Jim Craven writes:>>You all know about the Darwin Awards - It's an annual honor given to the person who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. << this kind of thing always evokes a chuckle (as with NEWS OF THE WIERD's recent story about a man who died because he played "catch" using a poisonous snake, which was titled "the thinning of the herd"). But it's very crude Darwinism. (There's no guarantee that these idiots didn't contribute to the gene pool before their escapades; in the case of the man with the lawn-chair and the balloons, he could easily make contribution even afterwards.) Further, it ignores the entire sociological dimension. Specifically, these actions seem to reflect the bizarre form of alienation the infests US culture along with a lot of macho craziness. While it's fun to laugh at this kind of stupidity, it's important to note that many or even most of the people in pen-l are immersed in the same culture. BTW, I see nothing wrong with reopening the discussion of "progressive internationalism" vs. "progressive nationalism." It's one of the big issues of our day. For example, what does the PI camp say about MAI? in pen-l solidarity, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ. 7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA 310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950 "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- K. Marx, paraphrasing Dante A.
