The Salon Interview: Camille Paglia

salon $.05/share ^ | 2 7 2003 | David Talbot

[dennisw]

She has some insights but I don't agree w/ her.

[dennisw]

 

[Uncle Fud]

"Above all, we need moderate Muslims to turn out the homicidal fanatics in their midst."

I need to win the lottery, too, but I don't plan my life as if it will happen.

Nonetheless, Paglia is always worth listening to, disagree with her though I might.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Paglia is mostly terrific, but she believes in omens, even though she says she does not believe in God, which would be the entity which sends omens.

[dennisw]

Paglia is mostly terrific, but she believes in omens, even though she says she does not believe in God, which would be the entity which sends omens.

I would guess many are spooked by the Shuttle disaster and that it's a bad omen. Especially since the Shuttle, just like our military is a hi-tech showcase. One thing I know, George W Bush sure doesn't take the Shuttle as a bad omen for us laying into Saddam/Iraq.

[Mr. Bird]

I really enjoy reading Paglia, and I think she's a refreshing voice among the current intelligentsia, which is why her opposition is disappointing.

What I'm going to be looking at with a keen eye is the number of civilian casualties. Like most of the anti-war people, Paglia envisions carpet bombing of civilian structures. I just don't see that happening. We don't have to necessarily "take" Baghdad through street fighting and aerial assaults. One strategy I have read is to surround the city and choke off its supplies. Any Iraqi regulars looking to fight in the streets might not have anyone to shoot at.

[csvset]

Yes, but who's going to take over Arabia -- the strongest alternative is the radical Muslims. What if Egypt goes? The dream of the radical Islamic movement is to topple all of the secular, pro-West governments in the Middle East. Americans may say, "Oh, that can never happen."

Well, yes it can -- because of the discipline and rigor of these radical, self-contained belief systems.

She nailed that part. The "radical Islamic movement", like the commie Chinese, realize that their strong suite is time. They don't care if it takes 10, 15, 50 or 100 years, they'll keep chipping away until they topple the US & Israel.

[mlmr]

In my years of reading Paglia, my understanding of her beliefs is that they are pre-Christian and pan-theistic.

[FreedomPoster]

I'm absolutely appalled at the lack of acknowledgment of the cost to ordinary Iraqi citizens of any incursion by us

What about the cost to the Iraqi people of not taking out Saddam, and letting them continue to die in his oppressive dictatorship?

[Chad Fairbanks]

Is it just me, or is she sounding more 'middle of the road' lately?

[livius]

Omens! Why doesn't she just go slit open a chicken and examine its innards? This worked for generations of pagans...

However, while she also had a lot of other statements that were pretty dubious, she seemed a good deal more responsible and thoughtful than many of her ilk. As for the simplistic statement that at the end of a war, "no one remembers what they were fighting for," I guess she's forgotten about tiny details such as the end of slavery. Remarks like that make good liberal poetry, but have no basis in reality.

[alpowolf]

Thanks for an interesting post.

I mostly agree with her, but definitely can't agree with her on the "omen" thing. At most, it may serve as a reminder that the war might not be as easy as many people expect it to be.

I guess I'm just not a believer in omens. If I hid under my bed every time something bad happened I'd be living under there permanently.

[BlueLancer]

Camille Paglia is always an interesting read, whether one agrees with her or not...

and, in this case, I'm sorry to say that I do most strenuously disagree with her.

[Grand Old Partisan]

My hat's off to you, mlmr!

[facedown]

Do they think the American people are fools?

No, they think you are. And they're right.

[facedown]

Camille, that is. Not you dennisw.

[Gang of Five]

"Paglia retired her Salon column last year to focus on teaching..."

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Well, that's ONE way of putting it. Another way is that "we can't pay you anymore because Salon is a pathetic sinking ship. Would you still write for us for free?"

Salon started out with such promise, and then melted into such a mud puddle of slime.

[steve-b]

OK, boys and girls, how many mutually exclusive assertions and arguments can you find?

Saddam can be bottled up with aggressive surveillance and pinpoint airstrikes on military installations.
Are we going to bomb laboratories and facilities storing dangerous chemicals and release them in the air near population centers? Are we going to poison Baghdad? This is as barbarous as what we're opposing in Saddam.

I'm not sure [Condoleezza Rice] has the touch and finesse that are needed for international relations
One of the great moments in American politics would be if Cheney is out as V.P. the next time around, and Bush puts [Condoleezza] Rice -- a black woman -- on the ticket.

[The Great Satan]

Camille should stick to writing about poetry henceforth, and leave war to the menfolk. She is completely clueless.

[Mamzelle]

re: Including one small town where the debris fell called Palestine, Texas.)))

Heck, we've also got a Paris, a Troy....some probably fell on Crawford. And what ponderous premonition can you portend from Waco?

Good grief, Camille. What muddling drivel. No wonder you've been quiet for so long, and I can't believe how often I searched the net to see what you were writing... Clearly, you've run out of anything interesting to say. Better stick to the university where the demands are low.