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Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

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Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#41

Post by alistoriv »

dash2 wrote: post #29

Look, no offence, but this is a terrible poem. It's verbose: > We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one. It doesn't make sense. (You can't be the successor of a country, you even more can't be the successor of the present instant happening right now.) It's content-free…

You're right. Reading this text without having heard it, it reads like a speech. The only thing that gives it the poetry sheen is the same tired slam poetry delivery that you can't escape now.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#42

Post by war1025 »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #36
war1025 wrote: post #8

Seems like a pretty thinly veiled swipe at Trump to be honest. Really looking forward to the next four years of "Isn't it great how we're all united in the common cause of hating half the country"

> Seems like a pretty thinly veiled swipe at Trump to be honest. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But if you don't think that guy (not even gonna use his name) deserves some serious criticism after the last 4 years and especially after the events of 1/6/2021... well, I'm just not sure here's any way to reach you.

Heart Emoji

The left spent four years focusing on the absolute worst aspects of a man, and refusing to give him credit for the several things he accomplished that were actually worthwhile.

That's a recipe for an unhealthy relationship, and it's also something you only get better at with practice.

I think they did more psychological harm to themselves over it than he ever could have.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#43

Post by dash2 »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #38
dash2 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mmm. Consider it possible that I'm right? Not everything that sounds good stands up in the cold harsh light of criticism. Or as a great poet once put it ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6hzkBihaew ): "Do you remember Rick Astley? He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly." Update: heh, my fastest-downvoted comment. Yup, I'm definitely right.

No, it's not that you're "right". It's that your techbro-ism is showing. Not a good look.

I'm not sure what techbro-ism means. I don't work in tech. Do you mean that as a man, I ought not to criticize a black woman's poetry? I don't accept that.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#44

Post by MikeTheGreat »

dash2 wrote: post #34
UncleOxidant wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was gonna try to refute you... but I can't even. It's poetry. Most of us loved it. Especially her delivery of it.

Mmm. Consider it possible that I'm right? Not everything that sounds good stands up in the cold harsh light of criticism. Or as a great poet once put it ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6hzkBihaew ): "Do you remember Rick Astley? He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly." Update: heh, my fastest-downvoted comment. Yup, I'm definitely right.

> I'm definitely right.

That's really not how that works, kinda like how pirates don't prevent global warming [1]

[1] https://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/hilarious-...

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#45

Post by TeaDrunk »

dash2 wrote: post #29

Look, no offence, but this is a terrible poem. It's verbose: > We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one. It doesn't make sense. (You can't be the successor of a country, you even more can't be the successor of the present instant happening right now.) It's content-free…

Paul Beatty's essay was actually about his inability to appreciate Maya Angelou, and subsequently his inability to appreciate Black literature the way it's been framed in the white educational system.

"My journey to black literary insobriety isn't so different from how I came to appreciate free jazz after growing up in a house that contained two records, the soundtrack to "Enter the Dragon" and "Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan." It turns out that I enjoy never fully understanding what's in front of me, and I masochistically relish being offended while thinking about why I feel offended and if I should feel offended. I also live in Manhattan's East Village."

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#46

Post by gwilikers »

war1025 wrote: post #19
ChrisClark wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One side wants to help people, the other to hurt. This is not a 'two sides' issue. Your country is half evil, fix it.

[flagged]

I don't agree that half the country is evil, but this is a very big leap to make.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#47

Post by khazhoux »

salut1234 wrote: post #35
twmiller wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Both sides" nonsense. Show me anything from the left that begins to approach believing that there's a secret cabal of baby-eating satan worshippers running a pedophile ring from the basement of a pizza joint.

Critical Race Theory.

The only place I've ever heard of CRT is from Trump and from Fox News. In the rest of America, we're trying to teach people to be sensitive to their unconscious racial biases, and to be aware of how race affects people's opportunities. This simple and rational thinking was seized upon by the far right as an example of hating whites.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#48

Post by krapp »

dash2 wrote: post #34
UncleOxidant wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was gonna try to refute you... but I can't even. It's poetry. Most of us loved it. Especially her delivery of it.

Mmm. Consider it possible that I'm right? Not everything that sounds good stands up in the cold harsh light of criticism. Or as a great poet once put it ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6hzkBihaew ): "Do you remember Rick Astley? He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly." Update: heh, my fastest-downvoted comment. Yup, I'm definitely right.

You can't be "right", much less "definitely right" about a subjective opinion on the quality of an artistic work.

That's just, like, your opinion dash2.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#49

Post by war1025 »

gwilikers wrote: post #46
war1025 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I don't agree that half the country is evil, but this is a very big leap to make.

Not so big as you might think.

History shows us that the line between "you are evil" and "the moral thing to do is to get rid of you" is vanishingly small.

Re: Amanda Gorman's “The Hill We Climb” (Full Text)

#50

Post by UncleOxidant »

war1025 wrote: post #42
UncleOxidant wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seems like a pretty thinly veiled swipe at Trump to be honest. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But if you don't think that guy (not even gonna use his name) deserves some serious criticism after the last 4 years and especially after the events of 1/6/2021... well, I'm just not sure here's any way to reach you.

Heart Emoji The left spent four years focusing on the absolute worst aspects of a man, and refusing to give him credit for the several things he accomplished that were actually worthwhile. That's a recipe for an unhealthy relationship, and it's also something you only get better at with practice. I think they did more psychological harm to themselves over it than he ever could have.

Someone sounds a little snow-flakey. What's wrong did someone possibly criticize your dear leader? Wouldn't want that now, would we?
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