
People were appalled at my opposition. They saw the righting of an injustice. I saw an uncalculated risk with forseeable consequences. Consequences that flowed through a wealthy Saudi called Osama, and Bush's own son. Between them they created a catastrophe matched, in terms of lives lost, only by Hitler's decision to invade Russia.
A very good summary BB. I watched as a young teenager the war start live on CNN while visiting my grandfather's south London home, having no idea of why it was happening.
Back to the vests, the irony of a mandated OH&S requirement that is forced on the population by a central authority (the vests) are being used as the visual symbol of resistance, is quite fitting. Very 'V for Vendetta'. Apparently some were going to negotiate with the Govt, but after death threats from others, have cancelled the meeting - and thus the movement cannot be co-opted. It will form and dissolve as it does. It is leaderless. And the protesters have 84% public approval!
Both Father & Son Bush were slaves to Big Oil
Right hand man Halliburton CEO Cheney runs US Foreign Policy(1989-2019)
Cheney was Dad Bush's Secretary of Defence + Son Bush's Vice President
Halliburton's No tax(Sanctions-No worries)+No bid cross govt/Defence contracts
Cheney vacated CEO July 2000. Defence stock options continuing to soar sky high.
Dick Cheney without opposition contracted himself as leader of the free world.
His Tax free sanctioned enemy defence contracts are the only rock solid contracts.
(2009)10yr Defence contracts are US top secret no bid clauses >2019 (Got a pen?)
Vicco gangland prisoner's penthouse swap fast tracks car parking offenders wing.
Minister swears underbelly lawyer scheme was designed to end Vic housing crisis.
Ryan’s Toy Reviews is the #1 Youtube earner for 2018. He’s worth 30 million, and he’s 7. Anyway, enjoy your day at work, and let me know if you need any more evidence to prove you’re doing life wrong
To make us feel better Shoredump, it was only $30m between June 2017 and June 2018 alone, according to Forbes. His YouTube channel launched in March of 2015. I'd better get ready for work, drive through the shit traffic and deal with aholes at the office. My peanut butter sandwich should taste good at lunch though, already looking forward to it.
speakin' of YouTube, here's this weekend's evil ear-worm...
We survived the earily similar 70's infestation
Another earworm from the same family! Careful now... this one comes with a [WARNING].
I think your ready for full grubby downtown earworm assimilation.
This was the most upfront in your face song of the 70's.(By a 15yr' old girl) & Yes! Music by Crass
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=honey+bane+girl+on+the+run&oq=honey+b...
I like the cut of your jib, TBB
Thanks factotum! (Bumpin' off chix in the prog spoken word theme!) as above vid.
Some Deadly Folk singalongs...Seasons in the Sun/Rocky/Livin next door to Alice.
Oddly the weirdest 70's cult like song about death became the most iconic of all...
Don't Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult.(Impossibly so dark we all had to love it)
Deadly Secret Music Theme to Las Vegas Harvest Concert.
I'll only share/keep this here.
I dedicate this song to the victims {R.I.P}
Neil Young's ... Harvest Moon was Stephen Paddocks guiding end-song!
Play the song with the Lyrics @ Harvest Moon Concert & locale of his lost love story & it all plays out.
All roads & timelines lead to this song at that location on that night.
This Song fooled this sick hunters mind into orchestrating his justified seasonal harvest.
It's not right to go into detail but once figured you could then recite his words for each intended target
Only because It invites you into his world & that's not sane.
Yes! Of course I conveyed the larger detail to relevant authorities.
Safe to say the song is now more emotive than ever... knowing what we now know.
Again! For the Victims {R.I.P.} Mindful It makes it hard to listen to!
Master of Ceremonies would have to be the late Jon English.
I couldn't let this chapter close without the gentle giant looming large.
Hollywood 7 was an epic tale of sparkle to ash. I mean like Wow!
Didn't Jon haunt every chick on the block singing that song.
