Note to self: "Oxfordian" not "Oxonian." Gaaah! Mike
On Thu, Aug 8, 2019 at 8:48 AM Mike Godwin <mnemo...@gmail.com> wrote: > I should add that, for all that I agree with Shapiro's worries about > Justice Stevens's embrace of the Earl of Oxford theory-- > > "When one of the most revered legal minds and leaders of this nation > works to legitimate one conspiracy theory, it makes it much easier for > lesser minds to do the same with other conspiracy theories (and as a New > Yorker, writing as the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the Twin > Towers approaches, I am especially sensitive to this). A brief glance at > our nation’s political landscape (in which, for example, so many believe > that President Obama is not American, and even doubt the documentary > evidence of his birth certificate) confirms that conspiracy thinking is not > a neutral activity. Like it or not, your public expression of interest in > the Oxford question has, to my mind at least, disturbing political > implications." > > --I also find myself in agreement with Stevens's observation that the > predilections of the leading Oxonian conspiracy theorist, J. Thomas Looney, > tell us nothing at all about the merit (or lack of merit) of his arguments. > As Stevens wrote, "The fact that Looney may have despised democracy seems > to me to be irrelevant to the validity of any arguments he may have made > either casting doubt on Shakespeare’s authorship or supporting the > hypothesis that Oxford play a role in writing the plays." That's a sound > epistemological point, and it makes me feel a little better about this > quirk of Justice Stevens. > > Mike > > > > On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 10:32 PM Mike Godwin <mnemo...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> >> It turns out that the late Justice John Paul Stevens was an Oxonian. >> (This of course breaks my heart a little bit.) >> >> An Unexpected Letter from John Paul Stevens, Shakespeare Skeptic >> >> https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/an-unexpected-letter-from-john-paul-stevens-shakespeare-skeptic >> >> Here's a podcast about Charlotte Cushman, a 19th-century actress who >> specialized in playing male roles in Shakespeare: >> >> https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare-unlimited/romeo-charlotte-cushman?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ShakespearePlus7Aug2019&utm_content=version_A&promo= >> >> >> Mike >> >> >> >>
_______________________________________________ Winedale-l mailing list Winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/winedale-l
