Re: PS to Pippen
Pierrot65@aol.com
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 22:31:57 -0500 (EST)
Jason --
Like Salinger's mom (if I remember correctly) and Mrs. "Fatso" Glass (if you
remember correctly), I am Irish Catholic, so I hope my comments on Jewishness
don't offend any fishes of that persuasion.
One of the things about the Glass stories that struck me as particulary "Jew-
centric," or whatever, was the Glass family's involvement with "It's a Wise
Child," which struck me as kind of a cross between the quiz shows of the 50's
and the older days of vaudeville before that. People who have...let's
generously call it a "f--ked-up" mind and are anti-semitic often talk about
the Jewish presence in Hollywood (much as Shakespeare spoke of the "shyster"
in "M of Ven"). But the truth behind this nasty stereotype is that there is a
large Jewish presence in the entertainment business, and the importance of
Jews to vaudeville is incalculable (as is the Jewish contribution to our
present TV entertainment, which began with Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody
Allen and Milton Berle.) So that aspect is there, anyway, the Glasses
comfortably inhabiting a spot in the entertainment world.
But more than that, the Glasses, like the Caulfields before/after them, seem
much more "WASP-y" to me than Jewish: if they are Jewish, they sublimate that
ethnicity to their station in life and society; Salinger stresses their place
in society, makes it their dominant characteristic (at least in this context,
in this discussion of bloodlines and such). That's just a couple of thoughts.
And let's stop jumping each other's shit over the NBA -- it's not worth it.
Can I get a witness from our friends in Europe? If we're going to rumble,
let's make it over something worthwhile: soccer. Am I bloody right, lads?
rick