It was written by MOR songwriters Gloria Sklerof/Harry Lloyd
There was a reason why it sounded so downtown.
Gloria was asked to write an "Urban Story Song" for an artist who just had a hit.
That artist being Terry Jacks with his Suicidal penned ditty 'Seasons in the Sun'
Yeah! I touched on that above. Hard to imagine Jacks belting out this number.
The song is fictional co/written with a chix perspective in mind...(rare for he day).
Hollywood 8 was the actual freeway motel that sung better with Hollywood 7
Gloria imagined what sort characters would check in there so the plot thickened.
Gloria was thrilled when she heard Jon's voice...
'As a writer, I was very proud of Jon's version.'
Early '80's I was in Punk Bands that screamed blue murder & end of the world.
Writing about Chix being bumped off was another level.
These songs are in a rebellious class there own & not a fizzer amongst them!
These avant garde '70's Frontline Chix songs stand the test of time...(Credit to all)
OK! Time to segue back to mundane Silly Season Punk Politico
Sounds like a Job for The Members...Sound of the Suburbs
Interesting. I was given the 12 inch of The Members' 'Radio' the other year as a 'secret Santa' gift.
Anyway, here's another song from 1982...more befitting the theme?
Hardcore factotum, most are familiar with Specials "Ghost town" the year before.
A song about the London race riots but this AKA number slipped by.
Pretty sure that's the first spin for me...thank for sharing
I love the casual nature luring the listener to part witness to the vile act.
Here's a few more of the sharp tongued girls political commentary of the day
1978 Johnny Rotten's fav X-ray Spex (Poly Styrene) as the street poet of the day.
Germfree Adolescents was on constant rotation in every Punk hovel
The most insightful songwriter to this day(Selfies/DNA/Encryption it's all there)
Throw in the best licks + beats & killer punk sax & it's not leaving the turntable.
1979 The Slits 'Love & Romance' (happy wife song) virtually coined cutting edge.
Viv Albertine singer /songwriter was actually born in Oz but grew up in UK.
1981 Poison Girls 'Persons Unknown' alerted State Powers trialing Anarchists
Singer/Guitarist...Vi Subversa was aged 46 when she recorded this wake up call.
1982 Nina Hagen 'Smack Jack' was mostly written by addict/father of her child
Careful you don't get hooked on The hook with this cry for help.(Potent stuff)
Truebluebasher - Ghost Town was written about the urban decay, unemployment and general feeling of desperation which gripped the UK in the early 80's largely due to the recession of the time. Violence was part of the picture but this song wasn't written about the race riots. Just sayin.
If you like Neville Staple this might be up your street
So true upnorth the song "Ghost town" set the scene then adopted as Riot anthem.
Epic song was adopted by many a cause having a long life in changing times.
Yes I do like...very honest song. Still Gotta a swag of Ska/Oi! vinyl from the day
I lived thru Skamania having 100 skins doss at our hovel. No-one ever invited them!
Chasing the mods who crashed alternate weeks/1980-84 Gold Coast not London.
Thanx for the wake up call upnorth.
That call very much shines a light on political youth landscape of 1960's-1984
*Newspapers were 1 day behind
*TV News was 1 day behind
*TV series were 1 week behind
*Magazines were 3 weeks behind
*Films were 1 month behind
*Records were 1 month behind
*Records (independent) were 2-3 months behind.
As a rule culture + trends cycled 1-2 seasons lag time between Oz > (UK/US)
This explains our distorted delayed lived thru Timeline to modern scholars.
Lesson to be learnt there!
Well worn time lapse partitioned an independent music sound for each town.
Gold Coast Youth Cults were more attuned to Razar + Pig City Politics than UK.
Punk rule! Hack out your own sound as apart to our fav' Brisbane Bands.
1984 satellites brought live world news + MTV live Worldwide concerts/releases.
Big Brother DJ drowned out tribal youth cults. - One of Us! One of Us!
