[Peace-discuss] Laurie on rethinking Oct. 27

[Laurie at advancenet.net]

> It is the person who sits at home simply thinking
> about the grim state of the world who is engaging in "mental
> masturbation", or should we say autopoliticism?

Are you proposing that as opposed to the person who takes to the streets and
simply  thinking about the grim state of the world while walking around
carrying signs and/or chanting slogans?  I do not think that the distinction
as to who is or is not engaging in mental masturbation has anything to do
with the location where one engages in it or the substantive content of the
mental masterbation.  I think it has more to do with if one gets intrinsic
pleasure from engaging in an activity or if one gets the pleasurable
gratification instrumentally from obtaining the desired result that one
seeks to achieve - i.e., the instrumental effectiveness of the activity.

Thus, I am not sure that I have anything forward or backwards.  I do not
restrict the activities of mental masturbation or intellectual exercises to
the political world; the only reason I mentioned these forms of activity in
relation to political activities on this list is because that happens to be
the substantive content of the posts on this list.  I have said the same
sort of thing with respect to discussions of "what is art and what is not
art" on other lists and in other forums as well as applying these notions to
"what is real", "what is truth", "what is real happiness", etc. Sitting
around thinking, discussing, intellectualizing, etc. are themselves
activities but they are activities of pleasurable but abstract nature and
somewhat different in nature from more concrete practical instrumental
activities which seek to actualize a real empirical change in social
actions, historic events, and situational exigencies. Theorizing about how
to play basketball is not the same as actually playing basketball; debating
strategies and tactics is not the same as actually implementing and applying
them.  Symbolic gestures are not the same as literal gestures of protest.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net [mailto:peace-discuss-
> bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Bob Illyes
> Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 4:43 PM
> To: peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Laurie on rethinking Oct. 27
> 
> Laurie has it backward. It is the person who sits at home simply
> thinking
> about the grim state of the world who is engaging in "mental
> masturbation",
> or should we say autopoliticism? Next we should investigate the
> political
> pornography these sad cases consume. All sorts of conspiracy theories
> come
> to mind. Quick, Stuart, we need a list of the 10 characteristics (it
> always
> seems to be 10) of political pornography.
> 
> Bob
> 
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