Proportion

There's an amazing lack of sense of proportion among those who equate attacks on me and the ULA with those on the actions of someone like Rick Moody. Take away my blog and I'm absolutely powerless within this society. I work and live among the lower class. Rick Moody moves among the the wealthiest and most influential cultural cirlces in exclusive private clubs in New York City. His father is a powerful world banker, at the very peak of the world's socioeconomic pyramid, above the world's billions of people. Why do Rick Moody's mediocre novels receive massive publicity? How does he come to make grants decisions involving so many foundations?

We can do little about politics but we can clean up our own backyard of literature. This is what the ULA has been doing. The constant squawkings and insults we face are withdrawal symptoms of those addicted to status quo ideology. Embracing change is never easy. We welcome others to the fight-- even someone like Maud who's ostensibly progressive yet disturbed by what we're doing. They first need to see the literary world as it exists in reality; a mirror image of the rest of society.

This isn't a complaint. I'm merely stating the obvious. When making change, betrayals come with the territory.

All the personal attacks and slanders against me by ex-ULAers don't change the fact that the two individuals making the noise flinched from the fight I described. I'm a much easier target than those who dominate awards, media mags, and money! Attacking me takes no career risk and little bravery. Their panicked screams are rationalizations; cover for the fact that in the face of strong odds they ran away.