Jeffrey Quick's Blog

Turning out the lights

I had an epiphany in the bathtub the other night. I do my best thinking in the bathtub, while I'm relaxed. But I wasn't relaxed; I was looking over my shoulder, wondering who my blog would piss off next...and which psychosis-producing virus had invaded all my email lists.

The worst was the explicitly-political one. This had begun as a libertarian list, but since 9/11 it had become more anti-Muslim, pro-war, and pro security-at-any-cost. I'd left it several times since then, but there were several sensible souls on there, and after awhile I'd get curious. Several less-sensible people had joined since, and several others became less sensible. The particular disease that had infected this bunch was guilt-by-association. This was particularly evident in discussions of Ron Paul. One soul in particular was convinced that, since Paul is supported by David Duke and Paul has not condemned such support, that a vote for Paul would be a vote for a one-way boxcar ride for him. He also calls Paul a "leftist" because he shares a view of the Iraq adventure with MoveOn.org. And lewrockwell.com is anti-Semitic because they aren't enthusiastic about American aid to Israel. I posted a piece from somewhere else about Paul, and soon found myself the center of unwanted attention because "I" (rather, the author of the piece I had posted) had cited vdare.com, "a notorious white-supremacist site", where I'd never even been until it was called to my attention. (Having been there, I think they have plausible deniability on that score...but plausible deniability is ALL they have.) Suddenly, I was assumed to have racist leanings, even by the doughtiest Moslem-basher on the group...which was just a tad ironic.

Then there's a list dedicated to a spiritual path that I used to be part of. I'm still there because it's hard to get onto, and I want to stay informed. There's been a brouhaha based in certain dysfunctionalities of that family (one reason my allegiances have moved elsewhere), and the heat has driven one respected voice off there (many over the years, but one recently). And there are two others who have been accused of monopolizing and controlling conversations and speaking ex cathedra on matters of doctrine. When several voices said this, the response was not "how specifically am I doing this? Am I really sucking all the oxygen here? What can I do to change?" but rather to deny that there was any problem with their behavior at all.

Even the recorder list has had more than its usual amount of friction of late, including an attempted coup over a moderator decision.

Then there's my blog. I've recently been made aware that not everybody here is peachy-keen with everything I have to write. The chain-of-command above me has been wonderfully supportive of free inquiry and expression so far, but given my record of not always seeing what will be problematic for an individual, and the current trend to bundle ideas instead of examining them singly, I find myself constantly in fear that I might unintentionally anger the wrong person, or that somebody might even blow a gasket over what one of my commenters has to say. And that just isn't fun.

There is a disconnect inherent in critiquing the Endarkenment through using a tool dependent upon Enlightenment values. Free expression is increasingly in peril on today's campuses. That's far less the case here at Case than at many schools, possibly because of the heavy technical emphasis; for an engineer, a thing is or is not -- you can't deconstruct the tensile strength of steel, and declaring the Periodic Table to be patriarchal doesn't make it stop working. Nevertheless, I've not been overly shy about calling the university on what I perceive to be wrong policy. (I have little to complain about with the library in any case, but I'm not foolish.) I am relying on Case to have respect for honest debate at a time when that respect is disappearing all around us. It's only a matter of time before I step on a floor that's not there, and fall. All it would take is for me to slag somebody who is a major donor, and the expectation that I should know the players without a game card.

All this is complicated by the fact that I am Not Nice. I have a big ego. I should have the name of the television anchor in Colin Hayes' The Leftersons, "Hugh Jeego". The only thing I like better than reading a virtuoso snark is writing one, and frankly, I'm pretty good at verbal dismemberment. In the heat of battle, I'm like Arlo Guthie at the draft board, "I want to see deep black burnt bodies, I want blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth." (Alice's Restaurant). "Catch more flies with honey than vinegar", they say. But they're flies, damnit, and they don't deserve honey...not even vinegar, which after all was offered to Our Lord. Fuming sulfuric acid, that's what they need. But it's a guilty pleasure. It really would be a nicer world if I were nicer. Do I want to keep putting myself in positions where I can indulge my dark side?

