-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Quartermain <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>----
>
>The Politics of Stupidity is (I would have thought) crucially interesting
>to all of us; how can any of us escape our own stupidity? But I have in
>mind the politics that enables X to judge Y as stupid. Geraldine was
>absolutely straightforward about the reasons for her dismissal of Cooper --
>and I think she's dead on: some varieties of so-called "stupidity" are
>wilful and malicious, and yes, damaging.
>One difficulty with this business of unpacking the politics behind
>something is of course the slipperiness of the word "politics." Some on
>this list (and elsewhere) think of it as direct political intervention in
>the affairs of, er, State; others, as Party Politics; others, as the sets
>of assumptions brought to conduct and judgment. Gramsci had something to
>say about the last of these. My catalogue is of course not exhaustive.
>I strongly recommend a really brilliant and witty essay by Avital Ronell,
>"The Uninterrogated Question of Stupidity" in _Differences: A Journal of
>Feminist Cultural Studies_, vol 8 No 2 (Summer 1996): 1-22. It comes out of
>Indiana University Press, and may be a little elusive in the UK. Here's the
>opening paragraph:
>
>"It is undoubtedly someone's responsibility to name that which is stupid.
>In the recent past, the task of denouncing stupidity, as if in response to
>an ethical call, used to fall to the 'intellectual.' At least, this is part
>of the fantasy: consider the tone of French, German, and English thinkers,
>not to mention certain academics, who ceaselessly expose that which is
>stupid or has failed in understanding. Locating the space of stupidity has
>been part of the stealth contract binding any intelligent -- or, finally,
>stupid -- activity that seeks to establish and territorialize its findings.
>The relatedness of stupidity to intelligence and,  possibly of greater
>consequence, the status of modulations, usages, crimes, and valuations of
>stupidity itself, remain to a large degree absent from the concerns of
>contemporary inquiry. Yet, stupidity is everywhere."
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Peter,
Before you scurry off to some warm corner and leave us to
our perpetual Autumn and imminent weather-induced sad
madness and soggy melancholy your letter and quote illustrates
how easily things go askew and get side-tracked by the unstable
and ambiguous nature of definitions.  It's not just an e-mail thing but
e-mail seems to breed these situations.

Tim (hello Tim, nice to have you on board) and yourself are of
course right to question my use of the word 'stupid' if by using
that word I let Mr Cooper off the hook.  Its a bit like scoring an
own goal.   That, of course, was not my intention.   But 'stupid'
went 'slippery' and 'politics' went 'slippery' but I think they've
finally got on firm ground.  So the 'Politics of Stupidity' in this
case is politics as in poetry not 'party' and stupidity as in
contrived nastiness not innocent niceness.

I'm sorry if this last sentence suffers from an outbreak of
alliteration but I just couldn't help it and I think the meaning
is intact!  But I'm in haste so t'will have to do.
Don't creepy too long!
Geraldine






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