Subject: Re: The Importance of Ernest Being
From: Jim Woods (TrlBlzrOne@AOL.COM)
Date: Mon Jul 19 1999 - 20:12:58 EDT
In a message dated 7/19/99 3:13:57 AM !!!First Boot!!!, piat@JUNO.COM writes:
> As an old white man myself I'm a bit embarrassed by these
> white man goes to Africa to recapture his lost virility stories. It's
> not the lost virility that embarrasses me but rather the seemingly
> unconscious racial-sexual stereotyping of blacks. I can only imagine how
> ridiculous the sexualizing of Africa by whites might appear to black
> Africans. Perhaps the consequences have been too tragic to be
> ridiculous.
Jim,
My memory of Henderson the Rain King is that I read it as a send up of all
the people who thought they could do exactly what you are so critical of in
your post. I read it as satire/comedy. Nothing describes the spiritual
bankruptcy of European/American culture than the secular/Romantic rotation to
sexuality/virility as a way to renewal culturally and personally. This
effort to retreat into the mythic world--one that is with us in all the
pseudo-scientific efforts to describe various aspects of human behavior
dyadically (e.g. "I (we) can;'t help it") is the alternative (next to
suicide) which European and American culture have embraced instead of
addressing their crisis of faith. Percy to his credit, rejected both of
those and crafted a path consistent with the 'straight and narrow'
requirements that faith imposes...eg, suffering for the kingdom of God...
Jim
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