Letters to the Editor
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Zen and Motorcycles...
"Take another new age philosophy book that is perhaps less controversial: Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance. Perhaps you've actually read that one? Are there any worthy concepts inthat book? Does it matter whether the story is literally true or not? Would it matter to teh quality of the book and its concpets if it was learned sometime after his death that Pirsig was a philandering jerk of some sort?
-- Samson141"
You assume that a Gen Xer like me would reduce myself to spending precious, valuable time out of my day reading about existential nonsense. But alas, that would not be the case.
But, if Pirsig was a philandering jerk that manipulated the minds of others, to the point where some of his followers might have committed suicide, then yes, I might just take exception to anything they had to say...hell, everything they say!
If you can't practice what you preach, then how can you possibly expect others to take you seriously?
Want proof of the corrosive effects that charlatans like Castaneda can create, with all of this Me-Me-Me philosophical bullshit? Read this one, from this very forum:
"As the only seeress in Manhattan, I am beholden to CC for all he has taught me through his books. A Catholic girl who dreamed of eagles, sorcerers and bears, the books were a hand reaching out to help me, I was not alone with my differing interpretation of the world.
-- luhren"
And people fault MY generation for being self-centered?