Does anyone else get sick of this "it's good to be" crap?!? The media keeps putting someone's salary above what that person has done for the world they live in. Ralph Nader has made much more of a difference than Prince or Eminem ever will. Yes, Prince has released some GREAT songs and is my favorite singer, but what has he done to change the world? It's good to be someone that MAKES A DIFFERENCE. I'm sick of people getting pats on the back by the corporate media for making millions of dollars that they don't need. It's good to be a revolutionary.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

Raise a difficult topic, get absolutely no answer.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

It gets to me too. It's sad but true Corporate Greed rules the world we live in.

sloopydrew4u said:

Totally agree, like this Paris Hinton chick what the FUCK has she done xcept swim into her mama womb again you can thank these stupid ass corporations and media for this bullshit. I'm teaching my son about Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, & Fred hampton (Black Panthers) people who have made a difference

lovedad43 said:

Paris Hilton epitomizes the bug that's up my butt (bad imagery) regarding this "It's good to Be..." crap. At least Michael Douglas, son of Kirk Douglas, and other celebrity offspring had some talent. Paris Hilton has NOTHING. She's the daughter of some rich dude that runs a hotel chain with dirty linen and a complimentary donut for breakfast. There's no talent at all (did you catch her on The O.C.?), no brains (did you see her interviewed on Dave, Jay, etc.?), and only an artificial sort of beauty that only fans of Michael Jackson could appreciate.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince
[This message was edited Tue Aug 17 23:05:48 2004 by sloopydrew4u]
[This message was edited Tue Aug 17 23:06:34 2004 by sloopydrew4u]

sloopydrew4u said:

Amen, brudduh, AMEN! I had this half hour entertainment show on tv, and I wasn't really watching or listening. Then all of a sudden I hear them talking about Paris Hilton's dog, and how it's lost, and blah, blah, bloody frickin blah. It immediately annoyed the hell out of me and I HAD to change the channel before my next door neighbor heard me cursing at no one in particular. Nothing wrong with being famous for some actual talent, and/or for whatever good deeds you've done, but the degree of importance America puts on celebrity culture, and on being famous for being famous is annoying. GTFOOHWTBS!

Tho, I gotta say I do understand the variation on the phrase "it's good to be Prince" as opposed to "it's good to be King" in the inherent so-called comeback.

`
[This message was edited Wed Aug 18 1:11:41 2004 by Supernova]

Supernova said:

I couldn't believe that junk about her dog. They INTERRUPTED a show to let me know that she had "lost" her dog and was offering some mini-fortune to whomever finds it. Then she had her makeshift porn tape that was "leaked." It's a constant way for a talentless rich chick to keep her name in the spotlight. Next, she'll have a reality show. Oh, wait...

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince[/quote]

Vital said:

It's telling that Abraham Lincoln said, immediately after the most painful and nasty war EVER -- this is a DIRECT QUOTE (and one the Enron lovin' Republicans never bring up when they brag about Lincoln being a great Republican) -- "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign . . . until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war."

He obviously didn't take inevitable coporate control lightly. If he thought that the worst part of the CIVIL WAR was less threatening than a world controlled by corporations, that really says something. It's too bad so many Americans (especially politicians) are too stupid, greedy or naive to listen to his advice. Pathetic lemmings. How about a "It's good to be..." Abraham Lincoln special? Including THAT quote? I dare the networks. I dare the press. I dare the corporations. I dare them all. The corporate cowards continue blocking the light from the citizens they claim to be informing.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

sloopydrew4u said:

Nobody got nothin' 2 say? I think it's a pretty powerful quote. Maybe this thread should be switched to the politic place?

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

sloopydrew4u said:

Interesting post.... I think the whole point of these shows (the one you're describing; MTV cribs; Rich Girls, etc) is to show that lifestyle as being so attractive, so as to make people want to aspire to it. We tend to forget just how much the system we live in functions at the cultural & psychological (the "ideational") level, as well as the material level.

What we desire can be a product of power, and so there is a lot of literature out there that investigates the politics of desire. Feminist and postcolonial writers have picked up on this ("the personal is political", etc). People like Malcolm X drew on and influenced an emerging postcolonial body of work - investigating self-denial (as they saw it) as a political act. Think of how Malcolm X focussed his attack on the system not just at the level of "high politics", but also about the motivation behind people straightening their hair, or hating their own facial features...

