[...] On that subject, here’s a satirical piece on consumer spending as a revolutionary device entitiled the Decadent Action Manifesto, “We use the simple economic principles of supply and demand with their intrinsic link to inflation to establish our theories. The state must control these factors to run the economy efficiently; throw in the wild card of massive irrational overspending on seemingly random luxury goods and the government is unable to take control. This will lead to hyper inflation and large scale social unrest, leading to the collapse of the monetary system and disintegration of the state apparatus.” [...]

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stuey…aye…

(i’m ‘catholicing’ bigtime..just at the moment….intoxicants and all…:)..it being a monday night and all…you have to ease into the week ..eh…?..when running under the strictures of the catholic.work ethic..

and of course it’s a compliment….what’s the alternative..?….the dour/sour begrudging protestant work ethic..?.um..no thanks…the ‘live to work’ mantra never did ring true…:)..too many books to read…and thoughts to think..and ideas to argue..and converations to have…to bother with that nonsense…eh..?

bj said….”…and I certainly hope we can arrange not to take this persons application should he ever submit it)..”

bj..i ‘ve heard tell there’s some people in the auckland greens with minds as closed to diversity as you obviously are…..i’ll introduce you some time…you’ll get on like a house on fire…you could all sit around and make up new rules of exclusion….that’ll get things done..eh..?

btw..what are the current rules of admission to the greens .?.or..in this case..non-admission?….
are the grounds of ‘we just don’t like that person’ enough to get them ‘banned’..?.?
.is there someone in wellington greens who could clear that up…?..ta..

and if say..(just hypothetically speaking..of course) a group of auckland greens decided they didn’t like me…could they stop me from joining the party…?.could they stop me joining in another part of the country…?..could/should i send my application (and a/p..:)?..directly to wellington..?

and what is an effective quorum in that ‘banning’ situation..?….what is the tipping point..?

how many would they have to mass against me.?….to get me declared a non-person…..?…..

and are there any grounds of appeal for an individual… who some others decide they just don’t like the cut of his jib…?..or whatever..?

or will a defendant-in-abstentia kangeroo court do the trick for them…?

mmm?..just wondering..eh..?….

‘cos i’m thinking of becoming active in the ak greens again…and i have a feeling in my bones …that the prospect of me sticking my hand up and going..”..um..what about…?.” again could well have a few of them so un-nerved ..i fell such precipitate action on their part against me just may be contemplated…

that’s why i thought i’d ask…:)

just so i know where i stand…eh…?..if at all…:)

phil(whoar.co.nz)

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Dear Phil,

I don’t think “Catholic work ethic” is an insult, I think it is a complement.

Practising my catholic work ethic is exactly what I’m doing now, posting on a blog instead of doing some work!

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Dear Adam,

who are “the people that matter”?

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Quite. Swift’s'Modest Proposal’ was not some piece of pure fiction, but an extrapolation from the real and hideous conditions of the Irish living under the English landlord system.

As for Mr Smith’s comments on anarchists:”As if the Greens don’t suffer enough from being labelled fanatics, it’s ridiculous that they’d then encourage it by posting links to such utter trash.”

Wasn’t the whole point of putting in the link to the anarchist SNAP! site (http://snap.enzyme.org.nz/) – with its incisive comments on the nature of international copper markets, radical radishes and Fun Ho! toys – a cheap attempt to change the public image of the Greens from being considered fanatics, to that of reasonable, considered and thinking people? After all, anarchists make no bones about rejecting the scurrilous violence of the state and the economic oppression of the capitalist system, while the Greens seem quite ready to work with it. No wonder they are dubbed fanatics.

Mr Frog’s attempt to publicly cosy up to the anarchists is no more likely to fool the masses than ‘Adam Smith’s’ attempts to gain credibility by cribbing the name of a pretty decent and insightful economist.

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Um Adam Smith appears to think that eating Irish babies is perfectly reasonable thing to laugh at but cop killing is cold blooded murder…

Would that be right?

