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Comment on Introducing Ted by Gardens of Resistance

Gardens of Resistance — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:36:05 +0000

Ha, you are right. I had completely forgotten that in this last reading. I missed the clues. Thanks for the correction!

Comment on Introducing Ted by Lorraine

Lorraine — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:26:36 +0000

Good picture images of the characters. One correction though: Ted is African-Amrican.

Comment on Letters of Detergents (from John Zerzan) by Infinite Tasks

Infinite Tasks — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 12:45:37 +0000

I think it has much to do with how one interprets the word 'real'. There is a very interesting discussion of the characters of Letters in Lorraine Perlman's Having Little, Being Much, Chapter 11. Specifically, there is a letter reprinted there from Fredy Perlman to a reader who herself came from "Magarna," and he writes that:

Yarostan was a “real” individual. The others are equally “real,” but they are composites or fragments.

This "real" individual, Velimir Morača, is also described in Chapter 6, on the three years spent by Fredy and Lorraine in Yugoslavia.

Comment on Letters of Detergents (from John Zerzan) by anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:22:11 +0000

“Upon its appearance Fredy insisted that the letters were real, that Yarostan and Sophie were not fictional characters. His Detroit friends, I recall, made it clear how little credulity that claim had and in riposte would sometimes refer to the book as Letters of Detergents.”

so… does his claim have any validity at all? John says the detriot friends didn’t believe it at all. just wondering (=

Comment on Ariel – Incest and Child Sexuality (Part Three) by Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:07:20 +0000

You’ve done a good job of unpacking these issues here. I think that the child-with-adult sex and incest taboos are handy shortcuts, and once in awhile it’s necessary to go through all the steps to rediscover what they’re shortcuts for. It’s more work to teach your young son and daughter the longhand version; how much will they absorb about power relationships and consent before the eyes glaze over or the fidgeting begins? As long as the nuclear family exists, these taboos are useful, even though by virtue of being a shortcut for complicated issues, they are related to the hated “because I said so” method of child-rearing.

Comment on Thanks to Everyone! by Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:25:04 +0000

I’d never heard of Letters before this summer, and am very happy that I participated in Insurgent Summer. I hope this site will be used for another group read.

Comment on Ariel – Incest and Child Sexuality (Part One) by Gardens of Resistance

Gardens of Resistance — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:12:27 +0000

I am so glad you are doing this and what you have written so far makes a lot of sense to me. Each time that I have read Letters, the mountaintop scene with Yarostan has always stuck out as one of the most memorable parts of the book. But, truthfully, I have treated it as an elephant in the room, choosing to focus on other aspects of the book. In part, this is because I haven’t had the language around these issues and run into a lot of fear to open them up.

Can’t wait to read the other two parts of this. Thanks!

Comment on I have known Damans, Alecs and Teds by Aragorn!

Aragorn! — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:21:17 +0000

What you say is true. Daman’s quote should have come from the prior paragraph.

“He told me he was ready to become seriously involved in political activities; he wanted to do more than attend rallies. He told me he’d been reading about the third world and about the ghetto, and that he was sick of just reading about it… He started coming regularly to our meetings. He was by far the most dynamic member of the group. I thought you had somehow transformed him. I had never seen him so concentrated, so logical or so eloquent.”

BTW I find the editing that is done to my posts to be more than annoying. I meaningful sentence was just plucked right out.

Comment on I have known Damans, Alecs and Teds by UnruhLEE

UnruhLEE — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:54:09 +0000

Hey A!
You seem to associate this quote with Daman, but it’s about Alec, not Daman:

“He apparently decided that the only meaningful human activity was the total destruction of the capitalist class in all its manifestations, in the colonies as well as the ghettos. That attitude coincided perfectly with our tendency’s political program.”

Ciao,
Lee

Comment on I’m Going Crazy?! by Melissa

Melissa — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:24:38 +0000

Your articles are thoughtful and thought-provoking, and I’m finding them very helpful to me in digesting this book. Thank you for all the time and effort. I wish I had something less inane to say, but I’m still just trying to take it all in.