... there are times when the interests of the proletariat call for ruthless extermination of its enemies...
We would be deceiving both ourselves and the people if we concealed from
the masses the necessity of a desperate, bloody war of extermination...
Vladimir Lenin, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
To overcome our enemies we must have our own socialist militarism. ... As for the rest ... they must be annihilated.
Grigory Zinoviev, Chairman of the Communist International
______________________________
I thought my farewell post of May 2020 would be my last. I was mistaken. That post was removed a few weeks later because I came across news articles (1, 2, 3) describing how distinguished academics came to grief for publicly voicing opinions deemed heretical by the Stalinist-Maoists hashtag activists who see themselves as front-line defenders of diversity, inclusion, social justice, and other 'virtues' described by equally vacuous combinations of words. If it weren't for their eminence, these academics would quickly find themselves standing in line at their local unemployment offices, wondering why the fuck didn't they major in Finance to become high-earning investment bankers at Goldman Sachs.
Of course, I am a tiny fish in the academic pond,
and the internet visibility of my alter ego is very low. Still, the possibility of having to stand before the execution squad of
trigger-happy administrators - whose principal job these days is to console and
hug consumers of educational services (formerly known as students)
who complain about not being sufficiently cuddled by providers of
educational services (formerly known as professors) – would be
enough to poison my rapidly shrinking future.
Have I become paranoid? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. Not in the world where reason and sanity have been "cancelled" by infantile, ignorant, arrogant, self-righteous,
brain-washed, Twitter-Instagram-Facebook-
3 comments:
"Have I become paranoid? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. Not in the world where reason and sanity have been "cancelled" by infantile, ignorant, arrogant, self-righteous, brain-washed, Twitter-Instagram-Facebook-addicted members of American Komsomol."
It appears that, to refute the language of the social-media addled, you've emulated the language precisely; bold, declarative, pompously self-assured, hopelessly disorganized/feral, and just the tiniest bit narcissistically hungry for whatever shreds of attention are left to come your way. Fight fire with fire, I guess, whatever works for you.
Also, I seem to recall the following from your previous post: "A team of highly paid doctors has given me good reasons to believe that my days are numbered and the number is unlikely to exceed by much that of Haydn's symphonies." I didn't know Haydn wrote 180 symphonies, so if you're reading this, keep in mind that you're adding to a pile that's too large as is.
Otherwise, bless your occasionally misguided but — on the whole — venerable soul, old man. I remember stumbling into this blog back in high school and downloading John Corigliano's Piano Concerto from here; I disagreed with your appraisal then, and I still do, and I still have it downloaded, and I still listen to it on occasion. Granted, I do have Carter's Piano Concerto as well, which I also listen to on occasion, so maybe your influence was net positive after all.
If you could convey my warmest regards to George Rochberg, it'd mean a lot to me.
David,
A quick reply to your comment.
1. Unlike the “hashtag activist”, I do not suggest – let alone demand – that the people whose views I find reprehensible be punished in some way – i.e., fired from their jobs ort dismissed from their positions in professional organizations. Expressing my contempt for their totalitarian rhetoric and actions is enough for me.
2. Regarding musical tastes, these are purely subjective feedings and attitudes and it is meaningless and argues (I still listen, once in a long while to cheesy songs like BREAD’S “Diary” simply because they are part of the soundtrack of my youth). Which is to say that your affection for Corigliano's Piano Concerto is not subject to meaningful disapproval.
As for Carter’s Piano Concerto, I have not listened to that work for a long lite (and probably will not return to it in the future). I find that work utterly uncharacteristic of Carter’s style. It strikes me (after very many hearings) as monotones, even morose. Carter was reportedly very unhappy in West Berlin during the peak of the Cold War (when he composed that concerto), and the work probably reflects his feelings during that period. In any case, I have two of his (later) mini-piano concertos - Dialogues and Soundings. These are fully representative of Carter’s style and I’ve listening to them for years with undiminished pleasure. If you send me (to boomboomsky at gmail dot com)your email, I’ll be happy to send you recordings of these two ("live") piano concertos.
All good wishes to you, David, and thank you for keeping me in mind.
Boom.
resurection ?? how is it possible dear Boom ? please tell me !
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