Althouse: "My parents never went anywhere. My father probably thought the capital of the world was wherever he was at the time."

May 19, 2014

"My parents never went anywhere. My father probably thought the capital of the world was wherever he was at the time."

"It couldn't possibly be... anyplace [other than] where he and his wife were, in their own home. That, to them, was the capital of the world."

27 comments:

traditionalguy said...: Bob has a sensitivity warmth to him that is often overlooked by critics. And he recorded his magic lyrics before the middle 1960s drug and anti-war times came along and the people found them waiting there to explain it all.; 5/19/14, 5:46 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: My foster parents only took one vacation - to Vegas and my Aunt and Uncle paid for it.

Every other day of their lives was work.

God, the rest of you are so lucky,...; 5/19/14, 5:47 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I was listening to Dolly Parton talking about herself on satellite radio yesterday. I linked to it in another post today. The interviewer asked what she like to do to relax, and she said she liked to go home and be with her husband, whom she's been married to for a very long time. She likes to cook like her forebears cooked. And if they travel, it's in their RV, and it's in Tennessee. I liked that.; 5/19/14, 6:47 PM
George M. Spencer said...: It's vacation mind. No-mind. Nothing unusual at all about writing "Blowin' in the Wind" in 10 minutes. Turn off your brain. It happens. It just happened in a bigger way with Bob than most of us.

And when he says it won't happen for him any more, don't believe it. He doesn't control 'it.' But he does have a duty to it, and that's something he's said in this and other interviews.

"It goes back to the Destiny thing. I made a bargain with it a long time ago, and I'm holding up my end...to get where I am now. [I made my bargain} with the Chief Commander of this world and the world we can't see." Quite a religious man, this Bob.

Trust yourself, jokerman; 5/19/14, 6:48 PM
Michael said...: Crack

God, the rest of you are so lucky,...

What a precious little snowflake you are, Crack. And no one else has suffered but you and yours.

A real man would have claimed he was so lucky to have been with such devoted hard working people. But gratitude is not in your DNA is it.; 5/19/14, 6:51 PM
Gahrie said...: God, the rest of you are so lucky,...

My Dad was a sergeant in the military while I grew up. We were poor, but didn't know it. My dad's standard of living has gone way up the last 25 years, even as his income has been unchanged.

My standard of living has far surpassed his...due to education, delayed gratification, and hard work. The recipe for success isn't hard, and it isn't out of reach for anyone.

But it isn't fun, or cool.; 5/19/14, 9:21 PM
MikeD said...: With all apologies to our hostess, Dylan was a crappy singer & his lyrics could only be appreciated by the late 60's hi-schoolers.
Same time frame, country did it better, see Waylon Jennings,Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash.; 5/19/14, 9:24 PM
Hagar said...: And they were wrong. The capital of the world is where I am.; 5/19/14, 9:26 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: God, the rest of you are so lucky,...

Yes. My husband was so lucky today to be able to work from 9am to 6pm pulling a pump in a 260 foot well, in the thunderstorms we had today. Inbetween hail, sleet, driving drenching rain, high winds, lightening and thunder, he was so lucky to be working with hydraulic equipment and electrical components. We hope he gets to be lucky again tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next. If he doesn't get lucky each and every day.....we don't eat.

Wait. It isn't luck. It is hard work, sacrifice and more hard work. It is getting up and doing it every single day with no paid vacations, no company health plan, no safety net. He started his business from nothing more than a hand held tool kit and built a reputation for honesty, fairness and reliability. It took 30 years of such fabulous "luck"

You make your own luck. You make your own unhappiness too. Stew in it.; 5/19/14, 10:14 PM
Sam L. said...: First time I ever heard of Bob, he was coming to do a concert. People were excited about it. I'd never heard his name or his songs. And it took a few years to be able to like them.

Just how it was.; 5/19/14, 10:44 PM
vza said...: "They were songs, they weren't sermons."

Bob Dylan

This.; 5/20/14, 12:02 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Michael,

"Crack,

What a precious little snowflake you are, Crack. And no one else has suffered but you and yours."

No - few have suffered LIKE me and mine. My foster father got his head beat in with a crowbar, leaving huge divots in his skull and dementia. Did yours? Tell me your comparable story, made possible because blacks made it too difficult for the average white person to move away from desperation.

I'll wait.

"A real man would have claimed he was so lucky to have been with such devoted hard working people. But gratitude is not in your DNA is it."

Yeah - like white supremacists know anything about being a "real man" - for 400 years you fools couldn't even conceive of competition without holding others back - while, today, we regularly kick your ass in every masculine endeavor. So, please, spare me the lecture:

Even with the difference in income, everyone wants to be Michael Jordan or Jay-Z - not Bill Gates or Roger Ailes.

And I wasn't "lucky" my folks were forced to suffer, nor "grateful" they did so - and only a moron would suggest it was otherwise.

This was all AGAINST THEIR WILL.

