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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: <Robert_Pauley AT oxy.com>
  • To: <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] (no subject)
  • Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 22:04:51 -0700

I'm not sure it is necessary to try to regulate the discussion. That's what
moderators are for.

You did begin this un-Percy like discussion, Mr. Rivas-Pita, and in a rather
pugnacious manner, and seem to wish to continue it so. Fine. But in my view,
Mr. Beck's summary of your introduction is not "grossly" inaccurate. For,
after all, comparisons, allusions, coy nods, to Hitler, are as silly as they
are inflammatory. You must have known at least the latter. How did you think
people would respond to the suggestion, nay assertion, their country was the
largest terrorist state, etc.. And, if you please, how is this inquiry you
enjoin to be conducted "in a Percy vein"? And exactly how does one respond in
such a "vein," other than to say, as Percy might have said, that it is
morally cattywhompers? I think the responses have been extraordinarily civil.
I should have responded more forcefully at the time. Mr. Rivas-Pita, you
don't know what you're talking about, and you're doing so in a way to invite
rebuke.

As to McCarthyism, I'm quite familiar with it. It is very much alive today,
and takes many forms. One of these forms is the sort of bullying and
censorial indignation of "being fed up" with certain positions inimical to
one's own, and the related attempt to stifle them.

But I did get a laugh from your remark about the "Jewish-controlled" media.
You haven't been here recently, have you?

Cordially, R. Pauley

-----Original Message-----
From: percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of J Rivas-Pita
Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 8:50 PM
To: Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion
Subject: Re: [percy-l] (no subject)


I also have an idea -about what you stand for, for instance.

To grossly misquote me like this:

" It started off with something like "through a
percean view, how do you Americans feel about having a leader who is
comparable to Hitler" (a remark that should be offensive to all Jews and
thinking people who know history). What do those remarks REALLY have to do
with Percy, other than the desire to spew out one's agenda under the mask of
the remarks being "percean"?"

Those interested enough are quite welcomed to go back in the thread
and read my post.

To misquote another list-member, and to misquote him OUT OF CONTEXT
seems to me plainly dishonest, both morally and intelectually. Which
confirms my suspicions about your own hidden agenda, masked as
"fastidiousness".

As to the remark about "all Jews and thinking people who know
history", I must say I'm COMPLETELY FED UP MYSELF with the
manipulative portraying of Jews as -seemingly- the only victims of
violence and hatred on this planet, to the total exclusion of the
about 50 MILLION DEAD in WWII who WERE NOT JEWISH, not to mention the
fact that later on it was Jews who violently persecuted, discriminated
and robbed of their land Palestinians, sending them into refugee camps
-something that the Jewish-controlled media in the U.S.A. do not much
care to show.

And PLEASE do not come now saying that these remarks are offensive or
that I must be a Communist or something to the effect -if you have
some intellectual and moral integrity, do respond to my arguments and
do not resort to the fascist-style practice of calling me names (à la
Joe McCarthy, if you happen to know who he was -it depends on how old
you are or how much you know about XXth century American politics).



On 8/25/05, dabeck AT iupui.edu <dabeck AT iupui.edu> wrote:
>
> I have an idea. I see that some have attempted some marvelous contortions,
> in
> order to relate this discussion to Percy. It's easy to say, I think Percy
> would relate to XXX. But the fact is, he isn't here to throw in his
> opinions.
> One thing that stands out about Percy is that a) he wrote much of his work
> during some of the most volatile years of recent history; and b)he seemed to
> shy away from making a dogmatic stand on political issues of the day. Some
> have recommended Love in the Ruins. I agree. The book shows how divided our
> country can and has become. But, at the same time, the book never shows us a
> particular side we should support (in a Bakhtinian way), left or right.
> Percy
> shows the weaknesses of both. In fact, he points out the myopic view that
> dogmatic ideologies are prone to.
> I don't know. But anytime I hear someone arguing vehemently for one side or
> the other, I cast a suspicious eye toward him/her. I really don't think that
> either position is that black and white.
> For me, that's the big Percean point: He never sided with the far right or
> the far left (or the middle, for that matter). Perhaps a better discussion
> for
> this listserv is how to relate Percy's thought to the polarization that is
> taking place in the U.S.
> If not, please do me a favor and carry on the discussion off-list. All I'm
> reading is the same tired rhetoric that I (unfortunately) have to hear every
> time I turn on the TV and listen to the talking heads of the left and the
> right. Nothing new is being said, and all of us are to comfortable in our
> self-
> righteous beliefs to really hear the other.
> I invite us all to drop our agenda and return to what this list does best:
> analyze the works of Percy and how they relate to our everyday lives. The
> original posting that started this discussion was inappropriate. It had
> nothing to do with Percy. It started off with something like "through a
> percean view, how do you Americans feel about having a leader who is
> comparable to Hitler" (a remark that should be offensive to all Jews and
> thinking people who know history). What do those remarks REALLY have to do
> with Percy, other than the desire to spew out one's agenda under the mask of
> the remarks being "percean"?
> I suggest (PLEASE) take the discussion off list. I'm tired of reading the
> same old rhetoric that I hear everyday on the news. Let's get back to what
> this list is for: discussing Percy's philosophy and how we relate it to our
> everyday lives. Other listserves exist that welcome one's political agenda,
> but I'm hoping this one won't turn out like the others.
> -David
> --
> An archive of all list discussion is available at
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/percy-l/
>
> Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy
>


--
Be Happy! (Fr. Benito Ballesteros, OSB, 1924-1996)
Sé feliz! (P. Benito Ballesteros, OSB, 1924-1996)
--
An archive of all list discussion is available at
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/percy-l/

Visit the Walker Percy Project at http://www.ibiblio.org/wpercy




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