It's possible to be an academic and a blogger. As evidence I present to you rightwingprof, who is almost as cranky as I am, and more conservative. But then, he's not blogging under his own name (and I won't reveal it), and he's not blogging on Penn State's site.

So that epiphany? Putting together everything I've seen in the past 6 months, we've turned a corner in the Endarkenment. There is now no chance to stop the runaway locomotive, and standing in front of it is just going to get me flattened. "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em" Now has to be about saving me... so there's a chance to rebuild after. There's no point in falling on your own sword when you can still fight.

To that end, I will be ceasing political and social commentary on this blog. I'm sure that will be a disappointment to all 6 of my loyal readers, but I'm not going to risk defecating in my mess kit. The blog will still be here, for podcasts, music commentary, and the occasional library-related item, and all the old posts will be up. I may start a snarkfest elsewhere, if temptation proves too much, and if so I'll post the link here. I'm not going away, not giving up, not pulling a Claire. I'm covering my butt.

Meanwhile, to quote the campaign sign of one of our township trustees, "Pray for America". I really mean that.

Comments

Posted by: jeffrey smith
Posted on: October 16, 2007 08:46 PM

You are the last person who should call yourself "Not Nice". Do you go around firing professors randomly on the 'Net? You're quite the reverse. When you snark, you do it courteously, and the problem is that there are not way enough people who do that. It is in fact an honor to share one name with you.

You may recall I left that list because I was finding it too much of a Republican echo chamber. I've seen someone accuse Paul of sympathizing with Stormfront because Stormfront linked to his web site or advertised on it or something which any logical person would understand was beyond Paul's control. They need to discredit Paul because he's the only Republican running, so to speak. You became the victim of the anti-Paul meme.

But I can't imagine what could prompt a coup on a flauto diretto list...

Posted by: Jeffrey Quick
Posted on: October 17, 2007 02:33 PM

You are the last person who should call yourself "Not Nice". Do you go around firing professors randomly on the 'Net?

No. But that's because I don't own a cannon.

When you snark, you do it courteously, and the problem is that there are not way enough people who do that.

Ha! I try to make sure that the target is worthy, and I attempt to stick to the issue at hand, forgetting for the moment how I didn't get my money's worth from their mothers. If that's courtesy, then call me Judith Martin.

The recorder group nonsense is long-standing and involves some people from European socialist countries who have a hissy fit whenever anyone does something the slightest bit commercial on the list, going so far as to claim it's a violation of Yahoo policy. (To which I said, "So? Bitch to Yahoo, and get the group closed down, if it's so against their policy.) This is definitely a minority view. We have a number of members in the recorder trade, and if their wares are relevant to a particular question, they'll subtly mention that they can provide such a piece or recorder. The guy who got kicked off (after numerous private warnings) was neither subtle nor helpful. and I suspect that the people who complained about that were just trying to stir things up.

Here's my post about it:

Do you think Richard Geisler should be banned from the recorder@yahoogroups.com list?

o No
o Yes

Where's the button for "It wasn't, and shouldn't have been, my decision?"

I've been annoyed by the anti-commercial bias of some members here, but I've also been annoyed by Richard's tendency to make every discussion be about his business; it's a kind of thread hijacking. Given that he had fair warning, I don't have any problem with the decision. And I'm REALLY annoyed by people who plot coups every time a moderator moderates, and who inject irrelevant concepts like "freedom of speech" and "hate groups" into the discussion. I don't know where the stars and planets are, but EVERY mailing list I'm on has gone completely INSANE in the last month or two, and this one is no exception. Geisler should start his own group where he can hawk to his heart's content, the folks who miss him can subscribe, and everyone will be happy. Meanwhile, let's get back to discussing RECORDERS, before we need to have a thread about, "How do I sterilize a recorder that's been shoved up somebody's...." :-)

You GO, Bill Jackman! [the moderator]

Posted by: Games
Posted on: October 28, 2007 07:25 AM

Nice ... your Blog is good