Positive Action With The Nuge

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IanB I
IanB Aug 21, 2010 09:09:50
Replying to grufty jim

I am someone who finds the puritanical religious instinct far more frightening culturally than economic neoliberalism.

Even on my more optimistic days capitalism strikes me a good play pen for the maniacal and sociopathic to get their rocks off building paper empires and winning paper wars. Anything to keep them out of uniform and away from drums and flags and pulpits. There is still plenty of damage done but not as much as they would do in uniform. It's a question of where they do the least damage. And it's up to the rest of us to keep the reins on them. Harder to do that when they have God on their side and a sidearm.

This particular Bob Lefsetz / Nuge thing is interesting if only for one quote

"That’s Ted’s problem. What he doesn’t know is a complete blank. And since he’s been dealing with people dumber than he is, he’s been running ragged over them and refusing to listen for decades."

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2010/08/18/terrible-ted/

That rings very true. Forty years of lickspittles saying "yes boss, you're right boss" will give you a more inflated sense of your own intellectual brilliance than any amount of cocaine. I bet Ted doesn't hear the word "no" very often.

Love Ian Mckaye and Rollins (though less for his music) and the jury is still out on the too-many-drugs-lead-to-rubbish-art debate.

M Moon Cat
Moon Cat Aug 23, 2010 16:20:14
Replying to IanB

Interesting article in that link and probably about as close to the 'Truth of Ted" as we a likely to get from a reasonably balanced source.

The sense of an artist of drastically diminished relevance, both commercially and culturally, shines through, with the increasing need to cocoon with "yes men" and acolytes whilst the pronouncements get more provocative. Can't help but think of Morrissey, amongst others, again.

G grufty jim
grufty jim Aug 23, 2010 19:47:40
Replying to IanB

IanB wrote:
I am someone who finds the puritanical religious instinct far more frightening culturally than economic neoliberalism.
I understand that perspective but I don't actually share it (and I speak as someone who spent some extremely unhappy years in a Christian Brothers school).

IanB wrote:
Even on my more optimistic days capitalism strikes me a good play pen for the maniacal and sociopathic to get their rocks off building paper empires and winning paper wars. Anything to keep them out of uniform and away from drums and flags and pulpits. There is still plenty of damage done but not as much as they would do in uniform. It's a question of where they do the least damage. And it's up to the rest of us to keep the reins on them. Harder to do that when they have God on their side and a sidearm.
See, I completely disagree with that. For me, global free markets ultimately do far more real damage than any army or clergy. Economics is a more destructive force than religion. Which isn't to say that organised religion is benign. But when we compare scale, I think the corporations end up being worse than the churches.

That's how I see it anyway.