Hilton Als writes this in a recent New Yorker magazine:
Among the many terrible realities to which David Mamet exposes us in his exceptional, calculated work, one theme stands out: suckers will never get a break in this wretched world. In the sixty-year-old playwright’s fictional universe, the humane are too soft and dim-witted to survive; their tormentors chew them up with dry relish. Mamet treats the stage as a kind of bloody forum; the gladiators one finds there are skinny con artists, callow film producers, real-estate agents in cheap suits, and ghastly lovers who spar, using the author’s hyper-stylized language as both spear and shield. Even to refer to some of Mamet’s characters as “lovers” feels wrong—like calling a thief a victim. Mamet’s protagonists do not love; they size each other up and assess what they can extract from each other—and the answer is usually money. If they show any physical tenderness at all, it’s brief; they kiss, then withdraw, constantly reminding themselves of the primary rule of survival: Get or be gotten.
Does this not capture the psychopathic world?
Glengarry Glen Ross, for example is a brilliant, excruciating example which has been made into a movie. Business people speak of making ‘a killing’ – Mamet shows the truth behind this choice of words.
BloggerT7165: Are you kidding me. They just had a special about the efficiency car they are making in Sun Valley, CA.
Oh, so because it’s not the big muckity mucks … in co-hoots with the insurance companies … I can’t stop shaking my head. OK Blogger … give them the money and we can sit back and watch them piss it up a rope.
Everything they’ve shown us … the urgency routine (quick, quick, hurry, hurry … the look how many people are loosing their jobs …yeah, how many CEOs got laid off?) the arrogance, the no concrete plans … tells us they have BIG EGOS … NO SUBSTANCE .. and they are ALL TALK … no ACTION.
SHOW ME THE LIST OF THE UPPER MANAGERS AND CEOS THAT GOT LAID OFF WITH THE BLUE COLLAR WORKERS … SHOW ME!
Indi: R U still in the house?
Again Wini I am not talking about the CEO’s and select few. But you also did not answer my question as to where all the workers could go work? I am all for placing severe restrictions on the money used and make sure it is payed back but I am not about to punish all the low level workers connected to the auto industry because of the incompetence of the few at the top, not to mention punish everyone else in the country when it sinks us into a depression that we are already close to.
And Indie I play devils advocate because intelligent discussion comes from the give and take of two points being discussed and the truth is what we all should be after. When it comes to this issue there are no easy answers. If we simply hand them money it will probably be a disaster. If we let them go under it will be a disaster.
You Know BloggerT … this urgency routine, I’ve heard before … what those Big Ego CEOs are doing is the same routine my EX did to me … hurry, hurry, quick, can’t wait … have to have that money to pay my EX for back child support. So like an IDIOT, yes, IDIOT … bleeding heart idiot … I wired him the money … thinking his EX wife and youngest child wouldn’t go without.
Do you know what I found in paperwork years later … TRUTH versus all his lip service lies he told me for 8 years, 8 years.
I don’t want to go in detail what he did with the money … but it didn’t go for what he pretended in urgency that he needed it for … it went to him, him, him and his other, yes, other fiance.
And I’m out $250,00.00 dollars of what I worked and saved for … for 30 years of working.
So, go give those PSYCHOS the bailout money … and we can all sing the blues TOGETHER … in harmony.
All right. If I’m wrong in my assessment of this urgency bailout … then I didn’t live it in my own life!
Peace … I’m doing my breathing now … this is so beyond unbelievable … it’s so laughable and these guys can’t wait to spend, spend, spend that money on themselves. Efficiency vehicles my foot. They’ve been holding the American Public hostage for years … and no one sees it.
BloggerT: Bring Sun Valley creative folks back into the plants to make their efficiency vehicles on the production lines they have in place. Boot those Big Egos to the curb … let’s call it a day.
Those guys that are making efficiency vehicles in California … jumped ship from those Big Egos years ago and started their own plants. They worked for the Big Egos and saw the writing on the wall.
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist on that question … it was easy.
Actually Wini all the CEO’s have agreed already to salaries of $1 dollar a year and Ford Motor said they can make do for a few months on their own before needing help. The urgency is real because if they shut down plants and lay off folks it ripples into all the people the work in other plants providing services to them.
And Wini I am sorry it happened to you but it does not follow that every exerience will be the same as yours, done for the same reason as yours, or even involve similar intent as yours was.
Again it is not giving them the money freely, it is giving them the money with restrictions on it. And they may have held us hostage by we also held ourselves hostage by continually buying gas guzzling vehicles and making them popular sales even.
Yes Sun Valley did a good job. And how many Americans are buying there cars? It is not just the cars that need to change but the entire infrastructure that needs changing. How many electric plug ins are at your work or house for electric vehicles? How many natural gas pumps? How many biofuel stations? How many mechanics and garages are set up and trained for these vehicles? How many plants are running to supply the parts? It sounds easy to say just change. I agree with you that we need to change all of it and should do so quickly and that should be part of the bail out package. But it is not that simple.
BloggerT: Again, give me some room to breath … aka A BREAK!
A dollar a year salary … means, I offer my service for a buck … in the meantime the ink isn’t even dried on the document … oh, by the way, I’m retiring …see ya … give me my multi dollar retirement package. DITTO, DITTO, DITTO …all the way down the line.
Yeah, right … it feels like the same con pulled on me … all the chaos going on in the background in my life … then the sky is falling, the sky is falling routine …
Hey, I live in a state with nothing but BIG EGOs … knowing that they only care about what benny packages they can put together, meanwhile, they are loosing million/year … people are laid off left and right and these Big EGOs are still padding their retirement packages … that’s all they cared about … and the people who were left towards the last lay off … had to say yes sir, with smiles on their faces … as 100s of their employees that worked with them were let go … until the very end. The company folded and all these CEOS retired in style.
I don’t know what I’m talking about … go see how many insurance companies paid those people for ANYTHING down in New Orleans. I don’t know what I’m talking about. This is highway robbery and everyone knows it. Now we have a chance to turn our country around … changes in Washington … well change it.
P L E A S E.
Hey BloggerT: I said the hell with putting the money into efficiency cars … put the money into MASS TRANSPORTATION … and let’s call it a day.
You’re the one that wanted to talk about the poor poor poor CEOs in this country.
Give me a break, will ya.
You want the TRUTH BloggerT: What part of these people are big time con artists do you or the American Public not understand?
From the Banking … to the Car manufacturers … to the Insurance companies … to … do you want me to list more … that it is for them, them, them and nothing for us, us, us.
Who was it that said … ONLY THE LITTLE PEOPLE PAY TAXES!
Peace.