Here's a brief excerpt from the op-ed I wrote for Big Government. (I can't wait until Andrew Breitbart starts Big Education!)
I must say I'm getting somewhat addicted to writing for Big Government. It is such change to have people actually say positive things about me and my writing style, compared to the usual acrimony that my detractors stir up here on campus. Not that I condone all of the comments -- I certainly don't -- but it is nice once and awhile to realize that outside of this bubble, I might even be liked for what I write. But on second thought, that might reduce some of the fun of goring sacred (but oh, so secular) cows.[Kincaid's essay], A Small Place, is written about her native Antigua and attacks British civilization and capitalism itself. The most revealing selection from that essay? Here it is, from pages 36 to 37 as she is discussing that the white colonizer is to blame for the very corrupt government of Antigua.
You will forget your part in the whole setup, that bureaucracy is one of your inventions, that Gross National Product is one of your inventions, and all the laws that you know mysteriously favour you. Do you know why people like me are shy about being capitalists? Well, it’s because we, for as long as we have known you, were capital, like bales of cotton and sacks of sugar, and you were the commanding, cruel capitalists, and the memory of this is so strong, the experience so recent, that we can’t bring ourselves to embrace this idea that you think so much of. As for what we were like before we met you, I no longer care. No periods of time over my ancestors held sway, no documentation of complex civilizations, is any comfort to me. Even if I really came from people who were living like monkeys in trees, it was better to be that than what happened to me, what I became after I met you.
And so yes, she teaches writing at a college whose motto is “civilization prospers with commerce,” even though it looks like she’s in favor of neither.
8 comments:
I think you are very well-suited posting on Big Government -- clearly this is your audience and your kind of people. One of the first responses suggest that she "move back to Africa."
Truth is Charles, you're smart (albeit snide); and while you may get a more positive response from that site, I think you're devaluing your writing by posting it there.
Okay, so that was a total contradiction -- but you get the point.
The level of discourse in the comments on that site is truly top-notch. Glad you finally found an audience that finally understands your ways of thinking and no doubt you'll enjoy the riveting and insightful banter they contribute back. Keep up the good work and you'll soon be a Faux News fixture!
Apparently neither of you have read the insane hate-filled things said about me on the Forum. And apparently neither of you read this site. I do not approve of all things said on Big Government, but I don't have to. I have never been responsible for what other people write.
The things on the Forum haven't been hate-filled, Charles. At least, not what I've seen. What are you talking about exactly? I've seen things ranging from some agreement, to dislike, probably because alot of your posts are very snide. What do you expect?
But I haven't seen anything hateful as of yet?
Telling someone to "move back to Africa", however, IS hateful and ignorant.
Attacks on my ex-girlfriend, lewd mentions of my personal life, lies made up about my relationship with professors, etc. all come to mind.
It seems that, at least from Ms. Kincaid's writings, she wants to return to Africa -- and not just Africa, but to the time before mankind even had civilization. I wish her well, but I happen to like the trappings of civilization.
Antigua is not in Africa. It's in the Caribbean.
LOL
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