Tribes...A Bill Whittle Essay

Eject,Eject.Eject, website ^ | Sept 5, 2005 | Bill Whittle

[cyborg]

"Ted Kennedy, a man well-acquainted with rising water crises is as white as they come."

[bwteim]

Ping!

[Leapofaith]

This man just said everything that I have been thinking for a very long time. Hats off to him!

[TheBigB]

Thank you! I always thought my coolness level peaked around 7th grade. :o)

[The SISU kid]

Thanks for the ping DBR! Already forwarded to many out-of-the-loop friends...

[SE Mom]

You beat me to it- was going to post this later today:)

For anyone who's not read Bill Whittle- he's addictive. And yes- ought to be read by EVERYONE:)

Problem: Fast Food society that won't take the time to read and ponder...

[Diva Betsy Ross]

nah... ;]

[TheBigB]

Sometimes I doubt myself. Then I remember how many STAR TREK conventions I've been to, and I'm reminded, "Oh yeah, I'm 10 pounds of coolness in a 5-pound bag, baby!"

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Yer so bad...*snicker*

Did you read the entire essay?

[TheBigB]

Not yet. BTTT for later. :)

[Diva Betsy Ross]

It is long, isn't it? But I am sure a cool kid like you can speed read. Right? ;]

[The SISU kid]

Then, in the other corner, there is the Grey Tribe – the grey of reinforced concrete. This is a Tribe where emotion is repressed because Emotion Clouds Judgment. This is the world of Quadratic Equations and Stress Risers and Loads Torsional, Compressive and Tensile, a place where Reality Can Ruin Your Best Day, the place where Murphy mercilessly picks off the Weak and the Incompetent, where the Speed Limit is 186,282.36 miles per second, where every bridge has a Failure Load and levees come in 50 year, 100 year and 1000 Year Flood Flavors.

The Grey Tribe motto is, near as I can tell, THINGS BREAK SOMETIMES AND PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE MY BRIDGE.

I LIVE this last line everyday off my life.....

}^)

[TheBigB]

Hang on....I'm almost through with your post...

Almost...

Just about...

Oh, yeah, I can. :)

[bert]

Thanks for the ping.....

Great piece. Wish I couild write like that.

[Landru]

"Wish I couild write like that."

But you do write as good as that, bert.
I know, I've read your stuff. ;^)

It *is* an excellent essay, eh?
Pure eye candy.

Deserves a big!

...-BTTT-

[cyborg]

ping

[King Prout]

alfa, thanks for posting this

cyborg, thanks for the heads up

all - a response to "a dismal reality" I wrote in PM to cyborg, which prompted her to alert me to Whittle's fine essay:

---

not surprised that it got pulled.

the author mistakes symptoms for cause, IMO.

He misses the fact that the root cause is tribalistic barbarism.

Tribalistic barbarism is in the heart of ALL humans.

In those populations where the tribe is subsumed in layers of overarching civilization, the veneer keeping it in check can become deceptively opaque, even to some degree self-sustaining, but never all that thick.

In those populations wherein there is no such subsumption, the barbarism will spring forth easily and predictably when the FORCES of order are held in abeyance.

This, of course, has nothing to do with race - one need only look at the middle east, the balkans, southeast asia, india, mexico, central america, etc... to know this.

It is unfortuante that Africa is in the grip of tribalism.
It is very unfortunate that so many American blacks have in many cases been encouraged or compelled to embrace a culture of tribalism rather than one of national identity.

But to mistake race for tribalism is folly and a tragedy in itself.

And that is where the author errs.

---

[cyborg]

Agreed. I'd love to see these issues ripped from the hands of the liberals myself. I don't think it's happened because the media isn't on our side.

[King Prout]

I would like to see MTV, BET, and the alphabet news sneered into nonexistence.

I would like to see the soft bigotry of low expectations ruthlessly exposed and expunged wherever it has taken root.

I would like to be allowed, as a private citizen, to enforce the rules of civil society, as our parents and grandparents did.

that would be a good start.

[cyborg]

Amen brother.