The Credentialling of America
Sandy Sandfort
sandfort at mindspring.com
Thu Jun 7 18:28:18 PDT 2001
John wrote:
> Many years ago I explained that I,
> like Sandy, write explicitly for
> money, as much as possible, and
> the people who pay me expect that
> I will do whatever text can do to
> get readers to obey those who pay
> for the text.
Well luckily, unlike John, I've never had to whore myself when I wrote. I
wrote what I thought and they published it. I can see why someone who
allowed himself to do that might wish to reassert his manhood by battling
his own inner policeman. If that works for John, so be it. I shall
continue to write clearly so that my ideas will be communicated. That does
not necessarily mean that it will be grammatically correct, boring or
uninspired--just meaningful.
> And to never write the way poets
> do, oddballs do, gibbering idiots
> do, for that will allegedly
> diminish the value of your writing
> the way the payers want you to
> write, that is to write as if their
> and your shit don't smell, your and
> their skin is hued the preferred
> color, our accent the dominant
> unaccent of the day, you and they
> don't copulate the wrong kind of
> people, you and they have no faults
> to hide, you and they have no guts
> to face up to your inability to
> break away from hiding behind
> conformity not of your making.
Sounds like a personal problem to me, John. I never had to do any of that
(nor would I). Why did you?
> Shit, I understand Sandy all too
> well. And totally admire his talent
> to blow prefabricated sunshine
> where it's needed.
John, have you actually read any of my stuff? Please point to some of my
"prefabricated sunshine." If I really do it, I should know it so I can
capitalize on it. :-D
> Even so I won't do what the
> grammatically correct crowd
> never cease trying to impose
> here.
John, you know, I know and most folks on this list know, I never argued for
grammatical correctness. I DO favor comprehensibility. Don't you think
it's a cheap shot to trivializes real concerns about communication by
mischaracterizing critics as grammar cops?
> Or to say it my way, correct writing,
> clear writing, comprehensively
> coherent writing, is just another
> way to tyrannize, bully, hector...
"War is peace" How Orwellian...
> This is a friendly joke, as ever,
> in respect for the asshole
> language rules-makers here. (Spit)
You know, John, there aren't any rules-makers on Cypherpunks. You can write
all the gobbledygook you want; no one will stop you. By the same token,
though, anyone here is free to point out that the emperor has no clothes.
S a n d y
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