In reply to Adam Yeah's note.....all a bit too deep to me, BUT why do some people think it's necessary to think that "Mod" is "Left" and going against the grain of society when really all it is about is that people JUST HAPPEN to like a certain type of music, transport,style and attitude WHICH JUST HAPPENED to be the fashion 30 odd years ago.....although like a lot of cultures it sprung up from the underground and then became mainstream. Legend has it there were only about 20 "True" sussed mods in the U.K. from the beginning and then after that just a load of not so very sussed people followed. ( I can't speak for other countries ). The whole point of a "Mod Scene" is that it should attract ALL PEOPLE from all different backgrounds and has nothing to do with "Left, Right, Up, Down, Middle, Backwards". Besides with all that immaculate grooming, time spent getting the perfect suit and self-obsession with getting the perfect cut and spending money on the transport, surely this all tends to lean more to the "Right" !?
I await the backlash...... Kitty Kat XXX Regards Catherine Ralph, Pre-Production Analyst, Interior Electronics, BOMM, VISTEON, Tel :- 01268 - 40 - 4864, Fax :- 01268 - 40 - 4488, E-MAIL :- [EMAIL PROTECTED], MAIL :- 28 / 200. ************************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: Adam Yeah [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 03 October 2001 17:02 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: politics i know this is about politics, but it is still in the realm of this list ok this is a conversation i've wanted to have for quite a while..i'm glad this has been started (i'm sure nobody will follow it up but oh well) first off i'm confused about your use of the term 'progressive political views' do you mean progressive in terms of liberal ideas that keep people's lives in mind and humane social policy? or are you saying progressive in terms of something new that hasn't been thought before? and in your case it seems like something combining left and right wing ideologies. but anyway, this isn't the discussion...the discussion at hand is the 'politics of modernism' first off, a great band fromb chicago a few years ago, the adjusters were rights up my alley...check out their website..they're around, and i know various members are still very politically active and that's awesome: www.theadjusters.com dig the new mp3's they're pretty good as for the subject of 'mods' being leftist, conservative, or apolitical, i would argue that it makes most sense for mods to be very leftist, if not radical ( i am not saying they SHOULD, i am saying that it makes the most sense) if mods really want to do something 'new' and 'different' why settle for something as minor and bourgeois as new clothes and new music (and in most cases even that can't be done!)? why not go for the glory and work on something REALLY new and serious like a new society, new work, new everything? if we're gonna do this, let's do this for real! what's 'new' about sitting in an office 40 hours a week to pay for more trinkets and gadgets and records? this may seem way off base and contradictory to the history and roots of modernism, but oh well i just see modernism as something challenging society and the boring routine of everyday life...as the students and workers said in france in '68: "in a society that abolishes adventure, the only adventure is to abolish that society" i think it's time we get to work! there's some platforms which i think modernism stands on that make it hard to distance itself from leftist or radical political thought 1. internationalism 2. multiculturalism 3. working class issues (this one is kinda tough to prove but it's relation to skinhead culture is undeniable) 4. it's mostly kids! it just seems hard for me to on one hand be all for those ideas, and then to not understand what is necessary to make sure those things stick around besides all this, i don't know anything more uncool than being completely fucking oblivious to what's happening in the rest of the world and not understanding one's connections to it. just some thoughts again, please don't take this as a "i think all mods should be anarcho-communists!!!!", it's just that it seems a natural outcome, and i'm surprised i don't see it more often, that's all. in regards to middle-class kids throwing rocks at cops lately, this issue of globalization isn't something that was thought up by a bunch of bored college kids. People in the global south have been dealing with it, fighting it, and living with its consequences for a decade. it's easy for the media to label a subject as serious as this and try to discredit it as the games of bored white kids. this has been the reality of the majority of the people in the world for a long time and we're just beginning to understand it i hope this was more interesting than internet fights adam michigan/ dc ***************************************************** >Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 13:31:46 -0700 (PDT) >From: scott duncan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Re: Support Bill Maher >Why does it seem that all the content of late with political tones seems to be endorsing left wing or capitalist politics? From a modernist (not mod necessarily) point-of-view I am inclined to believe that all of these traditional perspectives are irrelevant now. The modernists that I know of throughout the twentieth century were generally against all forms of political extremes. Modernist political thought seemed more about progression than about conforming outdated notions of economic policy to all aspects of human life. Not to mention that the simplifications of left wing and right wing seem so clouded with a million peripheral issues that the implications are greater than any individual should endorse. I mean, sure you want social programs for everyone but why is that so inextricably tied to morality, racial issues, feminism, religion, free-speech, tax spending and the location of political control. And why are there all of these petitions and issues that require endorsement. Mods live their lives claiming that majority opinion doesn't mean anything (that's why we dress different and listen to different music right?) but then they have to drum up majority favor for some political or social cause they endorse? Plus if we are learning the lessons of the last century shouldn't we at least recognize that the last time this type of cause was successful was the civil rights movement of the fifties? The difference between this movement and all that have come since is that at least the civil rights marchers had some credibility. I see these upper middle class college types throwing moltov cocktails in Seattle with their scrappy t-shirts, baggy pants and proliferation of body hair and it isn't hard to understand why there are not garnering popular support behind their cause. What, you may be asking, is our choice if we don't have either the republican or democratic party lines to choose from? Try breaking all the confused issues apart for one thing. Partisan politics forces us to accept their priorities for issues. If you did vote for George Bush do you seriously agree with everything he says (the same goes to all the other candidates)? Mods as the cultural inheritors of the modernists should at least think about inheriting some progressive political views as well. Think about new issues and solutions rather than recycling old ones. scott duncan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone. http://phone.yahoo.com ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiMu.aVzSEg Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
