11-22-14 Hodgepodge

Saturday, November 22, 2014

No Friend to Law and Order

Attorney General Eric Holder has issued a stern warning ahead of the grand jury decision in the shooting of Michael Brown:

... Attorney General Eric Holder urged law enforcement authorities Friday to minimize the potential for confrontations during possible demonstrations.

"It is vital to engage in planning and preparation, from evaluating protocols and training to choosing the appropriate equipment and uniforms,'' Holder said in a video message posted on the Justice Department website. "This is the hard work that is necessary to preserve the peace and maintain the public trust at all times-- particularly in moments of heightened community tension."
Reading further, one will fail to unearth one jot about the protesters remaining calm or working with authorities to stop vandalism, theft, or violence. One will find no, "Harm to persons or property will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," there. This is amazing since, were there no protests, there would be no possibility of an escalation to violence, vandalism, or looting.

I don't particularly object, under these circumstances, to reminding law enforcement to behave professionally, but standards for civilized behavior apply to everyone. Given that such violent anti-capitalist reactionaries as Lisa Fithian are on hand to incite rioting, this omission is beyond derelict on Holder's part.

Weekend Reading

"[N]ot feeling good every moment of the day doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong." -- Michael Hurd, in "Is 'Feeling Good' Really the Purpose of Life?" at The Delaware Coast Press

"True closure involves not only accepting the facts and getting out of denial, but also understanding why and how the relationship ended." -- Michael Hurd, in "'Closure' After Breaking Up -- What's It Mean?" at The Delaware Wave

My Two Cents

A neuroscientist has recently made a case that high altitude might contribute to depression, but Michael Hurd's first column still speaks to the so-called "Utah paradox": The state with the suicide epidemic also happens to rank as "America's happiest state". Given how commonly "feeling good" is mistaken for happiness, any survey attempting to create such a ranking will probably be polluted by that premise, particularly if any form of self-reporting factors into the results. Hurd's column even describes how acting on that mistaken premise can lead to depression.

Earworm Infection

I don't know how it is that I am immune to the latest earworm, from the movie Frozen, but the author has my sympathy:
Wikipedia tells me that you have kids, too. As I live and breathe, I swear that one day I will write something that will get in your kids' brains and move into your house. My words will haunt the echo chamber of your minds, day in and day out. And you, too, will fall down sobbing. You'll understand. And I'll laugh from afar, letting the storm rage on.

Then, once the dust settles, maybe we can meet for coffee or something. Maybe a playdate? We can work around nap schedules.
On a related note, isn't it incredible how much adulation for royalty there is in Disney's entertainment? I think some of this stems from much of its early work being derived from fairy tales, but I can't help but wonder if, as in many comics, part of the phenomenon lies in a foreign-ness of the heroic to our culture. (This is not to say that comics shouldn't exist, or can't portray heroism accurately.)

--CAV

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Gus,

Speaking of earworms, have you ever read Arthur C. Clarke's collection of short stories titled "Tales from the White Hart?" One of the narratives describes one psychologist's search for "The Ultimate Melody" (which is also the title of the tale). He finds it. I won't spoil the double punch line, although the first spoiler is readily available on Wikipedia.

As to the royalty influence in Disney; I'm sure that some of it comes from the early exploitation of fairy tales but I think there may be more to it than that. Seeing almost all of my nieces, including some of the tomboys among them, succumb to Disney Princess Madness, I think that they have actually tapped into a strong cultural undercurrent, much to the chagrin of the misandryist feminists. Writers as divergent as Robert Heinlein, Alistair MacLean and Camille Paglia have noted the American fascination with royalty. Just spitballing here, but I wonder if it isn't in reaction to the egalitarianism that also pervades the culture under the aegis of the Left.

As to the Utah paradox I'm thinking that there may be a self-reporting issue there given the pervasive quasi-Calvinist idea that success and happiness are proxies for righteousness. Thus, depression, or at least admitting to it, might be considered the anteroom to sin.

c. andrew

Gus Van Horn said...

C.,

Quick responses, in order of your points...

1. Haven't read the story you mention, but it strikes me as perversely appealing.

2. Your idea that there may be a reaction to our culture's egalitarianism, especially (but not exclusively) in terms of the wide appreciation of of Disney's royalty is very interesting and sounds quite plausible to me. Thanks for mentioning it.

3. I agree, although a quick read of a linked article was inconclusive: It would take more digging than is warranted for my current purposes to determine for a fact whether that is the case.

Gus

Snedcat said...

C. Andrew writes, "Speaking of earworms, have you ever read Arthur C. Clarke's collection of short stories titled "Tales from the White Hart?" One of the narratives describes one psychologist's search for "The Ultimate Melody" (which is also the title of the tale). He finds it. I won't spoil the double punch line, although the first spoiler is readily available on Wikipedia."

Excellent humorous collection of stories.

Speaking of earworms, there's always this excruciatingly funny song. Listen to it at your own risk.