NapLajoieonSteroids wrote:eh, is it changing anybody's mind in general?
From my p.o.v, people in my social vicinity have moved on from throwing Gandhi around- I don't hear him quoted in sanctimonious rants by leftist friends as much as he was hoisted on us as kids by our teachers and that particular adult generation; say the people who would've been teenagers at through the sixties and seventies and associated India with cool and genuine because of all the hip rock stars that picked up whacky faux-Indian philosophies.
I wonder if the development of nukes by India-Pakistan soured the bonhomie people used to have for Gandhi as a cypher/caricature of the wise, profound Indian. [As opposed to his wise Injun- who wasn't as profound but was earthy and wanted to take care of the planet one single tear shed at a time. There was also a whole generation who grew up watching their favorite, hip rock stars adopt whacky, faux-Indian philosophies to signal how deep they were- George Harrison's apparent seriousness about it all being the exception. Not a whole lot of chatter about gurus and babas.
...also a slight change in supporting third-world nationalist strongman types closer aligned to the USSR than the USA. At one point you could find serious, mainstream apologists for Idi Amin, Ho Chi Min, Pol Pot, Mao, Fidel Castro, and so on....even the Che Guevera t-shirts have declined in popularity as far as I can see. And who remembers Nelson Mendela? Who dat?
That's not to equivocate Gandhi or any of these men with each other but how much of it was red propaganda influence and sympathy? Indian socialism was pretty popular and was going to unleash hell on us imperialist, capitalist pigs.
No one was as popular to that crowd as a third world nationalist who spit in the eye of an imperial power and enacted politic change in an extra-parliamentary manner. The only one left, that is both beyond reproach in ordinary conversation and still commonly celebrated- would be Martin Luther King Jr.
Maybe noddy's experience is completely different, which would make sense considering the geography in play...I just haven't seen the same enthusiasm I remember as a boy- the type that made me sort of recoil and suspicious of the man to begin with.
Well said as usual. Your post brings back fond memories of youth, yogis, Transcendental Meditation, Taoism, Bruce Lee ("Be like water"), mini-skirts, and woodies. I am beginning to suspect you (and perhaps even some of your peers) may be above average.
Who (the giant, ever changing) "we" pick as heroes is always a refection of the current zeitgeist, and ever changing just like styles and fashions. Mini-skirts, tattoos, names of children, etc. Ever notice how many young boys are now named Noah? Indicator that the end is near?
With proper application of internet tech and social media, each person could become their own hero. Except that we are so fickle. We soon desire new distractions.