Re: "Biases in A SOCIOLOGY OF THE ABSURD
Christine A. Eith (eithca4@wfu.edu)
Wed, 6 Mar 1996 01:18:39 -0500 (EST)
I think that I get the general gist of what Dr. Lyman is trying
to say, and please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I believe that
his point (on a very general scale) encompasses the danger of forgetting
the past. It seems as if America in all it's media technology has a
problem with historical amnesia. We tend to forget what the past has
taught us until it happens again, or if it possibly fades completely
from memory. It seems to me that Dr. Lyman's point about the "offensive
material" is based not around "open mindedness" but around what is and
has been a part of society. I agree in that continuing to write
potentially offensive material keeps the many perspectives of society
present in the minds of all of us. Keeping the past in clear view could
possibly help us to open all of our minds. What is offensive to one
could be the perspective of another, and how would we know that if we
were not faced with the entire picture? As for reducing open mindedness, it
seems to me that if one reader is outraged by the language, that is
increasing open mindedness. As shown in the past situation, Lyndsay at
least sparked discussion of our class which at the most basic level made us
all think. This in my opinion is invoking open mindedness. We were all trying
to figure out why the language was writen as such. Maybe I am off base,
who knows.
As for Dr. Lyman's comment about First Amendment Rights, I would
argue that these rights are valid and I hope that you continue to write
thought provoking work, yet there is a break down in these First
Amendment Rights when you begin to infringe upon the rights of other
individuals. Please do not get me wrong, I do not believe that you have
maliciously done so, however the language that was used could be
offensive. Yet in the same breath I will argue that if the reading
becomes offensive these persons should stop. Just as Jon has pointed out,
isn't that what the delete key is for? Again, this is just my feeble
attempt to shed some insight. Comments anyone?
Chrissy :)
"Every journey in to darkness leads to a tunnel of hope..."
- My So Called Life