It's almost that time of year again

[sabotabby]

While good Christian nations slide deeper into barbarism, the self-appointed guardians of everyone else's morality have their priorities straight: Holding back the tide of rampant Jews, Muslims, and atheists who want to herd Christians into camps and feed them to lions and such. In fact, the persecution of innocent Christians is the one thing that both Jews and Muslims agree is a really swell idea.

You might think that there are really deep historical reasons for this, but it's actually quite simple. We hate having to hear bloody Christmas carols everywhere we go.

Anyway, this is worth reading. (Hat tip to rackletang) Because, face it, it's been a depressing morning so far, and we all could use a smile. Fuck Christmas.

Comments

[smhwpf.livejournal.com]

Pullman totally gets it wrong about The Last Battle. Susan is not excluded from Narnia for sexuality, but for shallowness. The line says not that she is no longer a friend of Narnia because she is interested in lipstick and nylons and invitations, but because she is interested in nothing but lipstick and nylons and invitations. It is something which Lewis harps on a lot, what he calls "first and second things". That the "second things" may well be perfectly good things, but if you put them first, you end up truly enjoying neither the first nor the second things.

See Lipstick on my scholar for more details.

[sabotabby]

I think he's cutting Lewis too much slack (although he does point out, rightly, that Susan is not condemned to Hell). Lewis' intention may be "shallowness," but it comes off as "sexuality" for a few reasons:

1. "The silliest time of one's life" refers to an age at which one typically becomes, if not sexually active, at least sexually aware -- she's in her late teens or early twenties.

2. The indicators of this shallowness are also indicators of sexuality -- she's not interested in diamond earrings or purses or furs, all of which could be markers of trivial decadence in a more general sense -- but things that relate to interest in the opposite sex, specifically items that relate to female sexuality.

3. The argument that other female characters are allowed to grow up and be sexual is true, to a point. They're only, however, allowed this within the context of chaste courtship and marriage. My memory is a little hazy, but of all the human protagonists, only Aravis ever sees any action, and she's an infidel. Polly is a spinster, and Lucy and Jill get cheated out of sexual maturity. And during Susan's first adulthood, the one guy who actively pursues her gets turned into a donkey.

Of course, as many others have pointed out, if her flaw was being too shallow, she'll probably be cured of it after having her entire family die.