Lack of Diversity on the Camino

[Joe English]

On Mon, 28 Apr 2003 10:27:01 -0500, Douglass Norvell <norvellaNAUVOO.NET>
wrote:

>Rebekah,
>
>You are a journalist, I am a writer.
>
>I wrote the little satire, after noticing that the camino does have a
specialized appeal.
>
>I may do a humorous satirical book about the kinds of people one
encounters on the camino after making my own pilgrimage in September.
>
>I have some other ideas that may interest you.
>
>doug norvell

Good morning Doug,
I am at a complete loss here.
To which 'little satire' do you refer?
Is it the 'whites only' fountain or the 'bomber Basques'?

A useful definition of satire is given below (Merrima-Webster).
1 : a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
2 : trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or
folly

The little 'little satire' obviously fails the first test, as
your 'contribution' could never be described as a 'literary work'. The
second test is a little more difficult as your contribution is certainly
sarcastic, but I am at a loss to figure which particular vice or folly you
are trying to discredit. Surely there should be some connection between
the subject and object.
Regarding the 'whites only' part, you could just as easily have noticed
that there were no lesbian couples, or cat-lovers, or ..... Which vice or
folly in particular were you trying to expose here?. What is the
connection? Is it possible that you look everywhere for evidence of racial
discrimination, and jump to conclusions? I wonder did it even occur to
anyone else looking at the webcam that this was 'evidence' of
discrimination?
Now lets move onto the 'bomber Basques'. Which vice or folly are you
EXPOSING here? What are you adding to our understanding of the ETA mindset
or circumstances?. How are you making us think about and explore our
existing knowledge and understanding of the Basque people?
Shouldn't satire force us think about our prejudices or firmly held views
in new ways. What are you adding by a bold statement that Basques bomb
anything they don't like? Sounds more like a generalised insult.

I note that you 'may do a humorous satirical book about the kinds of
people one encounters on the camino after making my own pilgrimage in
September'. Normally I would expect a satirical book to be humorous by
definition, but reflecting on your most recent piece of 'satire' perhaps
you mean that this time your insults will be funny, as opposed to purely
gratuitous.

Before writing your first draft of your forthcoming humorous AND satirical
work, you might have a look at the master G. Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion
perhaps?)
With best regards
Joe