bseymour@houligan.UUCP (Burch Seymour) (08/12/86)
Two thoughts on the 95 theses...
1) A while back someone here pointed out that Garrison's monologs
portray a quality that does not come through when reading his book.
His tone of voice, phrasing, etc. all combine with what he is saying
to give the total meaning. In the case of the 95 theses, I heard a
special version of PHC a couple of months ago wherein GK read selected
bits of the theses. He had the place rolling in the aisles. Perhaps
we tend to try to read too much into it?? I don't think of it so
much as being vindictive as just getting a load off his chest. He's
caught between the love he feels for those who tried to do their
honest best for him, and the feeling that their honest best was in
a lot of ways, not very good.
2) So why did the audience laugh? I think it's a kind of purging of
the soul. I doubt that there are many (if any) people that cannot
relate to at least a few of Garrison's accusations about childhood.
So it comes as a relief, even if one already thought that it was true,
to find that someone else had to put up with that misery during
childhood. It's similar to the way comedians like George Carlin or
Gallagher can make us laugh by just pointing out ordinary things that
most of us think only happen to us.
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"A nation that beats its swords into plowshares generally ends up
doing the plowing for one that has kept it swords." Anon
Burch Seymour -Gould C.S.D. at ....mcnc!rti-sel!gould!bseymour
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