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Re: the seriousness of mutilation
mike shupp (ms44278@HUEY.CSUN.EDU)
Sat, 13 Jul 1996 22:04:14 -0700
On Sat, 13 Jul 1996, Holly Swyers wrote:
> Keeping all this in mind, however, I do not begrudge Mike Shupp's boredom
> with the topic and his sense that this is not "Serious Stuff." I'm
> disappointed in a couple of his responses to the protests about the
> seriousness of this thread, but to be fair, I think he's been provoked. By
> challenging the value of the thread, Mike has presented everyone with the
> opportunity to articulate why this thread is valuable - and to reassess
> whether it is or not.
Thanks for the defense, but I'll just lie low for a few days. This
will all be forgotten by Wednesday.
As for the seriousness of it all... John W Campbell, Jr. used to
write editorials in ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION proposing body
mutiliation and other passage rites as a possible "test" used by
our forebearers to separate "true" humans (who could bare pain in
a suitable cause) from "animals" (who could not, and who would not
be allowed to breed as a result). That was 30-40 years, and while
I'll not hold out JWC as an authority on matters anthropological,
his casual speculations held more content than just about all the
postings here on the subject combined.
Sorry, but this _is_ a second rate conversation thread.
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ms44278@huey.csun.edu
Mike Shupp
California State University, Northridge
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