It was and is life in a racist country - or should the blacks of Wisconsin be "grateful" there's no decent bus service into town, too? That they have to be your precious "hard-working people" while whites are out making decent salaries, eating in restaurants, and, generally, enjoying their time on this planet?

Be grateful black parents suffered making whites money.

Only racists can think this way,...; 5/20/14, 12:28 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Dust Bunny Queen,

You are going to insist on becoming my newest racist to destroy, aren't you? So be it:

"Yes. My husband was so lucky today to be able to work from 9am to 6pm pulling a pump in a 260 foot well, in the thunderstorms we had today."

That's what I said - you're lucky to live in a racist country that's supported whites, exclusively, for so long. You do know most of you anti-big government types live on land the racist government gave away at 160 acres a piece, right? That's just one example of the unfair advantage whites had - right from the start - that you refuse to acknowledge, right? Maybe not you, but your neighbors? Other whites? How did y'all gain so much country? Oh yeah:

Hard work alone.

What a gaggle of liars.

"In between hail, sleet, driving drenching rain, high winds, lightening and thunder, he was so lucky to be working with hydraulic equipment and electrical components."

[Drumming fingers, waiting for a "point" to emerge]

"We hope he gets to be lucky again tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next. If he doesn't get lucky each and every day.....we don't eat."

Compared to people who aren't eating NOW, what?

"Wait. It isn't luck."

Ahhh - she read my words and now she recognizes how white supremacy's hidden opportunities benefitted her family, right? Come on, DBQ:

"It is hard work, sacrifice and more hard work."

Wait - I missed something - what happened to the fact your husband hasn't suffered the racist specter of red-lining? That he could live where he wanted, start the business he wanted, where he wanted, and be pretty assured work wouldn't be inhibited by racists collectively discriminating against him? And it's been that way - for you and him - almost for as long as you've been alive, pretending he's "competing" with others?

If he hasn't faced any of that - which gives whites an unfair advantage and includes more restrictions to success I've left out - was it really just "hard work, sacrifice and more hard work" or the fact whites didn't fight to dismantle these barriers but maintained them, viciously, for as long as possible?

Hell, whites stood in the way of mere bussing for kids.

Cont'd.; 5/20/14, 1:11 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: "It is getting up and doing it every single day with no paid vacations, no company health plan, no safety net."

But with white supremacy standing over you, making sure no one else really has a chance and your husband calls the shots - tragic.

"He started his business from nothing more than a hand held tool kit and built a reputation for honesty, fairness and reliability."

BWAAAAA-HAHAHAHAH!!! What denial you have.

"It took 30 years of such fabulous "luck""

People in South Africa talked like this - with hilarious results.

"You make your own luck."

You need to re-read the history of this country - especially the parts about Indians and slavery and Jim Crow - and then ask yourself if your outlook is sane. It doesn't appear to be so. Highly delusional.

"You make your own unhappiness too."

Oh, I've no doubt you racists are "happy" - it's when you lie and twist the truth and say blacks are content with your lies (Cliven Bundy, Phil Robertson, etc.) to claim blacks are the problem, after this well-known history, that we run into trouble.

Like you, telling lies about how your husband started his business - leaving out all the advantages he has over everybody else, to paint him as a lone soldier of success when he's got 400 years of racist support and these "hardworking" legends as a cover story.

No, I've no doubt the racists are "happy" - their forefathers demanded it be so. They told them they were special, and super smart, and this was their land before anyone else's - as they made sure to hold everyone else back so their little manifest destiny-inspired "masters of the universe" had a chance.

And the racists call that "fair and balanced".

"Stew in it."

Now that's the racist I know - dishing white resentment out with gusto.

We do "stew in it," DBQ - just do me a favor:

Don't lie and say it's anything else, will you? No denial about it:

You're an ignorant racist and blacks don't like living with you because of it - nothing else.

Oh - and your husband?

With no barriers in front of him, he's not much of a breadwinner,...; 5/20/14, 1:11 PM
Michael said...: Crack

Fuck off snowflake. A real man would have some gratitude for people who busted their asses on your behalf, who had the dignity to do the right thing.

They did it against their will? All caps?

You should be ashamed.

You should get your blood pressure checked, asshole, those all cap rants can be fatal.; 5/20/14, 2:19 PM
Michael said...: Crack

"while, today, we regularly kick your ass in every masculine endeavor. So, please, spare me the lecture:"

Actually, I won't. The belief that true Masculinity lies in dribbling a basketball is, among other things, the problem. The cult of the athelete is not helpful to the young, my good man. While those who believe in kicking ass in a "masculine endeavor" dribble the children of those who have set real masculine examples are in study hall. Waiting their turn to kick your ass. So spare me (all caps) the lecture.; 5/20/14, 3:26 PM
Nichevo said...: You know Crack, you (well, not YOU except in your own mind) were once slaves, but now you're free. That includes free to leave. Why don't you go to Mexico? No slavery there. Or France? They loved Josephine Baker. Oh right you married a French girl. Maybe Saudi Arabia would be nice. Maybe China or Japan or Nigeria. Really, your passport will work anywhere. Go on, don't be afraid, anyplace has to be better than here. Godspeed, my man. Godspeed.; 5/20/14, 4:36 PM
Nichevo said...: Oh btw for the blacks invented this blacks invented that, I'm pretty sure Dr Naismith was white as a sheet. Now you'll say, but blacks play so well. Funny that will never occur to you wrt Elvis et al.; 5/20/14, 4:43 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Michael,

"Fuck off snowflake. A real man would have some gratitude for people who busted their asses on your behalf, who had the dignity to do the right thing."

