Re: Adorno on TV

[Ralph Dumain <rdumain@xxxxxxx>]

26 years old, not far from what I surmised.  Oh, my.  Very well.....

At 01:03 PM 6/2/99 PDT, April wrote:
>...  do you  have any comment
>to make on the issue of class in the North American black >diaspora?
Surely this is an issue of class and privilege.

I'm not sure what you mean by the second sentence.  Do you mean the ability
to rise above the level of acting like an idiot is a manifestation of class
privilege?  Or dissociating oneself from stupidity is a manifestation of
class snobbery?  I can't agree.  Most people I get along with, regardless
of race and ethnicity, come from a lower middle class orientation, barely
one generation or one step removed from the proletarian morass.  If your
dad became a teacher to avoid having to work in the mines and brought you
up with a militant attitude on the benefit of education, does that make you
a snob?

Yes, I do have thoughts on the black American class structure, esp. the
perverse form it takes here in DC, but that's a separate topic, and it's a
lengthy and exhausting tale to tell.  It's not a matter of finger-pointing
at one class or another, but of fingering the disturbing relationship
between them, a malificent symbiosis.  It gets worse when you bring in the
conservatism of the South and the third element of the white power
structure superimposed upon a small potatoes black power structure and a
black proletariat (with a contingent of Central American refugees as
excluded other).  Finally, add to the scenario a hopeless situation where
only people fueled by the madness of ruthless personal ambition can thrive
politically.  I'm changing the subject, this is too depressing.

>When you have a minute, I'd love to hear your explanation.  I
>found the film frighteningly insidious and have a few ideas but
>I'd love to hear your view off list if you wouldn't mind.

I was going to refuse, but see my comments on-list.