[Vision2020] Who's afraid of Elizabeth Fox-Genovese?
Joan Opyr
auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
Sun, 21 Mar 2004 11:36:12 -0800
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I'm sorry to take issue with you, Ed Sebesta, as you have frequently prov=
ided a valuable service, re: information about the neo-Confederate moveme=
nt. I would remind you, however, that that is your particular bailiwick =
(some might say obsession). Vision 2020 is a community forum and as such=
it addresses more than one community concern. Some of us on this list a=
ctually live here. In Moscow, Idaho. We deal with Doug Wilson day in an=
d day out; many have been dealing with him for decades. The fact that he=
has acquired a small national following mystifies most of us, but it sho=
uldn't. As P. T. Barnum said more than a century ago, there's a sucker b=
orn every minute.
Doug's effect on this community has often been baleful and malign, but we=
can handle him. So thanks but no thanks, Ed, for your Texas-based assis=
t. Remember that garbage barge from New York that floated up and down th=
e East coast some years back, looking for a place to land? Well, we don'=
t worry about that here. We're confident that we can take out our own tr=
ash. =20
(Tom Hansen, in particular, deserves a hearty round of applause. He was =
one of the first to put on his rubber gloves and begin shoveling. Tom's =
"Not On The Palouse" web-site is a clearinghouse of invaluable informatio=
n, and I am not alone in being grateful to him for being willing to creat=
e and maintain it, all on his own time and at his own expense. The fact =
that Tom also has an excellent wry sense of humor is a complete bonus.)
=20
I mean what I say, and I say what I mean. Once again, very clearly, I sa=
y that Elizabeth Fox-Genovese is not important. Neither is Mona Charon, =
Myrna Blyth, Laura Ingraham, Phyllis Schlafly, or any of the other anti-f=
eminist Stepford Sirens of the modern GOP's kirke-kinder-kuchen movement.=
I don't deny that the effects of their "work," like Doug's, have wide a=
nd unpleasant ramifications, but they themselves are not serious scholars=
, and they are not serious thinkers. We cheapen our political discourse =
when we allow chattering parrots who shriek out nonsense in thirty-second=
sound-bites to pass themselves off as thoughtful cultural critics. The =
fact that Fox-Genovese is a big muckety-muck among the kinds of jackasses=
who paint Confederate flags on the hoods of their trucks does not make h=
er important, and I will not accord her the same respected status that I =
would Hannah Arendt, Emma Goldman, or Soren Kiekegaard. I think she's wi=
cked. I think she's bad. But I laugh at her poor-thinking, her self-pro=
motion, and her miserable pretensions. This, in my opinion, isn't the on=
ly possible response, but it is a perfectly acceptable one.
=20
FYI, I read a bit of Elizabeth Fox when I was studying feminist theory ba=
ck in graduate school, sometime in the late Jurassic. Her work at the ti=
me was moderately interesting. Long ago, however, she chose the path of =
right-wing crumpet and reactionary gadfly over that of respectable academ=
ic inquiry. Why? Who knows? Perhaps because it pays better and you get=
a lot more press. The story of how she transmogrified from Ms. Fox into=
Mrs. Fox-Genovese is probably interesting, but only if you=E2=80=99re El=
izabeth Fox or Eugene Genovese. =20
=20
As for the rest of us, why don't we just extrapolate from the lyrics of t=
his great Madeleine Peyroux song? =20
=20
Was I?
=20
Sweet young thing of sixteen
Thought I'd step out one night
I longed to get the thrill in life I missed
I met a youth, a bit uncouth,
Although he seemed alright,
I knew him by the moment when we kissed.
When I got home next day with a swollen head,
My girlfriend asked if I had fun I said,
=20
Was I drunk?
Was he handsome?
And did Mama give me hell?
Did I get a thrill and am I full aquiver?
Was he rough? Did I care?
Am I glad I fell?
Every time I think of him, do I shiver?
=20
Was he high? And was I?
And would he stand for me?
He would not. Did I lie?
Does he still think I'm a baby?
