January 2006

[El Gordo]

[rant]Without wishing to offend, or devalue the fine humour which oft frequents around here, it might in some ways prove equally instructive, MLC Man, to consider that when a man bares his soul in one of the most eloquent, thought-provoking and startlingly moving pieces seen on these pages, we Brits feel much more comfortable immediately spending the next ten posts on his thread prattling on about dog poo. It's all very fine, but this is just the way it often is with regard to uncomfortably sensitive subjects in this country.[/rant]

I didn't quite get that, Nigel. I thought MLCM's observation about the football violence/social embarrassment paradox was pretty insightful. I don't think we notice the absurdity of it until it's mentioned by someone outside looking in. I hadn't connected the flippancy of the dog story with Sweder's earlier unburdening. If anything, isn't it another example of the same paradox? Or am I completely misunderstanding something here? Or does it matter?

Answering my own (final) question, probably not. :o