This Week in Google Alerts: Home Fires

Thomas Bitterman · 11 Apr 2012, 18:47 · from 2012-April.txt.gz

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From: tom at bitterman.net (Thomas Bitterman)
Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:47:29 -0400
Subject: (urth) This Week in Google Alerts: Home Fires
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On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 6:41 PM, Ant?nio Pedro Marques <entonio at gmail.com>wrote:

> No dia 10/04/2012, ?s 21:02, Thomas Bitterman <tom at bitterman.net>
> escreveu:
>
> On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 9:35 PM, Nick Lee < <starwaterstrain at gmail.com>
> starwaterstrain at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> "The crazy right-wing politics. There?s the North American Union, with
>> its single currency. There?s the European Union, where thieves get
>> their hands cut off because of sharia. There?s the UN, which always
>> takes the sides of the poor nations of the world instead of the NAU."
>>
>> This childlike view of politics is creeping into all reviews of Wolfe
>> now.
>>
>
> Because Wolfe keeps sneaking politics into his works.  What effect did the
> existence of sharia law in Europe really have in the story?
>
>
> Only someone who thinks sharia has no business in Europe can consider that
> the mention of sharia in Europe is objectionable politics. Who's the
> xenophobe then?
>

?  A quick "Search Inside" (thank you, Amazon) uncovers one use of the word
sharia.  In the context it is noted that the driver lost both hands for
stealing and that sharia is no longer limited to just the EU.  In other
words, it's harsh and spreading.  At this point Alex Jones deserves a cite.

One might as well ask what effect does a protagonist being black has on a
> story written by a white author, and leap to the conclusion that the author
> is a white supremacist who's subtly complaining that blacks may one day be
> protagonists of something.
>

There is a single chapter, "Guns", which reads, in outline: socialized
healthcare is terrible; the burning bed defense is a crock; families don't
love/help each other any more; the police and government are worthless; the
developed countries are all out to get us; the third world won't even help
fight an alien invasion; the narrator is the very essence of humanity, or
at least Western civilization, the embodiment of law, justice and
civilization; his masters would spit on him if they even remembered what
those things were; and he's got guns and is going out to kill people.  I
did not leap to the conclusion that there was a political message here - I
was pushed.

 There are fewer cell phones because we're running out of helium and
>> silver, among other things.
>>
>
> We can figure out giant spaceships, but not how to make cell phones
> differently?  Again, a single sentence ("The government used its wartime
> powers to severely restrict cell phones") would have done it.
>
>
> And since it is so simple to do, it is best left undone.
>

Punctuation is simple, too, but I prefer that the author inserts it himself.

The reader can do it better on their own.
>

Wolfe is a better author than I am.  This is not a mystery to be solved.
The reader should only be expected to go so far in co-authorship.

-- 
I just wanted all the wars to be over so that we could spend the money on
starships and Mars colonies.
   - Grant Morrison
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