Author Archives: conserveprolet

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genocide

Imagine a cathedral crammed with 2000 unarmed civilians, all terrified that they are about to be killed by the screaming crowd outside, who are waving the machetes which they intend to use for the killing. Then imagine a thin line of 20 armed UN peacekeepers, equally terrified but well-equipped and well-commanded, dispersed around the entrances to the cathedral, carrying out their assignment to protect the people inside the cathedral from the ones outside. Understand this about the protesters outside: they believe that they are there protesting for social justice, and that they mean to correct the injustices and oppression accomplished by the people gathered inside the cathedral, and their ancestors. The worst crime of which those “oppressors” stand accused is “racism”, yet the protesters themselves have selected the targets of their current anger based on “race” as they understand it. It may sound absurd to American ears, but the moral and ethical arguments of those protesters is sufficiently compelling, that many of their country’s liberal and social-justice minded Catholic priests support them (although of course the priests are always careful to say about that support, that they would “never condone violence”). The US ambassador in that country is a pacifist-minded Quaker, but he also feels a great deal of sympathy for the plight of the “oppressed” protesters. The government of France also generally supports them. ...continue reading →

kazinga

I had a flight to Queen Elizabeth NP and back today, and snapped this photo of the wildlife there. Notice the elephant Mama on lifeguard duty. She has told the little ones: stay between the hippos and the shore, and she is not watching them, but watching for crocodiles.

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Stephen Schwartz’ 1971 musical “Godspell” featured a duet for Judas and Jesus called “It’s All For the Best” (performed on the top of the World Trade Center Towers in that youtube clip). Schwartz composed a clever play on words in which Judas and Jesus use the same phrase with opposite meanings. Judas means that he thinks elites (like himself) are entitled to have everything, while Jesus is just asserting that things will work out OK in the end, for both the proletariat and for the elites, if they want. “Godspell” the musical is based on Matthew, but in the original Godspell of John (“Godspell” is an archaic spelling of “Gospel”), ch. 12, there is a real dialog between Judas and Jesus which has some interesting parallels to the dialog written by Schwartz. ...continue reading →

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Pardon my French (and Latin)

In math, "equality" (A=B) and "diversity" (A≠B) are contradictory and mutually exclusive hypotheses. Mathematicians (except those working on Schrodinger's Cat) generally do not try to hold contradictory hypotheses as both true. However, in modern political and social theory it is necessary to value both "equality" and "diversity" at the same time, especially for those on the left who admire the French Revolution more than the American one. The French said "equality!” in French, while the Americans said "from diversity, unity!” in Latin. ...continue reading →