Comments on Pro Libertate: It's a Droog's World, After All

Execllent post. One point of correction: You wrote...

2006-11-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Execllent post.

One point of correction:

You wrote:
"Is drug use (the practice that gave the droogs their name) evil?"

"Droog" as a word did not come from drug use, but from the Russian word for friend or companion. I first read that in Burgess's autobiography and it's also mentioned in the wikipedia

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"Certain slang words used by Alex and his gang are derived from Russian. Друѓ, which means "friend" in Russian, is pronounced "Droog", which is their slang term for their friends. Another example is how the Russian word for "good", хорошо, has the same basic pronunciation as "Horrorshow".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange

Argh, that LA Times article requires registration....

2006-11-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Argh, that LA Times article requires registration. I want to read where it says he was on his way out.

On the other hand, I've seen a lot of 5 year olds that claim to be doing or not doing something when, clearly, they're making an effort to do the exact opposite. "I'm going, I'm going". Really? Why are you sitting there staring at me?

On the other hand, this are government stormtroopers we're talking about. Don't get your hands in the air quick enough and you're liable to get shot, too.

Interesting Will. I like dr roberts saw the movie ...

2006-11-18T03:29:00.000-07:00

Interesting Will. I like dr roberts saw the movie years ago, but I never could reconcile its ominous mechanical aspect to the state and the populace.

And about the cameraman laughing at the carnage as if it's a video game, I certainly deduce from this how a seemingly endless imperial war can eventually create prime candidates for mass-murder upon their return, either at the States disposal or their own psychotic reasons. That is, IF they physically survive. Mentally, however, is obviously another matter entirely.

You know, I've often wondered (in a "big picture" sense since that is how I find myself thinking in the abstract about anything these days, unfortunately) in recent years if the rapid spread of advanced technology even among the least among the commoner class - everything from GPS receivers, mobile phones, computers, etc., etc. - will provide the perfect and precise opportune means to control, not to mention know everything about, much of the world's masses by a future dictator.

After all, techno gadgets of every kind are rapidly becoming commodities these days and everybody from every socio-economic stratum possesses some sort of communications gadget. Either it's a cellphone, a laptop, a digital cam/vidcam, whatever, many with all or some the functions of another device. I can foresee a thoroughly controlled and/or manipulated populace from this reality, rather than the hoped for "freedom" from control that other technology enthusiasts predict.

Remember, "Da Man" always has gotten first dibs at what eventually filters down to the street commoner.

will,alex jones made a mistake in i think it was t...

2006-11-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

will,

alex jones made a mistake in i think it was the second video. it was not a US troops bemoaning not being able to shoot the kids (at least so it seems) looking at the vehicle interior, its exterior, and the semilar vehicles in front of it, it was a contractor. note how the guy says, "that's our security, the US military", or something to that effect.

now that bomb dropping. well, what can i say? i'm glad i've never taken delight in that kind of footage, and hope i never do. one thing caught me as interesting. i never caught a whistle of the bomb going in. looked laser guided. surpreside those guys were so close to it. hope these same folks don't get out and join the police.

will,that video was something else. i felt a sense...

2006-11-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

will,

that video was something else. i felt a sense of pride as even UCLA students got up and confronted the security officers. secondly, i foresee a future where cell phones will have their video cameras removed since the security of the state--crimes of the state--is not compromised.

interesting clip and intersting read. i just wonder why the previous editions of ACO had the chapter omitted?

Will:I saw the movie adaptation of ACO years ago (...

2006-11-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

Will:

I saw the movie adaptation of ACO years ago (actually, as a rather nihilistic college punk, I must have seen it 20 times!), but I never knew the details about Burgess' wife being beaten. Very sobering indeed. I will never forget the learing look of Malcom McDowell (Alex) at the close of the film, as he is fully restored to his right mind, and his taste for "the old ultra violence" as the voice-over says, " I was cured alright!"