miss buenos aires wrote:
Like it or not, we are a society here. According to Merriam Webster's, one of the definitions for "society" is:
an enduring and cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another.
Ok MISS BA...if you want to label the board as a society, that's fine with me, I would maybe classify it as a sub-culture. The fact that people treat the board or see it as a society, demands that a social codex or "organized patterns of relationships", to quote your quote, is established. I think that it is wrong to establish and ENFORCE a social codex that is too narrow, because we have very little in common actually, and don't have some of the normal points of reference that an actual society has. We have no common past, no common historical narratives to draw upon, no geographic proximity to each other, thus no real means of establishing an actual and authentic cultural identity within the society. So call it a society if you wish, but how does a "culture" or social codex come out of this, without a real historical past or social narratives? The only thing we all have in common is our appreciation for EC...(some of us more than others), so if we base the culture and social conduct of the board upon the beliefs of EC, then that would make most sense!! Right?
In that case, I would find it very hard to believe that any listener or fan of EC would endorse censorship, 100% political correctness, or any type of Reactonary, Victorian, or Right Wing Psuedo-Religious, cute and furry, soft and fuzzy morality. Yes Elvis is intellectual, yes he makes cute word play and is poetic, yes he is a genious with the English language, all of these which obviously appeal to people who are perhaps "intellectuals" or like to see themselves as a type of cultural elite. But if you really listen to what he's SAYING.....then you'll realize that he is expressing himself, with worts and all....with bile, venom, hate, desparation, pain, feelings of inadequatecy (especially sexual) and at times his work is coloured with a perverse sexual obsession and erotic flavor. I have often wondered why any women at all can relate to his music.....he is pure testosterone and misogony wrapped in a pun-spinning intellectual langauge. None of these issues or feelings are politically correct......when has EC ever been politically correct or CLEAN? Never....and that's why I love him, he sings to me and has been my shrink for years.
Therefore, I support an open forum, where the fans can also express themselves freely, without the threat of getting the boot or being emotionally punished and scared off by those who can dish it out but can't take it. If we take notice, there are not really that many new users that hang around and actually contribute. Maybe they feel the weight of the "society" pressing down on them??