One interesting issue, which shows just how pervasive this power is, is that ideas which seem to challenge power can actually reinforce certain kinds of inequality. Just caught the video for "Independent Women" by Destiny's Child. On the surface, it's about women resisting domination, but its only answer is a kind of financial independence - and a whole lotta finance at that!! Precious little in there about emotional, spiritual, social independence. Nothing that the majority of women (and men) could actually aspire to, and find meaningful (e.g. 'I raise my kids', 'I'm true to my culture' (whatever one takes that to mean), 'I contribute to my community', etc) as the seed of independence and self-worth. Independence is seen to come from driving fast cars, wearing expensive clothes and jewelery, etc - in other words, from aspiring towards the lifestyle of rich, white men.

Anyway, let me stop, or else I'll never shut up..... Hope this is vaguely interesting!

btw, as you suggest, maybe we should make our own "It's good to be...." programmes. Off the top of my head, I'll add Toni Morrison, Franz Fanon, and Edward Said to the list.....

deebee said:

Interesting?!? My GAWD -- your intelligence is nearly intimidating and I started this thread! You have converted my bitchy ass juvenile rant into a fucking thesis. More power to you, right (what school did you attend, anyway?)? I am humbled to even write a response and cower at how you will react to what I say.

Regarding the Destiny's Child thing; it's always like that (in the pop world). All the way back to Aretha Franklin singing "Respect." Why women aspire to be successful white men has always been far beyond my cognitive ability. Why men aspire to be successful white men actually leaves me bewildered.

Donald Trump is not a hero. In many ways, I pity him. I feel sick for those emulating him. Plus, his hair sucks.

Speaking of hair, I always thought it was cool that Malcolm X rebelled against black folks straightening their hair. As a white man with naturally curly hair, which I have never straightened, it sort of empowered me to see someone fighting the power (of those nasty bastards with their sharp tools and chemicals at the barbershop).

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince
[This message was edited Thu Aug 19 2:03:34 2004 by sloopydrew4u]

sloopydrew4u said:

No cowering necessary..... There are probably a lot of us out there that feel uncomfortable with a lot of the messages found in the media, culture, etc. I just think it's good to share these thoughts and maybe see if we can put it all into a wider context, find solutions, and so on....

Hey, mine was kind of a "bitchy ass rant"! (I just like bitch with big words.....)

[This message was edited Thu Aug 19 9:45:13 2004 by deebee]

.
[This message was edited Thu Aug 19 9:44:13 2004 by deebee]

deebee said:

Now you're gettin' it! The post that you made and that you're referring to was, in large part, a "bitchy ass rant," but worded by someone with a doctorate. I shy away from using "big" words; not because they leave me trembling or are incomprehensible to the small portion of my brain that I use, but because they intimidate some people and leave the rest feeling left out, confused or angry (there's a reason the basic Michael Moore reaches 20 times the audience of the complex Noam Chomsky). If someone feels intellectually inferior, they rarely "hit the books" when they can easily hit the person making them feel stupid. The word, "elitist" starts being dropped (it's one of the only "big" words the non-elite frequently use) and hatred and prejudice begins. I try to avoid that. If there's a smaller word to use, that makes the same point as some chest-pounding verb, noun or adjective, I'll use it. It makes most everyone feel better and conveys the same message as some chest-pounding verb, noun or adjective. Why make any human feel like a lesser man or woman?

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

sloopydrew4u said:

Jeez! Chill out.... Do you know the word "oversensitive"? How about "paranoid"? "Inferiority-complex" mean anything to ya?

I'll admit I went off on a bit of a tangent - maybe a bit over-eager, and I needed to switch-gear - but none of it was aimed at you. Look at the post - there's nothing that says, "What you're saying is wrong", it's just my take on the issue. You make it sound like it was intended as an insult... That wasn't the intention, and there's nothing in my post to suggest that it was...!!

I'm not responsible for you feeling "intellectually inferior" anytime you read something by someone with an education, and that wouldn't necessarily be everyone's response. I've posted in other threads - sometimes people agree with something, sometimes they think it's a load of crap, sometimes they don't respond. People don't necessarily take it as being "chest-pounding" - sorry, I'm afraid that's in your imagination. Your hang-ups are not my fault...

Why should I have to apologise for having an education? I worked damned hard to get one! I don't use it to design nuclear bombs, or something - I'm trying to use it to try learn about society, and what we can do to make it better. I thought the point you raised was a good one: "Why do we only see stuff about people who are rich, famous, etc? Why not anyone else who's actually tried to make life better for people?" I didn't say that only people with an education could comment on that, because I don't think that's true. I'd enjoyed reading the post, that's why I commented. There's really nothing in there to suggest it was intended to separate an "elite" from a "non-elite" - again, that's your take....

I misjudged where you were coming from, sorry.... Be aware that, if you go around name-checking people like Malcolm, Mumia, and so on, people might actually get the impression that you give a shit about the kind of stuff they talk/talked about, rather than just throwing in their names for "cool value".....