"When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my revolver", normally attributed to Goering, first appeared in 1933 in the play "Schlageter" by the nazi playright Hanns Johst (1890-1978), as "When I hear the word 'culture, I cock my Browning", spoken by a 'stormtrooper'.
A plague on both their houses, but I think I know the feeling.
The problem is this weasel word 'culture' which seems to mean what its bien-pensant, would-be anthropogists users want it to mean. Not so.
'Culture', for me at least, means the best that has been written, said, thought , or done. It does not mean religion, customs, sexual practices, clothing, sport, or anything someone fancies doing.
It does not include:
Cutting a goat's throat over a drain. That pertains to religion.
A Corpus Christi procession. That pertains to THE Religion.
Voodoo (see above)
Being anti or pro abortion
A sexual fascination with the lower digestive tract,
Foot-binding,
Football, bull-fighting, cycling naked through London, hair length, etc etc.
I am not a violent man, and I am not possessed of a Browning, but if someone tells me that Mick Jagger, Wiccanism, religious practices, female circumcision, cruelty, and stoning adulterers are cultural phenomena, I shall wish I had a Browning (not Robert) to cock.
And just to remove any misunderstanding, the first bullet is for Goering.
Homosexuality, Padre Pio, And Great Uncle George.
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There is, apparently, another fashionable VII priest who is doing very fine
in the US. A sort of Corapi 2.0, or, if you wish, a Barron pre-bishopric.
His n...
14 hours ago
3 comments:
Has TEFL in Poland a problem which has rooted in Spain? Egged on by OUP and the other UK , UK! textbook publishers, even Catholic schools' English departments generally embroil the whole school in Halloween!, to the defilement of themselves as Catholics and of All Saints -my constant strategy of complaint, that students need to KNOW the word "murder", but do NOT need to spend days or weeks in murder-praising activities, is met, in "catholic" schools, by the HurrahHenry skullword as a stonewall:"It's culture". (Not always unspoken subtext :You're a killjoy wanting to spoil innocent children's fun and learning).
I have suggested Whit walks if they really want a timehonoured English cultural activity, to LOOKS.
Noncatholic schools, and fellowteachers, I leave to your imagination.
All the old old lies from the garden of Eden.
I think it has, and the culprit as you say, is the xecrable O.U.P., and in particular 'Matura Matrix', a puffed up title for a textbook whose vision of culture is "madonna, 'Spice Girl' "look-alikes" and any ephemeral trash which might interest a bored, uneducated student.
I use the book, but skip whole chapters which I find objectioable.
I agree with you 100% about the vile trivialisation of All Saints and All Souls by "halloween".
However, Poland is a little different. Last year I asked my students, aged 16-20, what they had done on All Souls.
At midnight, we went to the cemetary. We sang hymns and prayed for our dead families.
God, how I love Poland!
Poland Rocks!
However--a Browning? Unless you are using a Browning M2 HB, .50 machinegun, no dice! I'm sorry, I know that the British love the high-power, but what you need is a good old fashioned M1911 Colt!
Otherwise, we stand together!
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