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Victor
USA
910 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 30 2006 : 10:02:12 PM
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| I have always enjoyed and appreciated Davids wit and humor and I feel sad that it needs to lose some of its spark by being explained, taken apart and anylized. To explain a joke is to spoil it and quality humor is like a spark of light that can make you smile and think at the same time. More power to you I say and if David is the sharpest voice around here then I fear that we will be in more danger of being excessively bland than offensive in any way! |
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yogani
USA
5242 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 09:07:41 AM
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Hi David:
If you told me we have 1,000 gallons of bathwater with one ounce of baby hidden in it, I would say, let's concentrate on finding the baby and forget about the bathwater. AYP has been about that since the beginning, and I hope it always will be. Nothing bland about it, assuming we are into finding babies instead of processing bathwater.
The guru is in you.
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david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 11:57:25 AM
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Yogani, I understand your approach. And it's a totally valid approach.
I don't think mine is characterized as focussing on the bathwater either. As I was saying before, only a very small fraction of my own posts are of the fault-finding kind that we don't want. It might be interesting to find what the fraction is. My guess is less than one in twenty.
If we are going to talk about tiny babies in huge tubs of bathwater, lets give me some credit for wanting to remove some of the piranhas, rather than paint the picture that I am focussing on the bathwater. 
But as I say, I understand your approach and I believe it has both advantages and disadvantages (as mine does), and I respect it. In fact, (I run a risk of taking the analogy to ridiculous lengths, LOL) I see you as being worried that the piranha-catcher will hurt the baby.
One way I can look at it is this: their are things that are good, but that are outside the culture and focus of AYP. Almost everyone thinks that eliminating global warming and world hunger are good things, but they are outside the focus of AYP. Some things are outside the focus of AYP because of their subject matter; others because of concern about inevitable negative effects which will come with the positive ones. It's not possible to convince me that harshly exposing certain things is bad, but it is possible to convince me that that would be outside your intended focus for AYP, and philosophy of AYP forum. I've been convinced of this already, and I respect your vision.
Best regards,
-David
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Edited by - david_obsidian on Mar 31 2006 12:32:11 PM |
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Sparkle
Ireland
1457 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 6:28:01 PM
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David
Something that has been occuring to me, which may or may not resonate with you, if it does not then bin it.
It is that satire is the literary expression of anger turned into humour, a bit like sarcasm.
Whilst satire may appear to be noble and has been used for centuries to provoke change, nevertheless it is still an expression of anger.
From the spiritual perspective I would not see this as a valid way of expressing anger. In fact the satirist may not even know they are angry at the thing they satirise, the feeling of the anger may be transformed into this intellectual sword thrust of satire.
Would it not be more beneficial to be aware of the anger, own it as your own and allow it to disolve, and be done with it.
I have to say also, that when I came to this board I took great pleasure in reading most of your posts. Your intellect and wit are a fantastic force here, and long may it continue.
Warmest regards
Louis |
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david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2006 : 6:55:57 PM
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Thanks for the compliments Louis.
I think satire is often angry, but not necessarily always.
Did you ever look at Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal'? He satirises the lack of concern the British ruling class of the time have for the plight of the starving Irish. The essay is an explanation (from the point of view of the British ruling class) of how the Irish really can solve all these problems by eating their own children.
This stuff could be in the blood.
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Satire as a means to counter destructive myth
