Wednesday, June 20, 2007

 

Leftist elitism again

In America, there seem to be only minor grumbles about politicians who claim to represent "the little guy" flitting about in private jets and living in huge mansions etc (The Clintons, John Edwards and Al Gore spring to mind), but egalitarianism is much more deeply embedded in the Australian psyche and the story below about Australia's Federal Leftist leader will be very critically received by many Australians.

Rudd might claim that his preferential treatmment was the work of the restaurateur rather than his own doing but many Australians would have expected him to wait his turn. Conservative Prime Minister John Howard is known for lining up patiently on election day and waiting for his turn to vote.

The pic is from a Brisbane free newspaper (of June 14) called "City News" and the story appeared on p.17



In case the text is not clear, I reproduce it below:

Ruddy fish thief

DOESN'T it warm the cockles of your heart that Australia is an egalitarian nation where power and privilege won't curry you any favours? Yeah, right. Reader Josh ordered the salmon when he and his mates went for lunch at swanky Eagle St Pier eatery II Centro recently. They then noticed prime ministerial hopeful Kevin Rudd and a bunch of 'suits' arrive. Within 10 minutes they had food on their table, despite arriving after our luckless Josh, who noted our Kev had also picked the salmon. Then I was told that they'd run out of salmon and I had to choose something else. "Bloody Rudd was eating my lunch," Josh told Buzz.

posted by JR 1:17 PM

Sunday, May 27, 2007

 

Elitist Journalist disses blogs

Sometimes you read something by a member of the MSM that is just so elitist, someone whose arrogance is so amazing, that it is hard to believe it was written by a member of a democratic society.

We MSM watchdogs love to poke our fingers in the eyes of the homogeneously leftist, elitists in the media establishment assailing them for their pervasive assumptions of their own superiority. We don’t often, however, get to see them come right out and say that they truly do think they are better and smarter then the rest of us mere commoners. Usually they are sly enough not to show their arrogance so obviously, leaving it unsaid but broadly hinted at. But, once in a while their egos get the better of them and they let that upturned nose snort just enough at the rest of us to let us know where our “place” in life is.

This is one of those times. Enter the L. A. Times’ Richard Schickel to tell bloggers that they just don’t “bring anything to the party” where it concerns opinion, social criticism and reviews. Schickel is sniffing at all the uneducated, boobs who dare to imagine they have the moral right to write and publish their views on the internet for all interested parties to peruse. How DARE those lowly bloggers encroach on what Shcickel feels is the job of a cultural elite who’s right it obviously is to publish opinion and shape our culture.

In “Not everybody’s a critic”, Schickel’s impertinence about how stupid bloggers, and by extension the common American, really are reaches a height that is just short of Olbermanesque with its shrillness. After relating how the “most grating words” he’s read lately in a newspaper were those praising the plethora of bloggers who review books and post their opinions and social criticisms on the web, Schickel lays it on the line.

Let me put this bluntly, in language even a busy blogger can understand: Criticism — and its humble cousin, reviewing — is not a democratic activity. It is, or should be, an elite enterprise, ideally undertaken by individuals who bring something to the party beyond their hasty, instinctive opinions of a book (or any other cultural object). It is work that requires disciplined taste, historical and theoretical knowledge and a fairly deep sense of the author's (or filmmaker's or painter's) entire body of work, among other qualities.

Amusingly, Schickel goes on to sternly remind us that the “best criticism” is that “conveyed without a judgmental word being spoken”, amusing for the simple fact that our erstwhile critic seems to have cast that good advice to the four winds in his own criticism of the blogosphere. The phrase “physician, heal thyself” comes so immediately to mind

So, in the spirit of Schickel’s admonition not to say any “judgmental words”, I think I’ll let him do a little of it for me. The following will be a listing of some more of the “non-judgmental words” that Schickel unleashes like a shotgun blast at his hated, uneducated internet masses:

* Most reviewing, whether written for print or the blogosphere, is hack work…

* Your publisher kindly forwards the clippings, and you are appalled by the sheer uselessness of their spray-painted opinions.

* I do think, however, that a simple "love" of reading (or movie-going or whatever) is an insufficient qualification for the job.

* Inevitably, blogging was presented as an attractive alternative — it doesn't take much time, and it is a method of publicly expressing oneself (like finger-painting, I thought to myself, but never mind).

