Like fire in a blanket
SubversNZ on a new Christian political party for NZ
Tom B on holes in WCC’s aspiration of carbon neutrality
Last night’s Angela Davis talk. The atmosphere was worshipful, ceremonial. I wondered what it would be like if Jesus turned up to give a lecture, maybe in the Hunter Chambers or the Town Hall. 200 people had been turned away at the door, even after an overflow room with a video link had been filled up. It was like she wasn’t there, like an icon of her was there instead. She said it herself in fact – many people when they meet her feel they’re encountering their youth. She was the instantiation of an idea, or a hope, or maybe a vibe. She could have said anything, we would have clapped and cheered. We weren’t there for her, we were there for us. Well they were: I didn’t really belong; I didn’t fight the good fight, I don’t believe. What she did say was more of less this: notes from this evening’s Angela Davis lecture [45K PDF]
6 responses to “Like fire in a blanket”
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Wow. Awesome.
Thanks so much for that, Bartlett.
What was she like in person? as a speaker?
Really good, really American, polished, attractive, gracious. Very on-message, so much so that sometimes I felt she was answering questions she’d rather people asked instead of the ones they actually did ask.
reads like a load of drivel
Yeah Matt what a faggot!
About the SubversNZ article: liked it. His overall point is a very good one: Know your roots, and know ’em well. Christians especially.
But what I can’t understand — why does moral individualism follow from this? His for-instance is more or less “I’m straight, but it’s fine for everyone else to be gay.” Okay, maybe. However, what if he’d said “I’m an Anabaptist, so I personally believe that child abuse is evil, but it’s fine for everyone else to do as they like with their kids.” But his support of changing s59 shows he’s not a moral individualist on that point.
My brain gets itchy when folks want to have it both ways like this.
Hang on. Is Angela D. suggesting that the prison system is a product of America? Didn’t there be prisons in countries since like way back?