the politics of what other people think, 2

Geoffrey has a really nice summary of his experience with the fence memorial in Oceanside. Why does it sound so different from accounts of all the stand-offs between the so-called "pro-war" people and the rest of us ? Why does it sound so different from an art event as catalogued by the so-called "art blogoshere?"

Highlowbetween has a good punchey post on issues relating to the Steve Kurtz bio-terrorism trial, while Winkelman is just figuring out that there is something a little off about the New York Times and the world of politics. I shouldn't be too hard on him, his outrage over the issues is right on, but the New York Times flagrantly allowed a political operative to manipulate the truth via those pages and torture is the result. They should not be forgiven. The Times responsibility is co-equal with that of the worst members of the administration and I think that includes every wretched department at the Times.

Outside the country, the USA is known as a country with a wildly censored, sensationalist press, and a completely corrupt, broken system of government. That makes it a little difficult to imagine what sample the gringos are drawing from when they decide, via "what everybody else is thinking" that New York is the art capital of the world. I think Geoffrey's post indicates it isn't even the capital of anyone's heart now. That may be in Bagdhad and it may be in Tuscaloosa.

I don't agree with the AmericaBlog commenter that Avrosis posted here, though I think it is a good example of the politics of what other people think. The commenter writes: "I hate the America that now exists." But I don't think it exists, any more than I think Matthew Barney is a good artist. The ugly art I keep seeing as top-picks in the NYC blogosphere is just that same boiling-over falsity that comes when the eye of the public is so mal-directed, given to committees and PR people rather than to artists. Journalists had always recognized the art of their jobs and the art of presenting the truth, that is, until control was taken from their hands and given to people with an interest in acquiring and maintaining defense contracts and other lucrative sources of income. (Hi NBC News!)

The photo above is from the Philadelphia Inquirers pathetic excuse for a story. Dredging out this retard to make him representative of some bigoted fascist minority as if their sick views are worthy of any consideration at all. That is their idea of balance. Presenting the people who are clearly wrong with no judgement whatsoever, that's where we are now. Morality. Uh huh. The politics of what other people think is always about a wrong-headed minority doing the shit-work of some very powerful corporations.