"I lived thru Skamania having 100 skins doss at our hovel. No-one ever invited them!"
Tell us about the skins truebluebasher. What was their fucking story?
I remember them hangin around all over the place back in the day. Interestingly at a time when things seemed much less political in a way.
Were they a bunch of nazis? Or a bunch of youths just looking to stir shit up?
Not trying to legitimise them. I remember a couple of hardnuts getting around where I hang, but most of them just seemed young, dumb, and full of.....
I met an old school hard nut in sumatra of all places recently. Interesting to talk to. Very well read and educated, but clearly racist as fuck. An afternoon well spent, but any more than that I would've felt real dirty.
Brave or stupid sypkan us talking about this lot.
Each dive represented as a Young Ones episode.
Uni Student Hippie Chick + Rude boy fronts rental for Punk & Skin in hiding.
Redgum/Specials/SLF/Upstarts on rotation
Any combo was welcome into Gold Coast Hovels + Likewise us in Brisbane
Yes! Many Brisos preferred GC clubs & Gigs & Many GC Punkz stay a week there.
1982 My band Social Cancer played a huge Punk Gig at Milton Terrace Houses
Skins came in all manner...
*Rude Boys (Left Wing) Cool with mix race Skins/Oi/Mods/Punks
*Sharpie Skins(Rat Tails) were Oz & cool with Punkz & tolerated Mods
*Brit Oi Skins (Right Wing) hated Mods/Left Punks but OK with Left Oi Punkz
*Military Skins(Nazis) + Skins/Nazi Punkz (hated-Mob/Punkz/Hippies/Mods)
Oi came at height of Oz Punk around 1982.
So the number advantage Left Punks & Hippies had enjoyed was being evened up.
Leftie Drug Haze was now reshaping into Right Wing Piss up
As such Skins would switchover to a more rightwing stance than pre Oi Skins.
Here's a perfect Punk & Oi party album that kept all happy.Also a good intro LP
This was a dangerous time because now a left Punk had to doss with Right Skins.
All the while friends/Girlfriends were changing ranks.
Right wing skins could go on mod hunts.Bottle a Hippie or Anarchist Punk.
Pretty much rock up & demand location of Mod Hideout or they don't leave.
Note: Hard to imagine but a few punks always held their own against numbers
Punks were outcast athletes of highest order wishing more of a challenge. No joke!
GC Punks had frontline Skegz/Runners/Football codes/Cricket/Martial Arts/Bikers.
Punkz jumped from tallest trees at rock pools.Wannabes slit wrists & still rejected.
One look at GC punx Demolition Pit have Briso punkz rattled. Arena blood Sport!
Even our Banshee Punks 'd rip your shirt into little bits by time this song finished...
I recall being one of 4 punks vs 40 skegz or one of a dozen punks vs 60 skegz.
Mind you the skegz would arm with palings & bricks & shit. Usually too stoned.
We'd steal their flag then tear 'n' wear it as jacket bling at the next gig.
Mind you 3 of our Punk Chix take on as many skegz as main act. Surfers 'll tell ya!
By this stage Punkz were losing ground fighting off Football teams'n'all.(Enough!)
Bikers were cool with Punks even though leader once held a knife to my throat.
At the peak Ska Skins wanted to stay left wing but were swayed right.
Violence was Skinhead calling card so you were right wing in or out...Tough crowd.
1983 I can recall playing at my last Punk Party overrun with Skins.
By the end of the night we had switched to off beat Oi skank as Death to Punk gig.
1984 the anarchist Punks were dead,
"No one writes good songs anymore!"(Sums it up nicely)
Was the title of the last song I penned/sung with Qld Upper House.
We all felt cheated..
Enter (Soft right) SkatePunkz to dance on our graves.
Skatepunk was called (pretend)Pyjama Punk as in gear change on the way home.
Rise of Ska Music cornered some Punks, most counted down with Damned Goths.
