Comments on: THOSE ELUSIVE WHITE TIGERS

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:26:35 +0000

you bring up a lot of points and those 2 posts; haiti and kipling were something of a bitch to write. The Haitian intellos are French, and my transcription is good, but not as refined as it should be. With Kipling, I added an ending with Nietzsche as I thought the two might hit it off. The results were mixed. You are right about the ”anti-heroic”; reminds me of a Peter Barnes play on the German bureaucracy in the Third Reich. Kipling himeself incarnated the white man’s burden, and it is this judgmental aspect which appears most antagonistic, and relates well to the section of Deleuze within the Haiti column.
Dave

By: mason mckibben

mason mckibben — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:12:31 +0000

Well, you touched upon this odd oblivion, this mechanistic pan of the camera when you remark, “Kipling’s India has its heroes and they are the unnoticed and forgotten people who protect themselves by immersion in their daily routine.” These may be homeomorphs of Rudyard Kipling himself: they are crippled, paralysed and as such rather anti heroic. Or if they are heroic, it is by a sort of default that submits to no difference.

This is also all i can do to acknowledge your craft in your Haiti post: are you or i quite sure, in Kipling’s case, that he did not admit of, submit or point to some difference articulated in the return of some other?

Or was there some Gift returning already in some kind of process when Max Beerbohm rendered him? I honestly don’t know! It is the “lack of dimension” you mention that causes the itching! Figures Sartre hovers near. About 7 hours ago on twitter, @DarkPhilosopher remarks ” I see ego in a more kantian light, even sartre wouldn’t equate consciousness to ego.” I am weak on Kant, but suspect he’s right about Sartre.

I can’t admire Kipling without reserve. At the same time, I rather feel in the same boat with him, though i have traveled and written much less than he.

Thanks for your labours Dave!

-mason

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:42:31 +0000

I think Beerbohm is a subject in itself, but it will take some digging to make it work.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:40:55 +0000

Thanks. It seems that there is a whole breadth and depth of thought he was completely oblivious too. I may try to add to the story today, If time will present itself. The question is whether he was that good a writer, beyond some descriptive and stylistic qualities. There appears to be a lack of dimension at some point. Reminds me of an article with some citations by Sartre and Deleuze, and this perception of the ”other” they spoke about regarding former colonized nations.
Best,Dave

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:34:01 +0000

thanks for reading. He has really been out of the public view for a while, yet his popularity was astounding.
Dave

By: mason mckibben

mason mckibben — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 04:39:48 +0000

Wow, my first Beerbohm.

Timely. I was aware of the romancing of the kipling and the ensuing revulsion, but never realised how on again off again these postures towards him can be. One wonders how much longer he can continue serving as both whipping boy and somber technocrat.

Rhetorically, I’m often caught or brought up short before the Lord of Hosts, where man has cause to be grateful for the admixture of justice. How quaint such a man must appear requesting mercy. I sometimes can imagine how sickening or pitiable one such man can seem to his peers or any other decent sort of person.

Well done Dave. It’s just as difficult to bear as it need be. Thanks,
mason