Excellent article. What's funny is that, not only is Pleasantville one of my all-time favorite films, but I've quoted that particular segment - Where's my wife? Where's my dinner? extremely often, and even more so in recent months. I thought of it as a kind of clueless resistance to growth/change, but the term privileged distress really nails it. Some of my examples are rather comical, like poor Fred E. Feline when none of his humans are around to give him his 3pm treat or - even worse - are a little late for his 5pm dinner. By the time one of us get home, he is definitely suffering privileged distress. Other examples are just sad, like the long-term emotionally abusive husband of the friend who finally had enough, filed for divorce, and moved out, leaving him simply stunned. Before she left, one of his comments to her was that he was disappointed in her - just like the husband in Pleasantville was condescending toward his wife before realizing that everything had changed and there was no going back. Anyway, thanks for posting this.
I would have responded sooner but between reading the comments after this piece and reading the comments about the woman I wrote about in my most recent post (56 pages of comments last I looked), I was fascinated.
The problem is that unless you have experienced life from several different places, you really don't understand it, so your comments of complaint are based on that very narrow perspective. Which, of course, is the problem with everything.
But this is the issue of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. King wanted to stay within the framework of how society worked, to educate and inform peacefully and without attack. Malcolm wanted to have a revolution, to overthrow what existed and wipe the slate clean to begin again.
Neither system is perfect, as we got to see. And that's mostly because of that "limited perspective" of how the world was previously defined. If everything was "fair," then we wouldn't need to change the system because it was working. But from the perspective of those at the top of the pyramid, everything IS fair... to them.
The question of "making room" and "the finite pie" and "privilege" is one we will likely continue to talk about for the next four years, because this is the direction we're moving, collectively. And already, you can feel the Republicans starting to tighten the reins... they want to slow everything down because, based on their current model, they will be diminished.
Bill O'Reilly has said he may quit his job at Fox News if he gets taxed. It's an interesting discussion. But there's the proof that there is that desire to retain everything as it is.
The mindset is going to determine the response. Will it be Martin or Malcolm? And will it be a smooth relinquishing of that space or a big old knock down drag out fight? Obviously the two are interconnected.
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2012-11-11 09:37 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-11-11 10:06 am (UTC)From:The problem is that unless you have experienced life from several different places, you really don't understand it, so your comments of complaint are based on that very narrow perspective. Which, of course, is the problem with everything.
But this is the issue of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. King wanted to stay within the framework of how society worked, to educate and inform peacefully and without attack. Malcolm wanted to have a revolution, to overthrow what existed and wipe the slate clean to begin again.
Neither system is perfect, as we got to see. And that's mostly because of that "limited perspective" of how the world was previously defined. If everything was "fair," then we wouldn't need to change the system because it was working. But from the perspective of those at the top of the pyramid, everything IS fair... to them.
The question of "making room" and "the finite pie" and "privilege" is one we will likely continue to talk about for the next four years, because this is the direction we're moving, collectively. And already, you can feel the Republicans starting to tighten the reins... they want to slow everything down because, based on their current model, they will be diminished.
Bill O'Reilly has said he may quit his job at Fox News if he gets taxed. It's an interesting discussion. But there's the proof that there is that desire to retain everything as it is.
The mindset is going to determine the response. Will it be Martin or Malcolm? And will it be a smooth relinquishing of that space or a big old knock down drag out fight? Obviously the two are interconnected.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-11 04:52 pm (UTC)From: