that's good. No humor was intended. The designed elements of stereotype,
power reversal, critical, reactive, yet mostly *unanalytical* action --
reflect in harsh light what i see as the failure of us all to bring forward the
theoretical tools available on xmca for its own benefit. For example, the
continued (for many years now) inattention paid to Eva's study of xcma, (i.e.
in part her quantitative distributions of postings, in part her examination of
contradictions in the system of participation) and ignoring its potential as
the beginning of a co-created springboard, to better interaction, by many, many
people. This is not a criticism of Mike, but all of us, as I've tried to
describe the view of how WE all matter. I've only been involved since 97, and
even so I have seen the same *bitterness* come up again and again. The
reaction to the fiction of the play at a superficial level, missing the appeal
to an historical perspective (history as a narrator, the citation of Eva's
work) and the need for transformative actions (a springboard) seems like just
another symptom.
I hear cautions of the dangers of experimenting using theory, and I fail to see
how theory can be any worse than the emotional responses that often seem to
drive what people to write. Concerning tensions in gender, if indeed the
claims that males must give up priviledge are true, then what must men do --
this numb-er-than-a-stick "participant" needs to know. If OUR practices must
change, then how must they change? Can someone step up to the plate and
venture a theoretical, or at least human, insight? If you read frustration
here, you read well. Our situation feels like academic paralysis.
I can agree with Diane that events such as these have been mostly irking and
not disruptive. That tensions have existed over many years is indicative that
they are not superficial, but a deep and perhaps inextricable backbone of the
system -- one that indeed does extend beyond the borders of xmca.
And i hope you didn't laugh -- it was not a comedy, but a tragedy. A giving up.
A letting go.
=====
Bill Barowy
"Everything is a becoming, without beginning or end"
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