I'm currently trawling through the BrothersJudd archives looking for any posts or comments I might want to move over here. Along the way, I came across this classic comment thread, which may well be when the wheels started coming off the trolley.
Daniel Duffy popped up on Thought Mesh recently and repeated that odd assertion about Orrin in his college days.
Daniel was great, but Bart's very first post in that thread is magnificent: a textbook example of blog posting. Gawd, I miss that 'confirmed anglophobe' and his unremitting and stinging attacks on Perfidious Albion.
O: It was no huge thing. My posting level had dropped off, my commenting relationship with OJ had become too adversarial, it struck me as silly to be a nonconformist on a blog about the importance of conformity, and I don't have new interesting things to say about cars v. trains or our allies Hezbollah. Then he deleted a post I had put up on the main page (about cars but, in fairness, mostly about tweaking him) and I decided to quit before I got fired.
I will say that I think OJ's original insight into the Shi'a is brilliant and I hope has occurred to people in the administration. Secular government results from post-millenial millenarianism; narrowly, the belief that the Messiah will come and usher in the thousand year rule of the Saints and more broadly the idea that human society can't be perfected by humans. Mainstream Christianity and Judaism are now post-millenial millenarianist religions, and thus can co-exist with secular society because they aren't compelled to force society into the shape needed to bring about the coming of the Messiah. The Shi'a, with their belief that perfect Koranic rule will not come until the 12th Imam reveals itself, can be made into a post-millenial religion that can co-exist with secular government. First, though, we need to get rid of those Shi'a, like President Ahmadinejad, who believe that, by arranging for a certain combination of events to take place on earth, they can force the 12th Imam to reveal himself. Because of the nature of those events, these immenentizers are incredibly dangerous -- particularly if they get their hands on nuclear weapons.
This is where OJ goes off the rails. Rather than following up on his insight by arguing for us to do the hard work of actually bringing out this reform of Shi'ism, he just assumes it. Poof, the Shi'a are reformed. Poof, the Shi'a are democrats. Poof, the Shi'a -- all Shi'a everywhere, apparently, no matter what they say -- are our allies.
The quality of insult required to earn yourself martyrdom also declined pretty steeply. If memory serves, Harry got zapped for calling Dietrich Bonhoeffer just another Nazi. By the time David quit you could provoke the same reaction by cracking a car joke. It's not so much fun when it gets to be that easy.
I was invited to become a contributor to Brothers Judd at one point, long ago. I turned it down half because I already had my own weblog, and half because I expected it to turn out as it did for David here. Weblogs are such a personal expression, I didn't see how it could end other than someone feeling quite put upon (if not everyone feeling that way).
Sorry for the belated wishes, but congrats on striking out on you own, David! I'm gone for three weeks and the very foundation of the blogosphere has shifted underneath me. Or something like that. OJ's apology post is really quite amazing. I wonder if he got some negative comments from someone important in the blog world.
I guess I'm officially a brother, as I actually have one posting credit on BrosJudd. Something about the impending collapse of the dollar, for which Orrin tacked on an official disclaimer that my views weren't representative of the management, or something like that.
Whatever happened to Paul Jaminet? You don't see him around much anymore.
14 comments:
Welcome aboard, David!
Daniel Duffy popped up on Thought Mesh recently and repeated that odd assertion about Orrin in his college days.
Daniel was great, but Bart's very first post in that thread is magnificent: a textbook example of blog posting. Gawd, I miss that 'confirmed anglophobe' and his unremitting and stinging attacks on Perfidious Albion.
"Perfidious Albion" — I used that recently in conversation and recieved blank stares in return. Your brand is fading.
Or your standards of education are.
I'll try it out on this Welsh guy I know, then, as a control case.
I wasn't aware that you'd decamped BrosJudd, in addition to this independent forum.
Given that you had main-page posting privileges there, why leave ?
O: It was no huge thing. My posting level had dropped off, my commenting relationship with OJ had become too adversarial, it struck me as silly to be a nonconformist on a blog about the importance of conformity, and I don't have new interesting things to say about cars v. trains or our allies Hezbollah. Then he deleted a post I had put up on the main page (about cars but, in fairness, mostly about tweaking him) and I decided to quit before I got fired.
I will say that I think OJ's original insight into the Shi'a is brilliant and I hope has occurred to people in the administration. Secular government results from post-millenial millenarianism; narrowly, the belief that the Messiah will come and usher in the thousand year rule of the Saints and more broadly the idea that human society can't be perfected by humans. Mainstream Christianity and Judaism are now post-millenial millenarianist religions, and thus can co-exist with secular society because they aren't compelled to force society into the shape needed to bring about the coming of the Messiah. The Shi'a, with their belief that perfect Koranic rule will not come until the 12th Imam reveals itself, can be made into a post-millenial religion that can co-exist with secular government. First, though, we need to get rid of those Shi'a, like President Ahmadinejad, who believe that, by arranging for a certain combination of events to take place on earth, they can force the 12th Imam to reveal himself. Because of the nature of those events, these immenentizers are incredibly dangerous -- particularly if they get their hands on nuclear weapons.
This is where OJ goes off the rails. Rather than following up on his insight by arguing for us to do the hard work of actually bringing out this reform of Shi'ism, he just assumes it. Poof, the Shi'a are reformed. Poof, the Shi'a are democrats. Poof, the Shi'a -- all Shi'a everywhere, apparently, no matter what they say -- are our allies.
Did it bother you that he tinkered with that post in which you said that he didn't tinker with your posts?
That was pretty funny.
PS. OJ is full of brilliant insights, which is why it's a pity he has that childish tendency to upset the board when he loses the game.
Brit: No, that didn't bother me at all. It was hilarious.
The quality of insult required to earn yourself martyrdom also declined pretty steeply. If memory serves, Harry got zapped for calling Dietrich Bonhoeffer just another Nazi. By the time David quit you could provoke the same reaction by cracking a car joke. It's not so much fun when it gets to be that easy.
I would really prefer it if this didn't become an OJ-fest. I still like OJ, and I still like his blog.
I was invited to become a contributor to Brothers Judd at one point, long ago. I turned it down half because I already had my own weblog, and half because I expected it to turn out as it did for David here. Weblogs are such a personal expression, I didn't see how it could end other than someone feeling quite put upon (if not everyone feeling that way).
Sorry for the belated wishes, but congrats on striking out on you own, David! I'm gone for three weeks and the very foundation of the blogosphere has shifted underneath me. Or something like that. OJ's apology post is really quite amazing. I wonder if he got some negative comments from someone important in the blog world.
I guess I'm officially a brother, as I actually have one posting credit on BrosJudd. Something about the impending collapse of the dollar, for which Orrin tacked on an official disclaimer that my views weren't representative of the management, or something like that.
Whatever happened to Paul Jaminet? You don't see him around much anymore.
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