Comments on: Meanness [Revised] http://www.farrfeed.com/2007/10/26/meanness/ John Hamilton Farr's Living Planet Mystery Tales from Taos, New Mexico Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:18:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: John H. Farr http://www.farrfeed.com/2007/10/26/meanness/comment-page-1/#comment-131 John H. Farr Sat, 27 Oct 2007 05:18:45 +0000 http://jhfarr.com/farrfeed/2007/10/26/meanness/#comment-131 Oh, that's not too hellish. :-) Nothing to do with Iran, eh? They've chained Old Glory to fear and hate. Wait till we come after Canada. Oh, that’s not too hellish. :-)

Nothing to do with Iran, eh? They’ve chained Old Glory to fear and hate. Wait till we come after Canada.

]]> By: K.J. Webb http://www.farrfeed.com/2007/10/26/meanness/comment-page-1/#comment-130 K.J. Webb Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:00:44 +0000 http://jhfarr.com/farrfeed/2007/10/26/meanness/#comment-130 We're all kinda mean under the skin, but one of the arts of civilization used to tame us - courtesy. When you and I were raised, it was drilled in to us that you don't show up or insult people, especially people who are weak or struggling, whether it's with getting out of a parking lot or making a living raking leaves. My folks - who were as blue-collar as it comes - would have blistered my backside if they'd heard me say a rude word to a yardman or a busdriver. I gave up on religion long ago, but it seems to me that the general loss of belief is one of several factors - also the loss of the idea of "the gentleman" - in why we see this casual brutality in daily life. It's one of those famously unintended consequences - we love being free agents unencumbered with conventional morality, but the consequence may be that the savage beast within us yelps and snarls at any petty opportunity. Take away courtesy, and, bit by bit, everythng else falls. I never thought being a gentleman had much to do with one's taxable income, but, reduce it to that, and what is there to respect in acting the part of one. Whatever the other factors are - and maybe being an old fart is one of them - I don't think any of this has much to do with Iran. We live in parlous times. Here endeth today's homily from hell. We’re all kinda mean under the skin, but one of the arts of civilization used to tame us – courtesy. When you and I were raised, it was drilled in to us that you don’t show up or insult people, especially people who are weak or struggling, whether it’s with getting out of a parking lot or making a living raking leaves. My folks – who were as blue-collar as it comes – would have blistered my backside if they’d heard me say a rude word to a yardman or a busdriver. I gave up on religion long ago, but it seems to me that the general loss of belief is one of several factors – also the loss of the idea of “the gentleman” – in why we see this casual brutality in daily life. It’s one of those famously unintended consequences – we love being free agents unencumbered with conventional morality, but the consequence may be that the savage beast within us yelps and snarls at any petty opportunity. Take away courtesy, and, bit by bit, everythng else falls. I never thought being a gentleman had much to do with one’s taxable income, but, reduce it to that, and what is there to respect in acting the part of one. Whatever the other factors are – and maybe being an old fart is one of them – I don’t think any of this has much to do with Iran.

We live in parlous times. Here endeth today’s homily from hell.

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