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Adam – Since you’re not willing to admit that you took something way too seriously and aren’t part of this party (and I certainly hope we can arrange not to take this persons application should he ever submit it), perhaps the time has come to SUGGEST that you take your extraordinary lack of perception away from ours. Frog does just fine by my lights, and I doubt seriously that the rest of the people here would bother with this blog if frog’s posts weren’t relevant and amusing for us. Yours on the other hand, fill a much needed silence.

BJ

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I would argue that the difference between this article and a Swiftian satire is this: Swift’s ‘Modest Proposal’ was just that… a proposal. He did not pick out actual examples – and encourage them. Instead, to demonstrate that logic is often instinctively repugnant (which I would argue makes it illogical, but others may not), he proposed something that, logically, seemed to be a good idea.

Here, if it is to be taken as satire, then I would respectfully suggest that those trying to satirise should not do so using examples of cruel and cold blooded murder. Maybe that’s just me – I don’t really think the taking of life is comical.

If it is not satire (given the content of the rest of the site), then I stand by my belief that it is revolting.

I would also suggest that the blogger of frogblog is probably more in line with anarcho-ecologists than the Greens. I would also suggest that it is rather tragic how many readers – generally ardent Green supporters, have failed to notice the post-election change in frog blog. The writing is poor, as are the things of which the blog discusses. But I think the raison d’être of this blog was far more than to communicate with greenies – it was to influence the media’s portrayal of the Greens. This did once occur. Many times did I read the NZ Herald and recognise lines of argument derived from this blog. Now, this does not occur. The people that matter have noticed. It’s sad that the ardent supporters are so blinded.

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Adam? Where for art thou Adam? Or should I say Karen? Or maybe Monty?

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I’d like to point out yet another “In America, TV Watches You” moment.

When the economic problems of 2001 took a huge worsening immediately after 9/11, we were told that the patriotic thing to do was to go out to the shopping malls and spend.

America still has a negative net average personal savings.

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I’m off to Kirkaldie and Stains right now, to buy me the most expensive thing clothing can find… nothing but the best for me!

Seriously though, where can find a Dolce and Gabanna semi-automatic weapon? I don’t want to be part of your revolution if I can’t rule the world in style. Perhaps I’ll just have to make do with accesories.

Yours for in decadence
resistantsoy

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erm person here…just checking in…sheesh….lighten up ghet….it’s a piss-take…(obviously my satirical swipe was too subtle for you…..or i could take the back seat and say…..what..?..)

i could note that i am a big fan of the idler ethic….in fact..some would argue i’ve structured a life around it..somehow…:)(keeps you young at heart..didn’t ya know..:)

and as for the ‘catholic work ethic’ jibe…it comes from the same era as ‘no catholics, no coloureds, no dogs’…

and the ethic in practice was one of the only rebellions on offer for the opressed…against the opressor….(c’mon..we’ve all had jobs like that…)

yours (in good humour…guess whos blog got mentioned on the newsweek website ‘what the blogs are saying’….link at myplace…:)

it is an aside i made on a story they did on the ‘irritable male’ syndrome..where i noted i preferred the ‘big brain short fuse’ excuse..for obvious reasons…:)

phil(whoar.co.nz)

btw ghet…if you’d like me to proof-read your alberta piece..i’d be happy to offer a few suggestions…

and that’s over and out from erm person…:)

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As a sattire writer, I find this enormously frustrating. It seems there’s nothing you can write that so ridiculous that some erm person can’t be personally offended by it. Dealing with it is a huge waste of time that I’m currently supposed to be spending writing an article on Alberta becoming the 51st US state.

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stuey…”..celebrates the catholic work ethic…”

stuey…i never realised you were an anti-papist…..cor!..

btw…what is the pc spin on that..?….is that one of the ‘allowables’..?

are we allowed to still air age-old prejudices/slurs…?.as long as they are anti-catholic…?

(do you have any anti-jewish ones you still use..?..)

and could we please have a list of those it is ok to slag…?.

and of those those who slighting will raise indignant/shocked eyebrows…..?
(this will help us from getting it wrong…:)…eh..?