1984 My twin sister & I shared our 21st at our Mum's Home, a big do it was.
Uninvited skins came from Bris' and started smashing it up just what can you do.
Rare for a Gig or a Party without the Cops.
Just kept it to the local culture sypkan. (Snapshot of last music cults echoed afar).
Welcome to 1984 Nothing more shocks Men as Women #1 & Women as Men#1
Devolution kicks in ... One of Us! One of Us!
Cool little run down trubluebasher. Geez brisso had a bit of a hard edge back then
So did anyone actually like or have a laugh with the hardnut skins? Or was it just quietly avoid them due to their intimmidation?
It reminds me of a sydney big day out when some hardnut skinhead started abusing rage against the machine for calling australia day invasion day.
No one said a word. Tens of thousands of people and no one had the guts to confront him. I felt a bit of a wuss afterwards.
Happy my trip of pleasantness wasn't derailed for prodigy and everything but the girl which followed, but a bit of a wuss...
All had a free doss ticket to next city pilgrimage be it Syd/Ade/Melb/Cnbra/Perth.
Yes Bne was on in 82 Com Games as Students/Punks/Early Skins united with Mob.
Joh must Go!
sypkan if you believed the World was coming to an end then tribes made sense.
US hippie migration to Nimbin was no accident. Identified as lowest fallout zone.
Our Bass Player even went off grid into the bush for months awaiting countdown.
As politicians fought to blow our world up. Police took law into their own hands.
The youth cults were deemed as back up to forge a makeshift future.
Each Cult had it's own base uniform as such Punkz set up near army disposals.
The era was rife with xxxdrive/bike/ accidents(No seatbelts/helmets){R.I.P}ms/dp
Drug overdose/suicide was endemic in each cult.(No mental health){R.I.P} mc/ss/ar
Pause: All of our songs reflected the Corruption/Suicide/Kill/War/Bomb/Mutants.
Take a look at footy boofs of the day. Biff women & friends until last man standing.
Bikers/Boofs/Skegz were all renowned gang rapists.
Our mums/Rude Girls/Hippie Chix/Mod Dolls/Skin Chix were all bashed or abused
Punk Gays/Chix were busily smashing glass everything.(30 years ahead re:Songs^)
Brutally honest progressive social agenda also drew frontline chix to Punk.
Punks shocked everyone & everyone vowed to kill a punk. (#1 self preservation).
Punks had no interest in picking more fights. Each outing drew confrontation.
So when I say punks were good fighters. It reads Punks must defend themselves.
True it is that a Punk would mostly fend or kick out during a fight but walk away.
Our aggressors could go into hiding whereas Punks had the most open of houses.
To this day that rings true. A Punks hovel is ratted out for all to see,drugs'n'all.
I can swear your local Punk runs the broadest church in your town.
*Here's your apocalyptic Top Ten hometown cold war criminals
Police State crims. (Banning town access+Raids+ accusing me of Rape)
Ex Commandos were out there! Hide! (Knife to my guts & decapitation threat)
Footy boofs would gang fight Bouncers.(Team ordered me to remove Jacket/Kilt)
Bikerz fought police & rid gangs on drug patch.(re: Held knife to my throat)
Skinheads gatecrash & trash. Smash our walls/bottles & pick on chix & disabled.
Skegz would ambush. Often trap us punks between ends of Playroom underpass.
Hippies freakout over Loud records & Pinned me to walI with a knife to my ribs.
Local Bouncers were Ok . Until they beat my mate to an inch of his life {R.I.P}mg
Punk Chix were wild beasts. My wounds & scars came from badass Punk Chix
Cowboys are to be avoided.Deafening silence entering town next you're the menu.
Yes sypkan there was Harmony between intercity cult relations.
Our Band Singer went out with Bne Head Sharpie/Oi Skin chick.(Trouble for Sure!)
Our Tours would range from Toowoomba outpost to Lismore stronghold
These outposts had Skins & Punks as a unit.
sypkan asks if Skinheads were fun.
