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Author Erica Jong Alienates Some with Tone, Length of Commencement Speech (College of Staten Isand)
The Staten Island Advance ^ | 6/3/05 | Michelle Maskaly

Posted on 06/04/2005 9:05:35 AM PDT by gopwinsin04

Best selling author Erica Jong was booed and told to 'Shut Up!' and 'Go Home!" during her 40 minute commencement address at the College of Staten Island.

A little less than halfway through her graduation speech, some graduated began tossing around an inflatable beach volleyball.

Some even got up from their chairs, just yards from the podium, to go chat with friends and family who were seated behind them.

Ms. Jong, best known for her 1973 novel 'Fear of Flying' continued unfazed. She continued to speak as if everyone was listening attentively.

'Politicans speak the opposite of what they mean. They say clear skies when they mean pollution, They say colleratal damage when they mean killing civillians.'

She gave a political spEech when she was supposed to be doing a pep talk, said one CSI graduate, whoever heard of a commencement speaker talking about body bags? We wanted to throw stuff at her.'

'It was despicable, said a CSI mother, 'It was personal spewing.'

(Excerpt) Read more at silive.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: bitter; blahblahblah; bloviation; booed; commencement; ericajong; hasbeen; itsallaboutmeeee; liarspewinglies; modo; washedup; woeisme
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To: Veto!
Fear of Flying, her first book, was great fun to read

The only thing I remember about that book is that she peed in her shoe. To this day, I wonder why she didn't drive to a rest stop.

61 posted on 06/04/2005 10:22:21 AM PDT by reformed_democrat
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To: reformed_democrat

IMO, the most memorable concept was the Zipless F@@k, a rather original idea for the time....a woman could actually be sexually attracted to a man.


62 posted on 06/04/2005 10:28:24 AM PDT by Veto! (Opinions Freely Dispensed as Advice)
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To: gopwinsin04
Someone posted above that NYC's WLIB radio referred to Staten Island as 'Satan Island' because of the volume of conservative calls coming from there...lol!

I wonder what the person who booked her to speak was thinking. Staten Island is the most conservative borough of NYC.

63 posted on 06/04/2005 10:33:52 AM PDT by nycgal
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To: RushCrush
Go here to sign her website guest book:

I just did - asked if she was still talking.

There are several great comments there - scroll to the bottom for the newest ones.

64 posted on 06/04/2005 10:38:24 AM PDT by Hank Rearden (Never allow anyone who could only get a government job attempt to tell you how to run your life.)
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To: Owl_Eagle

Her husband was Chinese.


65 posted on 06/04/2005 10:40:54 AM PDT by JAWs
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To: gopwinsin04

It's that time of year again. I have THREE of these stupid speeches to sit through in the upcoming weeks. I never should've let my liberal friends breed, LOL!


66 posted on 06/04/2005 10:43:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (Save The Earth. It's The Only Planet With Chocolate.)
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To: Hank Rearden
This was posted and it HAD to be from a FReeper:

Date: 04 Jun 2005 Time: 09:38:05 Comments

I heard you had your butt kicked by the graduation audience on Long Island recently after a boring litany of Leftist Tripe. In the immortal words of William Jefferson Clinton, "Put some ice on it."

LOL!!!!!!!!

67 posted on 06/04/2005 11:01:14 AM PDT by RushCrush (Never give in! Never, never, never, never! Never yield in any way great or small.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

Don't forget to go sign Erica's guestbook!

Go here to sign her website guest book:

http://www.ericajong.com/contact.htm


68 posted on 06/04/2005 11:01:55 AM PDT by RushCrush (Never give in! Never, never, never, never! Never yield in any way great or small.)
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To: RushCrush
Thought I'd leave my two cents for Erica:

Date: 04 Jun 2005

Time: 11:33:21 Comments

I understand you had your backside embarrassingly handed back to you during your Commencement Speech at CSI two days ago. Outstanding! You were well on your way to being a has-been before those students were born. I'm thrilled that today's graduates are so wise to the ways of the world. Save your rants for Air America. Though the audience is much smaller. It's also much more like-minded and appreciative.

It's the least I could do.

Jack.

69 posted on 06/04/2005 11:41:25 AM PDT by Jack Deth (Knight Errant and Disemboweler of the WFTD Thread)
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To: wizardoz

That was my thought as well. The article makes it sound as though the graduates were just responding to the speech, but who brings a beach ball to graduation unless they're planning to be rude? Bad speech aside, some of these graduates still have a bit of growing up to do...


70 posted on 06/04/2005 11:48:20 AM PDT by A. Goodwin
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To: Jack Deth

heehee that's great!!


71 posted on 06/04/2005 11:56:05 AM PDT by RushCrush (Never give in! Never, never, never, never! Never yield in any way great or small.)
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To: gopwinsin04
Most upstate folks don't have time for that kind of nonsense. Sounds like she was a little bit out of her East side element!

Staten Island is "downstate" from the East Side of Manhattan. But it has an upstate (moderately Republican) mentality.

72 posted on 06/04/2005 12:01:30 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: gopwinsin04

Given her books, folks were probably disappointed that she was all talk and no action.


73 posted on 06/04/2005 4:52:46 PM PDT by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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