tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749059681475538860.post2357072670323080825..comments2023-06-01T12:02:03.935-04:00Comments on Poets.net: Guest Writer: Monday Love Weighs in on "Foetry Politics"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749059681475538860.post-54721259776489504152008-06-15T08:18:00.000-04:002008-06-15T08:18:00.000-04:00Corrections: “Get along” becomes “get along, litt...Corrections: <BR/><BR/>“Get along” becomes “get along, little doggie” for anyone who decides the cost of sociability, at the expense of the ability to challenge,<BR/><BR/>"The appeal and influence of a genius manifests through persuasion"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749059681475538860.post-6471568614709088752008-06-15T08:12:00.000-04:002008-06-15T08:12:00.000-04:00the toady exists for the coterie and never the oth...<I>the toady exists for the coterie and never the other way around.</I><BR/><BR/>The coterie is what makes the toady. Without the coterie the toady would be nobody, a circumstance that is an anathema to a toady. Not so for the genius: “I’m nobody! Who are you?” <BR/><BR/><I>The coterie teaches 'get-along' at all costs.</I><BR/><BR/>“Get along” becomes “get along, little doggie” for anyone who decides the cost of sociability at the expense of the ability to challenge, is too high. The big dogs in the coterie make sure of that. “Our way or the highway” becomes the enforced mantra, and anyone who doesn’t comply is treated like a wayward child or a whiny kid, as someone who needs to be scolded, (re)educated and punished, often by being given a permanent time out in the form of banning, which, in online poetry communities, is the equivalent of shunning. The behavior of the shunned member is usually cited as the reason for the banning, but often times the big dogs’ behavior is far more offensive in terms of duplicity, manipulation, petulance and “flaming”. It is often the banned members’ ideas, rather than their mode of delivery, that is really found to be troublesome, or perhaps it is the idea of nonconformity itself that is threatening. <BR/><BR/><I>The genius is capable of appealing to a very large public, much larger than a coterie-network; coteries are not naturally popular, and usually gain wider social appeal by attacking what the genius stands for. The coterie rarely appeals directly to the public; they do so insidiously and indirectly.</I><BR/><BR/>The appeal and influence of a genius is manifests through persuasion, on the level of ideas; the appeal and influence of a coterie manifests through coercion, on the level of power and control. If coterie members and the public are not exposed to unsanctioned, non-coterie ideas, they will be more easily appealed to and influenced. If that doesn’t work, the safety and success of questioning coterie members can be jeopardized, and they, too, can be threatened with banishment. When all else fails, the coterie wields the ax. Fear becomes the glue in coterie cohesion, and the coterie ceases to be “a healthy social entity.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749059681475538860.post-40798017199272217202008-06-13T14:55:00.000-04:002008-06-13T14:55:00.000-04:00Dear anonymous,That's brilliant!Would you like to ...Dear anonymous,<BR/><BR/>That's brilliant!<BR/><BR/>Would you like to form a coterie?<BR/><BR/>But seriously...<BR/><BR/>As you say, coteries further safety and self-interest. Coterie-networks increase the 'coterie power.' <BR/><BR/>The genius stands alone, grumpy and anti-social, unable to excuse the flaws and foibles which the coterie-members excuse in order to get along with one another. <BR/><BR/>The genius may live in a coterie briefly, but his membership is a different one from the mere toady. A coterie may spring up to defend the genius; the toady exists for the coterie and never the other way around.<BR/><BR/>The coterie is actually a healthy social entity--except when it exists for certain purposes beyond the universal 'get-along' spirit. <BR/><BR/>The coterie teaches 'get-along' at all costs. The spirit of 'get-along' works in a general social manner, but hinders analysis. The coterie applies the glue when the problem requires the knife.<BR/><BR/>The genius is capable of appealing to a very large public, much larger than a coterie-network; coteries are not naturally popular, and usually gain wider social appeal by attacking what the genius stands for. The coterie rarely appeals directly to the public; they do so insidiously and indirectly. Glue lacks clarity and the public requires clarity.<BR/><BR/>Monday LoveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5749059681475538860.post-71859278718559816652008-06-11T23:03:00.000-04:002008-06-11T23:03:00.000-04:00You wrote:“Group-think’ is really a misnomer, beca...You wrote:<BR/><BR/><I>“Group-think’ is really a misnomer, because ‘thinking’ isn’t really what occurs; it’s really a non-thinking gesture which prevails, an irritation with lively and original investigation; any ‘thinking outside the box’ is viewed with suspicion, since the insularity of 'group-think' is unconsciously rewarded and defended for the survival of what is essentially an entity which exists accidentally, not out of any necessity.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't think the coteries you describe do exist accidentally. I believe they are born of necessity: they allow coterie members to avoid, or at to least minimize, loneliness, doubt and a sense of failure. The comfortable, friendly environments coteries set up are controlled environments, domesticated environments, if you will. The main goal of the group (herd) is safety first. That’s what all the lusting after rules is about. People think: if I know the rules and follow them, I’ll be safe and successful. In this way, the process of intellectual debate is often replaced with a game of one-upmanship, where the goal is to win the argument, not further it, and to reinforce one’s sense of success and safety through a feeling of superiority. Bizarre and technical ways ensure a winning argument and, in addition, reinforce the façade of superiority. Who can argue against Byzantine ways? And, more importantly, who would want to? <BR/><BR/>The outsiders themselves can form what looks like a coterie to insiders or other outsiders, to all those outside their circle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com