Hell Yeah! A gang of goofballs flying head first into walls. Yep! You can laugh now!
Also alot of Skinheads were young & couldn't hold liquor so more Party Fun.
Skinhead Patches! North -Red Hill > West End > Inala > Gailes > Beenleigh
From memory you'll uncover about 3 inner west 'Skin bands' from the era.
Even our band recorded some Upstarts & our singer was part Oi!
1984 Gold Coast SkaVengers (7 piece dance band) played to packed houses.
Their Bass Player was from fellow punk band 'Complete Chaos'..my friends.
"Seems like all roads lead back to identity politics at the moment..."
The 'good' identity politics?
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/stand-alone-reli...
"I think it's appropriate in the 21st century that nobody is discriminated against according to their identity." - Senator Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Deputy Leader.
In other religious news...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-top-cardinals-sex-abuse...
You're such a religious bigot Facto, fancy picking on poor George like that.
factotum envisages 2nd stand alone $100m Dead Folks v School kidz soggy ballot.
The LGBTQQIAAPOFUCH2SG+ vegan Tuckshop rebellion god bless them.
That train wreck election of '19. When LNP nailed School kidz to crosses for votes.
Damn all you heathens! I'm never gonna be labelled insensitive.(Peaceful Solution)
One microsoft Rainbow key for (LGBTQQIAAPOFUC2SG+) then problem is solved.
Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer/?/Inter/A/Ally/Pans/Omni/Fluid/Unsure/Cis/2-Split/G+
[G+]-(Gender-fuck/fluid/Big/genderless/agender/Non/Hijra 3rd/2 spirit)= (Rainbow)
No disrespect to Hookers/Gigolos/Stripperz/Topless Waitresses/Pole Dancers
A few Swellnetonians chasing their own Rainbows out there as well...(Peace to all)
Rupert's always got his finger on the pulse!
So tbb did you ever run across the Horny Toads? I used to know the singer.
Horny Toads (Bne/GC) 1985-90
If this is the same Horny Toads then Yes!
However I only knew the singer(Marky Toad) by look.
GC half of band I knew.
Bass Player Kurt Andersen was part of our crew. Punk >(1st Mods) > Swamp
Guitar Dennis Anderson Also hung around involved with a few start up bands
I got a copy of Wired when it was released.(re:Song link below)
No singles only Mini Lp's but this song was considered breakthru single.
They did pretty well for local fused band & survived longer & toured wider.
Played more Southern Gigs > Bne > rare GC (Southerners may know them better)
At the time we'd describe them as swamp/pub rock< > Radio Birdman.(Influence)
Other Gold Coast/Iconic Syd Punk Projects followed > Psych/Turnbuckles
I dare say Birdman connect got Horny Toads an inside run around the traps.
The rough end of 'Shit on a stick' is all yours for the taking blindboy
Same guy for sure. I knew him for a while when he moved to Sydney. He had a few bands here, some great moments but they never lasted long. He was actually a seriously good artist and produced some great work most of which he gave away. Can't remember the last time I saw him but I think he's still around here.
This earlier song 'Rock Hard' is edited with heaps of Band photos in it!
I remember how Post 1984 songwriting slid back to 1950's Manpower.
Live Raid Tip Off. (You never heard that from me!)
ICAC are raiding ALP NSW office mid ALP Conference.
ICAC are not commenting on Operational Matters!
Inside word is ICAC are digging up 2015 donations... Again!
Raid follows Libs appointing post 2019 election GG during same conference.
Immaculate conception & timing!
Interesting. I got this via Sally McManus.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/france-protests-...
(Fukuyama! Knew fucking shit-all then, knows fuck all now)
And yet he's given more gravitas and reverence than ever before?
I was at uni when 'End of History...' came out, doing a philosophy degree, which meant ticking off a few politics subjects and Fukuyama was a big fucking deal then. The book was a must read. But then only so many years later the premise was debunked and Franky was advising us to read his book a different way. Not so literally, or something. May as well have read it upside down for all it mattered.
