cultural stances

Jay Lemke (JLLBC who-is-at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
Fri, 09 Feb 96 00:09:48 EST

Tongue was partly in cheek (a part of my 'face'?) when I claimed
'qualifications and moral license' to damn middle-class culture
wherever possible. In context, I hope it was clear that it was
not some general notion of m-c culture that I meant, but 'my own
culture(s)', which are somewhat narrower and more specific, but
also internally diverse and a bit hybridized. My principal
'qualification' is membership, and also, up to a point,
identification, shared interests (and liabilities), similar
perspectives, congruent habitus. My moral license was issued by
the Office of Self-Criticism.

I do agree with Angel that humility on the part of dominant
castes is too easy, usually disingenuous, and, I would say, a
characteristic marker of dominant caste membership in _some_
cultures. Perhaps my own efforts at humility (which doesn't come
naturally to my temperament, only to my judgments of the limits
of my understanding and the dangers of all arrogance) are also
such a marker. It is perhaps worth noting that like all dominant
stances, this one is not just a product of self-presentation, but
also of how one is regarded by others. JAY.

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JAY LEMKE.
City University of New York.
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