Marie Antoinette

[From Mike Acree (980515.1230 PDT)]

Bruce Nevin (980513)--

It's so easy to keep a straight face in email.

Obviously too easy for some of us:

Rick Marken (980514.1855)--

It's hard for me to enjoy what wealth I have when I have to
drive through squalor to get to the places where I can enjoy it.

Mike Acree (980514.1403) --

Perhaps you could take a tip from them, if you haven't already,
and change your route.

Ah. I see you received your training at the Marie Antoinette School
of Social Research.

Sheez.

"Sheez" is right. _Very_ embarrassing to have to explain to someone
that you were mocking him to his face and he didn't get it. The
sentiment expressed in the sentence of yours I quoted--out of
context--is obnoxious enough from the likes of Marie Antoinette. The
avoidance of the poor, because of their unpleasant reminders of our
privilege, by _socialists_ like the friends I mentioned, I find _really_
obnoxious. Even when embedded in a mollifying context, as your
statement was, it bugged me enough to want to give you a hard time
about. Guess I have some more work to do on my insult skills.

Best,
Mike

[From Rick Marken (980515.1425)]

Mike Acree (980515.1230 PDT) --

"Sheez" is right. _Very_ embarrassing to have to explain to someone
that you were mocking him to his face and he didn't get it...Guess
I have some more work to do on my insult skills.

My fault, not yours. It's my "understanding of insults" skills that
have to be honed. I think your "giving insults" skills are in pretty
good shape;-)

The avoidance of the poor, because of their unpleasant reminders
of our privilege, by _socialists_ like the friends I mentioned,
I find _really_ obnoxious.

What _I_ find reall obnoxious is the assumption that I or anyone
else avoids the poor because they are unpleasant reminders of
one's priviledge.

And I didn't say that I _avoid_ the poor. I said that it's hard
for me to enjoy what wealth I have when I have to drive through
squalor. Actually, I _do_ have to drive through squalor occasionally.
This is an unpleasant experience, not because it is an unpleasant
reminder of my "priveledge", but because it pains me to see people
living in such conditions; conditions that I alone can do little
to improve; conditions that I consider an unnecessary by-product
of the libertarian economic fantasies that infect this otherwise
pleasant country.

Best

Rick

ยทยทยท

--
Richard S. Marken Phone or Fax: 310 474-0313
Life Learning Associates e-mail: rmarken@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~rmarken