He should've become an artifact after that, posted to Siberia, as so many other academics making brazen and incorrect claims have been, yet it's somehow elevated him.
"And yet he's given more gravitas and reverence than ever before?"
Again! By who??
Same same.
He's just another power-serving ideologue that still fits the bill...for some (growing smaller)...for now (time running out).
I too remember when his 'end of history' shite first hit the fan-fare. Terry Eagleton - amongst others...Alex Callinicos, Stuart Hall etc - demolished him then, and now, finally, someone like Eagleton's getting a bigger look-in from the mainstream and above-ground.
Fukuyama's latest ideological power-serving bleatings on that other thread are as worthless.
Fukuyama is no guru
He's just an intersting example because he's changed his tune so much
I dare say he gets such reverence because he ticks all the identity politics boxes that we've all been brainwashed to see above anything else.
And now the identity politics poster boy for globalisation has changed his tune....dramatically...
"...Over and over, a daft political class paternalistically implements changes more to the benefit of donors than voters, then repeatedly is baffled when they prove unpopular."
A daft political class from both the left and right, should've been part of that sentence. Especially the paternalistic part.
'...Folks like Boot and fellow ex-neocons David Frum and Bill Kristol are now rebranding themselves as anti-Trumpers and would-be leaders of #Resistance. They seem to be asking for one last shot. Kristol even let slip that a post-Trump plan for America might be “regime change in China.”
#resistance ......pffffff!!!!
I can't believe you even bother to write that shit guysmiley. What an alliance!
"...We don’t need a new front to make centrism cool. We need to move on from centrism, to something a little less elitist. Which is different from being elite, as most of the world seems to have realized by now."
Yes most of the world has realised that, for quite some time now, but all the left has offered is more dentity politics until the system totally collapses. Then some socialist utopia is going to rise phoenix like from the decayed excrement.
It appears the people aren't willing to wait for that
"..“Those who are unhappy with the Darwinian brutality of free-market capitalism don’t have any ready ideological alternative now,” is how Thomas Friedman put it."
He's right....Unfortunately.... Then and now. If you do have an alternative factobum, let us hear about it. God knows you've been asked enough times for your opinion. Your ideas are genuinely sought.
But all we get is more sniping from the shadows...
Thinking about it all, and just spitballing, brainstorming, throwing hay seeds in the wind...
Perhaps now that class is so hard to define - "I'm upper-middle, nouveau riche with a twist of left" - identity politics has become society's default system of categorisation. We need boxes and genres, any visit to a record shop will convince you of that, but rather than some imposed order - a concept I'm always loathe to adopt - identity politics simply helps us make sense of our place in the world, the way class did for so many years.
Also, if anyone says identity politics is the domain of the left I'd recommend they read some literature from Richard B. Spencer, which I depressingly did last night, to be cured of that little misconception.
Youre right , Stu.
Identity politics has replaced nationalism as the acceptable way to tribally align in the era of globalisation.
It’s the exact same way that people assume association with a grouping of people who probably differ more than they are similar. The grouping is based on a mutually accepted quantifier.
Now that place of birth or geographic location are so transigent and society is forcing people to relinquish their old associations as they’re not compatible with internationalism , we have begun to place greater emphasis on other identifiers.
For example, it’s not fashionable to proudly declare yourself as Australian , but it’s fashionable to proudly declare yourself as gay. Despite the fact that placing emphasis on shared sexuality is no more predictive of other shared traits with fellow tribesmen than place of birth.
AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING KALEIDOSCOPIC JOIN-THE-DOTS/ADULT COLOURING BOOK EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT IN NARCISSISTIC/ONANISTIC BIG PICTURE PARASITIC FORUM BLEEDING.
LIKE POLITICAL LIFE, PARTICIPATION IS WELCOME, ENCOURAGED EVEN, BUT NOT NECESSARY.