Which wasn't and isn't you, so excuse me if I ignore your advice on conduct.; 5/20/14, 4:44 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Michael,

"Crack

The belief that true Masculinity lies in dribbling a basketball is, among other things, the problem."

Um, excuse me, but that would be (giant breath) basketball, football, tennis, golf, baseball, track and field, gymnastics, and many others - all paying millions - anything that emphasizes the individual, operating on a level playing field that, after 400 years, whites haven't already orchestrated a way to manipulate to their ends.

Conservatives love the individual on a level playing field, right?

Then enjoy losing.

And, regarding your concerns, our educational level is coming up, too. We now have the world's foremost astrophysicist, too, and he's driving conservatives crazy with - wait for it - THE TRUTH TO THEIR LIES.

It's all you've got - and all you'll live and die for:

Lies.

You'll lose the rest soon enough,….; 5/20/14, 4:56 PM
Michael said...: Crack

Hahahahahaha. Good one.

As you say. I'll wait.

LOL

Write when you have season tickets! Then we can swap! You will love the seats on the floor.

Good one. I don't give a shit if chilli goes to a hundred dollars a bowl, dude, i am not going to lose shit.

LOL.; 5/20/14, 5:16 PM
Michael said...: The "world's foremost astrophysicist" is actually ranked #26 in his field. Not bad. Its a big world. But #26 is not #1

He certainly isnt driving this conservative crazy. Seems like he acted white his whole life.; 5/20/14, 5:40 PM
Nichevo said...: "You" have ONE astrophysicist. Congratulations. And btw, why is he leading? What happened to Carl Sagan? Michio Kaku? Is he leading because the NYT says he is, and do they say that because he is laying down some Mau-Mau for them?

Again one golfer, who says he isn't black.

Football and basketball, sure, you hit people, you're good at that.

Baseball, a real skill sport, Hispanics are taking your jobs.

Tennis, the Williams sisters are losing their edge.; 5/20/14, 5:46 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: Nichevo,

"You" have ONE astrophysicist. Congratulations."

Said like someone with no appreciation for the history of racism in this country.

We've got one president, too.

We've actually got a lot of new firsts.

Why is that?

Racists,...; 5/20/14, 9:34 PM
Nichevo said...: I agree, racists. It is racist to trumpet Dyson as the number one guy just because he's black. It was insanely racist to elect Obama just because he's black. It's insane to give you anything you haven't earned and you don't earn by suffering let alone your great-greats suffering.

I hate to break it to you but that's just the fucking way it is. What have you done for me lately, and what can you do for me now? That's the question. It's the question for you and it's the question for anyone else, black, white, yellow, brown or green.

Oh yay athletes. I couldn't care less. Jungle music, yay squared. Media, lovely, who was it, Nora Zeale Hurston with all that bathroom writing? Spike Fucking Johnny One-Note Lee? Iceberg Slim? Super. Actors? Yeah Denzel and Danny and Morgan and such are all fine until they open their mouths. Can't actually blame them for the parts, probably the scriptwriter is the one that makes sure Morgan Freeman is always playing the same role in every movie, to wit, God. Blah blah blah. Then again most white actors also make me miss Humphrey Bogart. Your inferior products are part and parcel of this degraded age, but who helped to degrade it?

No, Crack, if you want me to care, give me science and math. Give me medicine if you don't include that in STEM. Give me war heroes. Not time servers like you, why are all the victor units and especially the SOF so overwhelmingly white? At least give me some good cooks. Right now the most important black man in the world is probably Marcus Samuelsson. Just stop giving me shit.; 5/20/14, 9:54 PM
Nichevo said...: And you know what, Crack, I try very hard to respond to you point by point. The problem is your thinking, or at least your writing, is so disjointed and all over the place that it's really difficult to engage you squarely, and then you misunderstand me, or pretend to misunderstand me, and we end up talking past each other.

There is also a limit to how unkind I am willing to be, so actually you probably will never get the truth out of me. I have no such expectation of you of course. You really do seem to be playing some kind of game. That's a pity because I value sincerity. But you know what is best for you I'm sure.; 5/20/14, 9:57 PM
RecChief said...: It's not?; 5/20/14, 10:28 PM