If I was, am I still?
Do I care? Don't be sill!
Was I drunk? Was he handsome?
And did Mama give me Hell?
=20
Was I drunk? Was he handsome?
Did Mama give me Hell?
With his hands loose there's no refusing.
Did he fight? Was I blue?
Almost shamed to tell,
And I don't know yet the system he was using.
Well, I said, "Stop, please behave."
Well, what's the use of raving?
He said, "Give," so I gave.
After all what was I saving?
Am I glad? Holy Gee,
If I had fun, you're asking me.
Was I drunk? Was he handsome?
And did Mama give me Hell?
=20
(Music and lyrics by Charlie Farrell and Chick Endor. Used here without =
copyright permission as I think they=E2=80=99re long deceased.)
=20
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer=
download : http://explorer.msn.com
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV> <P class=3DMs=
oNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=
=3D3>I'm sorry to take issue with you, Ed Sebesta, as you have frequently=
provided a valuable service, re: information about the neo-Confederate m=
ovement. I would remind you, however, that that is your&n=
bsp;particular bailiwick (some might say obsession). Visi=
on 2020 is a community forum and as such it addresses more=
than one community concern. Some of us on this list actually =
live here.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In <?xml:namesp=
ace prefix =3D st1 ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />=
<st1:place><st1:City>Moscow</st1:City>, <st1:State>Idaho</st1:State></st1=
:place>.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We deal with Doug=
Wilson day in and day out; many have been dealing with him for decades.<=
SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The fact that he has =
acquired a small national following mystifies most of us, but it shouldn'=
t.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As P. T. Barnum sa=
id more than a century ago, there's a sucker born every minute.</FONT></P=
> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR><FONT face=3D"Ti=
mes New Roman" size=3D3>Doug's effect on this community has often been ba=
leful and malign, but we can handle him.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"=
> </SPAN>So thanks but no thanks, Ed, for your Texas-based assist.<=
SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Remember that garbage barg=
e from New York that floated up and down the East coast some years back, =
looking for a place to land?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SP=
AN>Well, we don't worry about that here.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"=
> </SPAN>We're confident that we can take out our own trash. =
</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=
=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3></FONT> </P> <P class=3DMsoNormal styl=
e=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>(Tom Ha=
nsen, in particular, deserves a hearty round of applause. He w=
as one of the first to put on his rubber gloves and begin shoveling.=
Tom's "Not On The Palouse" web-site is a clearinghouse of inv=
aluable information, and I am not alone in being grateful to him for bein=
g willing to create and maintain it, all on his own time and at his own e=
xpense. The fact that Tom also has an excellent wry sense of humor =
is a complete bonus.)</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0i=
n 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D "urn:schemas-microsoft-com=
:office:office" /><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FO=
NT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT fa=
ce=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>I mean what I say, and I say what I mean.=
Once again, very clearly, I say that Elizabeth Fox-Genov=
ese is <STRONG>not</STRONG> important.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">&=
nbsp; </SPAN>Neither is Mona Charon, Myrna Blyth, Laura Ingraham, Phyllis=
Schlafly, or any of the other anti-feminist Stepford Sirens of the moder=
n GOP's kirke-kinder-kuchen movement.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">&n=
bsp; </SPAN>I don't deny that the effects of their "work," like Doug's, h=
ave wide and unpleasant ramifications, but they themselves are not seriou=
s scholars, and they are not serious thinkers.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun=
: yes"> </SPAN>We cheapen our political discourse when we allow&nbs=
p;chattering parrots who shriek out nonsense in thirty-second sound-bites=
to pass themselves off as thoughtful cultural critics. <SPAN style=3D"ms=
o-spacerun: yes"> The fact that Fox-Genovese is a big muckety-muck a=
mong the kinds of jackasses who paint Confederate flags on the hoods of t=
heir trucks does not make her important, and I will not </SPAN>accor=
d her the same respected status that I would Hannah Arendt, Emma Gol=
dman, or Soren Kiekegaard. I think she's wicked. I think=
she's bad. But I laugh at her poor-thinking, her self-promoti=
on, and her miserable pretensions. This, in my opinion, isn't the o=
nly possible response, but it is a perfectly acceptable one.</FONT></P> <=
P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Time=
s New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D=
"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">FYI, =
I read a bit of Elizabeth Fox when I was studying feminist theory back in=
graduate school, sometime in the late Jurassic.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacer=
un: yes"> </SPAN>Her work at the time was moderately interesting.<S=
PAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Long ago, however, she chos=
e the path of right-wing crumpet and reactionary gadfly over that of resp=
ectable academic inquiry.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>=
Why?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Who knows?<SPAN style=
=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps because it pays better and y=
ou get a lot more press.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>T=
