Posted by mair on March 28, 2002, at 7:40:14
In reply to Re: got something out of it?, posted by Dr. Bob on March 25, 2002, at 22:55:36
I have to confess that I didn't read this book this time around. I read it maybe 20 years ago and loved it then. I intended to read it with this group but was never able to find my copy of the book, and haven't really been able to read much anyway of late.
What I remember about the book more than anything else, is where Ignatius gets this job for a clothing supplier or department store (I can't recall which) and has to write all of these letters. In one letter the appellation he wrote was something like "Dear Mongoloid Idiot," or similar words. Putting aside the fact that using this as a slur is horribly insensitive to alot of developmentally disabled people, I thought this was hilarious and it clearly struck a responsive chord in me. In my job, in my personal life, and certainly here on PSB, I tend to labor over words and the combination of words to strike precisely the right tone. Sometimes, I think it would be pretty cool to be able to think the outrageous and speak the outrageous. And maybe if you're as outrageously insulting as Ignatius was in these letters, the recipient won't be as offended as if your slur rang a little truer.
I realize that this was but one tiny slice of the book, but it's the part that has always stayed with me.
Mair
poster:mair
thread:290
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20020206/msgs/331.html