Re: virus: Existence

Brett Lane Robertson (unameit@tctc.com)
Wed, 10 Sep 1997 17:07:31 -0500


Marshall McLuhan always used to say "Violence is a search for identity".
What that means to me is that, in a chaotic world we have a tendency to
loose sight of our own minds and their effect. We begin to wonder if
our thoughts are relevant, or even if they exist at all. So, we strike out.
Verbally, if not physically. (Consler)

Reed,

The question of identity falls into the idea of ego and I've found myself to
have a passive ego, or Self, which asserts its "mind" in response to
"violence". I think that ego is the creator of violence and also what is
created by violence. Ego which is active is oppositional to other egos,
egos which are passive seem to spawn violence, too--an attempt to get
someone to stand for something? A Self which resolves this
sadistic/masochistic inflation of ego must be at the expense of something
else; and, I say it is at the expense of a social "s"elf. Or, is the
socially constructed self the only true being the one which happens at the
expense of the Self which is "director"( not "actor")? All in all, some
part of me is destroyed in the very act of trying to come to grips with this
irony--the final point. Violence is the only way for some to see that they
are alive (and, thereby, the whole post fits into the psychological category
"Borderline Personality", the resolution of this disorder may be to
participate but not become involved.)

Brett

At 01:42 PM 9/10/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>Date: Tue, 09 Sep 1997 14:38:25 -0500
>>From: Brett Lane Robertson <unameit@tctc.com>

>>David,

>> I will not allow my character to be defamed in public and then take it to a
>>private forum for resolution...the damage was done to my reputation in
>>public (implying that my thinking was distorted) and it will be settled in
>>public.

>>Brett

>Brett. Take a deep breath. Remember Emerson:

>"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"

>I'm certianly not ignoring Eva's terse response to you, but you
>must have noticed the conversation escalating in the previous exchanges.
>Now is the time to look back over the thread and ask yourself why you
>were unable to communicate.

>Marshall McLuhan always used to say "Violence is a search for identity".
>What that means to me is that, in a chaotic world we have a tendency to
>loose sight of our own minds and their effect. We begin to wonder if
>our thoughts are relevant, or even if they exist at all. So, we strike out.
>Verbally, if not physically.

>Interesting that the title of this thread is "Existence", no?

>Forget about <Public>. The Church of Virus isn't really a public forum
>anyway, it's more a collection of like un-minds. Being called a disordered
>thinker has just got to be a sort of compliment in this context.

>I'm also not speaking from any height. I've had my share of belligerent
>run-ins (all of them my fault) on this list (apologies to Stephen, Tad, and
>Richard...those I can remember).

>Remember, were supposed to be friends...that is why we write about things
>so close to our identity, or (in my case, ;-) ) lack thereof.

>Everyone go back to your corners.

>Reed

Returning,
rBERTS%n
Rabble Sonnet Retort
God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe,
the elephant and the cat. He has no real style, He just goes
on trying other things.

Pablo Picasso