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It seems that in these days of
liability every enterprise should have a
disclaimer. Even my humble web journal.
So here goes: I am a culturally
sensitive man raised in the finest of neo-liberal
traditions. My first 7 years of schooling were at
an educational institution that celebrated Martin
Luther King Jr. Day with greater zeal than any
other holiday (this being a holiday that until
recently some US states like Arizona did not even
realize as valid).
My town, ostensibly 50/50 black and
white, was separated through chance with a no
less militarily effecient containment scheme than
a South African city/ In South Africa the black
and colored parts of town were isolated from the
white part though a well-planned scheme of
canals, heavily fenced industrial areas, walled
railroad tracks.
Evanston accidentally had the black
and much poorer area of town isolated from the
upscale white parts by the canal, the Milwaukee
Northwestern rail line, the "L" train depot, and
a large cemetary flanked by the lake.
Despite this fabulous heritage,
from time to time my mental dialoge streches into
what some might consider culturally insensitive
territory. So be it.
I have thrown off some of the cloak
of cicumspection that is the earmark of educated
American speech in an attempt to reach for
revealing honesty.
Despite my best efforts to
eliminate from my thought pattern what I view as
socially detrimental or self-injurious concepts I
still am an American boy. I am exceptionally
programmed in my own way and continue to be
exceptionally programmable.
All those who may read my writing
at a future date with the benefit of their
contemporary understanding, eagle-eye overview of
my historical period and all the secrets that are
hidden from me at present - please forgive my
ignorance.
For all of you that are my more
educated contemporaries please forgive me when I
stray from the commonly understood thought &
speech boundaries extant in your faculty. I do
not have the benefit of the socialization of all
your peers to mold my behavior.
To all those that are tired of a
diet of hollow PR, understatement, illusion,
fantasy, negativity, pessimism, cynicism, and
wishful thinking: I dedicate my web journal about
this, our most complex and yet redundant world. I
aspire to write a travelouge that as Peter Fussel
says "is an ode to freedom in a world of
prisons."
Read on and react.
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