(policing the pc universe..so you don’t have to…)..phil(whoar.co.nz)

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Speaking of links, the one I find most offensive from Frogblog is Powerline.

Never quite got why you link to those crazy loons. Guess it’s for the humour value.

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I think it is absolutely apalling that frog has quoted something that recommends that we listen to Combustible Edison. This sort of filth should not be encouraged in any way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustible_Edison

Seriously though, the objectionable violence parts of this are but two paragraphs out of 15 (or 4 sentences out of 39). I note that PC-not-PC and Adam Smith fail to attack the other 13 paragraphs – i.e. the parargraphs that are actually relevant to the point that frog was making.

Meanwhile did you spot that the piece was originally published in the idler magazine, which is a very fine British publication that celebrates the Catholic work ethic.
http://www.idler.co.uk/

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I also completely disagree that to laugh at terrorists somehow defeats them. No it doesn’t. Why would an islamic extremist care if he scares us or not, when he believes martyrdom will deliver him 72 virgins? And it’s completely irrational to expect humans to not fear the potential of death from terrorism.

The cause itself cares if we’re scared. If we’re scared, we’re easier targets. We can be frightened into submission. They can use their effect on our lives to manipulate us. This is precisely the sort of attention they are trying to gain. By refusing to be scared, you’re fighting terrorism. You’re hurting their cause. Being able to laugh at things related to terrorism is a great human ability, and it’s something I would regard as a strength of character.

As for the stuff being funny: Of course it is! It is so ridiculous to anyone with Green beliefs that we can only regard it as humour. Or perhaps some sort of parody on the beliefs of our political opposition.

As for being “fanatical”, I only think that applies in that many Green people deeply care and believe in the philosophy behind the party. We do listen to other people, even if we have different value judgements to them. As we are liberals, we have a little in common with anarchists, as we both want the state to butt out of social affairs a bit, but they’re a much more extreme (in terms of being far from the centre) belief than we are. Thus, it is appropriate to discuss our thoughts in reference to people with more extreme views than us, much as National supporters might discuss the views of the United Future party.

I personally think you’re getting way too worked up by those links. They’re just links man. They’re here for discussion relevant to the greens. If you don’t like them, you don’t have to follow them. I know I certainly don’t follow every link to David Farrar or whoever else that I see when wandering NZ blogs

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I think that you are all dismissing Adam Smith and Not PC’s concerns too glibly. Clearly the article IS serious, not satire, and I for one am very concerned about the crypto anarchists hidden in our midsts passing themselves off as National Party supporters. I recently attended a cocktail bar and, with the benefit of hindsight, can clearly see how the obnoxious yuppies in expensive suits getting drunk on outlandish cocktails were in reality the advance guard of a gloabl conspiracy to undermine capitalism.

Perhaps we should leak all this to the SIS and get conspicuous consumers listed in the A-Z of terrorists guide thingy that they use to designate the enemies of international decency. We could even get them to pay for their own rendering, if we flew them concorde.

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Adam Smith is obviously unfamiliar with the situationists and appears totally devoid of a sense of humor. How sad.

Bigups to Adam tho, for making me go and look at the site http://www.monoculartimes.co.uk. Here is a random sample:

“We now own the human genome” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Microsoft’s chairman, Bill Gates, added: “This will allow us to innovate a range of new products. For the first time, our customers will be able to buy a licence from us enabling them to have sexual intercourse. Truly we are the world leaders in innovation!”

It is a great site!

But Adam has missed the point with ‘Decadent Action’. It describes the behavior of decadent westerners (in this case ‘decadent’ is a descriptive, not a pejorative term). Thus describing the main beneficiaries and supporters of the system as undermining it. Typical situationist stuff.

“8. Terrorism and violence against the state can be fun but make sure you get the right tools for the job. Sawn off shot guns are crude and could snag your clothes. In short, if you’re going to shoot a cop – make sure you use a nice gun.” Hardly Jihad is it? A nice gun?

My advice to Adam is take a chill pill.

G’night all

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Adam Smith: Are you completely bereft of comedy sensors? I thought the Scottish knew how to laugh at English jokes?

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