he story of how she transmogrified from Ms. Fox into Mrs. Fox-Genovese is=
probably interesting, but only if you=E2=80=99re Elizabeth Fox or E=
ugene Genovese.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></F=
ONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT fa=
ce=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNor=
mal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3=
>As for the rest of us, why don't we just extrapolate from the lyrics of =
this great Madeleine Peyroux song? </FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=
=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>&nb=
sp;</FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><=
FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Was I?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNo=
rmal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" si=
ze=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in =
0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Sweet young thing of six=
teen</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Thought I'd step out one night</FONT></=
P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times=
New Roman" size=3D3>I longed to get the thrill in life I missed</FONT></=
P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times=
New Roman" size=3D3>I met a youth, a bit uncouth,</FONT></P> <P class=3D=
MsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" si=
ze=3D3>Although he seemed alright,</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D=
"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>I knew him =
by the moment when we kissed.</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MA=
RGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>When I got hom=
e next day with a swollen head,</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"=
MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>My girlfrien=
d asked if I had fun I said,</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MAR=
GIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FO=
NT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT fa=
ce=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Was I drunk?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNor=
mal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3=
>Was he handsome?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0i=
n 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>And did Mama give me hell?=
</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=
=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Did I get a thrill and am I full aquiver?</=
FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D=
"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Was he rough?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"=
> </SPAN>Did I care?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGI=
N: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Am I glad I fell?=
<BR>Every time I think of him, do I shiver?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNorm=
al style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=
=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0i=
n 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Was he high?<SPAN style=3D=
"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And was I?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNor=
mal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3=
>And would he stand for me?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARG=
IN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>He would not.<SP=
AN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Did I lie?</FONT></P> <P cla=
ss=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roma=
n" size=3D3>Does he still think I'm a baby?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNorm=
al style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>=
If I was, am I still?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0i=
n 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Do I care?<SPAN style=3D=
"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Don't be sill!</FONT></P> <P class=3DMs=
oNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=
=3D3>Was I drunk?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Was he h=
andsome?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><F=
ONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>And did Mama give me Hell?</FONT></=
P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"=
Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal st=
yle=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3>Was I=
drunk? Was he handsome?<BR>Did Mama give me Hell?<BR>With his hands loos=
e there's no refusing.<BR>Did he fight? Was I blue?<BR>Almost shamed to t=
ell,<BR>And I don't know yet the system he was using.<BR>Well, I said, "S=
top, please behave."<BR>Well, what's the use of raving?<BR>He said, "Give=
," so I gave.<BR>After all what was I saving?<BR>Am I glad? Holy Gee,<BR>=
If I had fun, you're asking me.<BR>Was I drunk? Was he handsome?<BR>And d=
id Mama give me Hell?</FONT></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0i=
n 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></o:=
p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face=3D"T=
imes New Roman" size=3D3>(Music and lyrics by Charlie Farrell and Chick E=
ndor.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Used here without co=
pyright permission as I think they=E2=80=99re long deceased.)</FONT></P> =
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=3D"Tim=
es New Roman" size=3D3> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal style=
=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman">Jo=
an Opyr/Auntie Establishment <SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SP=
AN></FONT></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML><br clear=3Dall><hr>Get more fro=
m the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a href=3D'http://explorer.msn.c=
om'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>
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