How simply nonjudgmental of you, Mr. Schickel. Bravo. Our cultural snob also decries the unseemly “democratic” nature of the internet a place where every “car parts” employee can write a review.

…a purely "democratic literary landscape" is truly a wasteland, without standards, without maps, without oases of intelligence or delight.

Gosh, we is all juss so stoopit. And now let us see what our kindly Mr. Schickel imagines might be the importance of his own handiwork:

The act of writing for print, with its implication of permanence, concentrates the mind most wonderfully. It imposes on writer and reader a sense of responsibility that mere yammering does not. It is the difference between cocktail-party chat and logically reasoned discourse that sits still on a page, inviting serious engagement.

I just love it when these people imagine only their work rises to the level of “logically reasoned discourse” and only their efforts rate “inviting serious engagement”. All I can say is that we Americans cast off the idea of the divine right of Kings and the controlling, elite classes that accompanies a Royal Court several hundred years ago. Unfortunately, there is a class of American who imagines that they sit above the floatsam and jetsam of their fellows, a class of cultural elitists who feel they have a divine right to guide the lower classes by the nose for their own good, a right born not of any royal lineage but one spawned instead from their own self-proclaimed superior intelligence.

And we nit wit bloggers should just shut up and let them tell us what to think. Not that I will be inclined to “convey” any “judgmental word” for Mr. Schickel’s beau ideal for cultural criticism. After all, it would be wonderful if I, too, could be considered a member of the superior classes.

Source

posted by JR 12:14 PM

Monday, March 26, 2007

 

Hungary shows just how arrogant and elitist a Leftist can get

And note that the Hungarian Leftists are SUPPORTING this spoilt child. They can see nothing wrong with her attitudes



"Panties or thong?" is not the kind of question usually fielded by government spin-doctors. But Zsuzsa Demcsak, a former underwear model and the new spokeswoman for Hungary's Socialist-led coalition government, is perhaps used to more intimate inquiries than her counterparts. She told Velvet magazine that she preferred thongs.

The internet is awash with pictures of Ms Demcsak, a striking brunette, in various stages of undress in her former incarnation. Political pundits predict that the 28-year-old mother of two, who previously worked as a television reporter, is unlikely to last long in her new position. Not because of her racy past, about which Hungarians take a relaxed view, but because of her blog. For a communications professional Ms Demcsak is surprisingly tactless about what she reveals in print.

Under the heading "My Nursery Calvary", Ms Demcsak lamented at length about trying to find a suitable nursery for her toddler son in Budapest's district XIII, whose staff, equipment and potential playmates would meet her exacting standards. "Beluka", who only had one set of clothes, did not. Nor did little "Laura", apparently regularly beaten by her parents, or "Adamka", who was taken in by his drunken mother even when he had chickenpox. The staff, she said, were "soulless".

The blog provoked national outrage. Hungary's childcare system is a wonder to behold, especially for anyone who has struggled to find a nursery in Britain. The state-subsidised nurseries and kindergartens, which cost just a few pounds a month, are run by much-loved nenis (aunties), who are devoted to their young charges. One mother replied that she was sorry she was unable to afford more clothes for her son. Magdolna Karacsonyi, a local government official, said that the nurseries were governed by strict regulations covering hygiene and food and also provided clothes.

Another blog entry recorded Ms Demcsak's delight at attending the Budapest Opera Ball, where tickets start at 183 pounds - almost a month's pay for the nursery nenis.

For the hordes of outraged readers adding their comments, the thoughts of Ms Demcsak, the daughter of a former diplomat, typify the arrogance of the new rich elite - who are often rooted in the former Communist ruling classes. Ms Demcsak's boss, Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Prime Minister, is an ex-Communist youth leader turned capitalist multimillionaire and one of the richest men in Hungary.

Ms Demcsak's defenders say she is a talented professional who is being penalised for being female, attractive and successful, and that her critics are motivated by envy and spite. Her position has been weakened by articles in the conservative daily Magyar Nemzet, alleging links between her husband, Jozsef Kiss, a businessman, and underworld gangs. She denies the claims and says she will take legal action. Government officials say the articles are part of a smear campaign and are standing by her.

Source

posted by JR 1:29 PM