House of Eratosthenes

Westsound, who generously played host to that, eh, duel between myself and that silly left-wing gadfly “Joe America,” just found out he’s been punked by his little brother. Guess that means I was too.

Puts a slightly different light on things. Who knows, maybe all of these people who think ObamaCare is good for the nation’s financial circumstances, are made-up. Life-sized muppets or something.

Meanwhile, blogsister Daphne is pissed at me and Gerard. Let me sum it up this way: I think I can speak for all concerned when I say that the ladies, and mothers in particular, are owed a certain level of respect. This is an inviolable rule. Also, when you jump into a melee and start tossing around playground insults you should expect retaliation in kind; that is an inviolable rule too. I’m of the opinion that, while those two inviolable rules should never be placed in conflict with each other, if the unthinkable ever does occur then the second of those two inviolable rules holds supremacy over the first. Daphne clearly feels differently about it. I have the utmost respect for her incorrect opinion.

That “mom” put us into the situation where we have to quibble about it, in my mind, is just supplementary evidence that I’m right and Daphne is wrong. And this is part of a bigger issue, I think. We have lately been up to our ears with people wanting to…shall we say…fire photon torpedoes while cloaked. To be the flower of mankind, purely off-limits, don’t-you-dare-pick-on-me, and relish the duties of designated attack-pit-bull at the same time.

I think of it as the “Michelle Obama syndrome.” It’ll get worse before it gets better. But we can peck that thing to death another time.

In the meantime, congratulations to “Joe America.” Suckered your big blogger brother to put up no less than three posts about this, and you got one from me and one from Gerard too. Let’s give the Devil his due; a victory lap has seldom been better earned in the an(n)als of punking.

I didn’t keep up with the thread when it recently devolved. Suffice it to say that I would have drawn fire from Daphne as well. I put women up on a pedestal, but if they talk and acts like jackasses, I simply kick the pedestal out from under them and let them crash on their asses.

Thought experiment: a woman you’ve never-or just- met says “You are an embarrassment to mankind. Your pecker is small and shriveled, your head is up your hair ass and you smell bad.”

Now, should my first response be to say, “I see your point. Let me contemplate by navel for a while before I ask for absolution for my sins”? Or should I reply “Well, I see the spokesperson for for the National Hagfish Society has just shown up?”

I tend to opt for choice #2. I respect women. A lot. But when their level of discourse doesn’t rise above insults and schoolyard taunts, they get treated like any other PERSON who also happens to be a jackass. And frankly, I found Gerard’s comment to be pretty tame compared to what I might have said. The fact that (a) Daphne found his comment out of bounds, and (b) she thought that the woman’s son didn’t immediately request pistols at dawn, was a bit surprising. From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t take bullshit from anyone, nor does she expect anyone to take it. I guess it’s her protective streak in action, which is something that I admire. But if you can’t take it, don’t dish it out.
- Physics Geek | 04/29/2010 @ 07:07
Yes, and there are lots of good things to be said about “mom” too. It would appear that she and her family have been through a real adventure with Mark’s old man, which must have been rewarding for all concerned but it cannot have been easy. And, she has raised a son who is capable of teaching her things she needs to learn.

That happens to be my dream. She’s realized it, now all she has to do is draw the benefits from it. the ceasing-and-desisting of the playground insults hurled at perfect strangers, I think, will just be a natural development from that.
- mkfreeberg | 04/29/2010 @ 07:19
I have a couple simple rules:

1) All ladies are to be treated and spoken to gently.

2) When they cease to behave like ladies, they cease to be ladies.
- Gonzman | 04/29/2010 @ 08:04
I understand where Daphne is coming from, but I just didn’t see any gratuitous insults to moms honor. I let Daphne know that if I had I would have certainly defended it. We’ll just have to let it go at that I guess. My mother was a tough business woman her entire working life, brought up in Catholic boarding schools, no delicate stay at home mom who melts under the rain of a little critisism. As a result of being raised by a strong woman, I assume that women are capable of being strong and independent so the women in my life tend to be of the type who can take care of themselves. In my view they are the real feminists in this world rather than the type we see so often that demand to be just like men and then hide behind their men when the shit hits the fan, or file a harassment complaint with human rescources when delicate sensibilities are disturbed in the rough and tumble work place. My own wife is a tough broad who I have seen cry maybe three times in the fifteen years we have been together, so I suppose I never developed much of a chivalrous streak in this regard. A character flaw? Maybe, but that’s just the way I was brought up. I tend to give those in my inner circle the benefit of the doubt until they ask for or I determine they need my assistance, and then I will throw myself across the tracks for them.

If this is interpreted as “acting like a pussy” by some, so be it.
- westsoundmodern | 04/29/2010 @ 08:43
The whole thing reminds me of a brief passage in “Stranger in a Strange Land”

He [Jubal] turned back to Caxton and said briskly, “Ben, I don’t know what you have on your mind but it will have to wait while I give you a lesson in how to look at sculpture – though it’s probably as useless as trying to teach a dog to appreciate the violin. But you’ve just been rude to a lady and I don’t tolerate that.”

“Huh? Don’t be silly, Jubal; you’re rude to ladies – live ones – a dozen times a day. And you know which ones I mean.”

Jubal shouted, “Anne! Upstairs! Wear your cloak!”

“You know I wouldn’t be rude to the old woman who posed for that. Never. What I can’t understand is a so-called artist having the gall to pose somebody’s great grandmother in her skin . . . and you having the bad taste to want it around.”

Anne came in, cloaked, said nothing. Jubal said to her, “Anne have I ever been rude to you? Or to any of the girls?”

“That calls for an opinion.”

“That’s what I’m asking for. Your opinion. You’re not in court-”

“You have never at any time been rude to any of us, Jubal.”

“Have you ever known me to be rude to a lady?”

“I have seen you be intentionally rude to a woman. I have never seen you be rude to a lady.”

“That’s all. No, one more opinion. What do you think of this bronze?”

The second last sentence sums it up.
- pdwalker | 04/29/2010 @ 09:48
The House link took me to your site, WSM. Very interesting thread. Daphne, fabulous though she is, struck out on that one.

I would picture her boys in your place at some future date looking on and thinking, hope those fellows can handle what mom’s going to bring back on ’em.
- jamzw | 04/29/2010 @ 09:59
You’ve got nothing to defend as far as I’m concerned, Mark. Sounds like your mom would get along like gangbusters with mine. It’s a shame she thinks I’m a moron, something tells me if the opportunity did arise, they might not get off on the right foot because of that…

Daphne is a wonderful gal. I’m sorry to see she’s so badly outnumbered on this one, it makes me think perhaps I shouldn’t have written anything about it, suggests it’s one of those deals where she got really excited in the heat of the moment and typed in something she shouldn’t have. Just for the record, I do not consider her to be part of the “Michelle O.” problem I was describing…although that one is growing just fine with or without her help, thankyewverymuch.
- mkfreeberg | 04/29/2010 @ 11:25
As Denis Prager is quoted, “I prefer clarity to agreement”.

I consider Daphne a good friend and a fine writer. Her support and encouragement in helping me find my voice on this little blog thingy and in ruthlessly and clearly stating her opinion without fear should be an example to all in persuing their own voice. If every so often I get in the cross hairs of her critisism, I take it as the constructive sort. Even when I think I’m right, a little self reflection never hurt anyone.
- westsoundmodern | 04/29/2010 @ 12:55

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“The Mask of Joe America”Thursday, April 29th, 2010

“The Mask of Joe America”
Thursday, April 29th, 2010