wordcrush

If this guy actually believes what he’s saying and is not being a brilliant satirist of the boomer standpoint, I have to say, that he is the epitome a painful cliché: the nostalgic fifty-something pining for the days of "real" counterculture. Tony Long, I have news for you: the counterculture in the sixties was not exactly "co-opted" by the money-sniffing "Madison Avenue." You and your "organic" cohort bought into the counterculture that was already being produced by Madison Avenue. For example, the advertised logic of your beloved VW Microbus – the official ride of the ‘60s rebel – went something like this: "buy this to escape consumersim." VW was marketing that as early as 1961. How could that be a “co-optation” when it happened before the hippie movement? (If you want to read more on this, then take a look at Thomas Frank’s The Conquest of Cool.)

My point is actually this: co-optation theory itself has become a bourgeoisie institution, which substitutes flimsy, linear logic for actual political engagement. Here’s the faulty syllo-jissom at its core: If MASSES=BAD and I≠BAD and BAD≠GOOD and REBEL=GOOD, then I MUST BE A REBEL! Sadly, the world works in degrees most of the time, and until we stop comfortably wielding Manichean bullshit and judging everyone else from our cozy little walled-in perches, no real change is possible. Or, in terms you might better understand: just because I≠YOU, it does not follow that I=BAD. Who gives a flying fuck if I own an iPod? Who gives a flying fuck if you owned a VW Microbus? Products like these contain no logic of their own, only what we make of them and do with them. Stop treating everyone like children, and positioning yourself as the wise father figure. You’re no voice in the wilderness. You sound more like a flannel-suit wearing ‘50s TV dad for Christ’s sake.

While I’m here I’d also like to identify some other painful clichés from Mr. Long's article that we’ll have to move beyond before we can “change the word”: “[The Bush] administration is using the fear of terrorism to keep us compliant while it pursues its own agenda,” “Bucking the system – real rebellion – requires passion, healthy skepticism and a spirit of self-sacrifice, all of which are in short supply in today's cynical world,” “Conformity through consumption is the name of the game these days,” “This is a nation of sheep,” “Reject the culture you've been force-fed and build a better one…” Oh, hell, why don’t I just re-post a link to the whole article and be done with it? Here is algebraic form, in case anybody missed it: BUSH=BAD, FEAR=BAD, BUCKING=GOOD, REAL=GOOD, PASSION=GOOD, CYNICISM=BAD!, CONFORMITY=BAD, SHEEP=BAD, FORCE-FEEDING SHEEP=BAD!

A part of the problem with the “cynics” these days is that we see through clichés faster than you can jumpstart a Microbus. Seeing through clichés has already become a cliché, and I’m tired of it. Mr. Long may think he’s reporting on the ills of the world, but what he’s actually doing is trying to establish his generation’s superiority, in order to continue the already too-long reign of an antiquated mentality. It no longer suffices to equate THIS or THAT with GOOD or BAD, because doing so actually halts rather than starts constructive analysis and political action. And on that note, don’t be taken in by my clever analysis, because I’ve basically just repeated the pattern of what Mr. Long is doing. I’ve set up my own equation: BAD=TONY, GOOD=ANALYSIS. Instead of listening to me, think for yourself for a change, man. Stop being a sheep and buck the system of square mass society, man. Man, man...

Your pal,
elbeato

# posted by Lintropy @ 4:19 PM