"One of the great hatchet jobs of modern American letters, Sontag’s 16-page Letter from Sweden, published in the July 1969 issue of Ramparts magazine, spared few sections of Swedish society. Swedes were obsessively obedient of petty rules: “Old ladies glare at you when you cross an empty street against the light”. But when things go wrong “hardly anyone gets fired”: Sontag saw Swedes as so pathologically frightened of conflict that they turn a blind eye to incompetence and failure. Southern European immigrants told Sontag they found Swedes “unbearably cold, stiff and priggish”, and Sontag agreed.
Superficially, Sontag considered Sweden to be much like the US or West Germany – “six-lane highways, suburban shopping centres… refined and partly detoxified by the condition of advanced ‘welfare state enlightenment’”. But on closer examination she found Sweden full of meanness and pedantry. Swedes split restaurant and taxi bills to the last cent, were notoriously shifty about planning social engagements, and – worst of all – continually smoked Sontag’s cigarettes without returning the favour."
If anything, these habitws seem to have gotten worse, not better, since this country's open embrace of high-level low-skill immigration, feminism and "socialism". It's been 55 years, but I still see those pathologies every day, here, lol...
It's painfully accurate. No wonder people here get so prickly about that letter she wrote, lol.
But on closer examination she found Sweden full of meanness and pedantry. Swedes split restaurant and taxi bills to the last cent, were notoriously shifty about planning social engagements, and – worst of all – continually smoked Sontag’s cigarettes without returning the favour."
And there it is:
Early life and education
Sontag was born Susan Rosenblatt in New York City, the daughter of Mildred (née Jacobson) and Jack Rosenblatt, both Jews of Lithuanian[4] and Polish descent.
You can pretty much ignore anything either Orwell or Sontag wrote. Orwell fought for the communists, and Sontag is a Jew. Their opinions are invalid.
Sontag was also a childless lesbian (sort of. She swung both ways). I disagree with her (and Orwell) on many things. That absolutely does not mean discounting them on things when they are generally right.
Both her and Orwell's observations were extremely on point. Just because they don't align with your personal prejudices against certain groups doesn't invalidate their opinions here.
Orwell certainly grew disillusioned with the socialist movement. 1984, which was written while he was afflicted with (eventually terminal) illness certainly shows that.
1984 is very much a critique of authoritarian government and the human condition. It might as well be aimed directly at the Socialist governments of Europe.
My favourite bit, I think:
"One of the great hatchet jobs of modern American letters, Sontag’s 16-page Letter from Sweden, published in the July 1969 issue of Ramparts magazine, spared few sections of Swedish society. Swedes were obsessively obedient of petty rules: “Old ladies glare at you when you cross an empty street against the light”. But when things go wrong “hardly anyone gets fired”: Sontag saw Swedes as so pathologically frightened of conflict that they turn a blind eye to incompetence and failure. Southern European immigrants told Sontag they found Swedes “unbearably cold, stiff and priggish”, and Sontag agreed.
Superficially, Sontag considered Sweden to be much like the US or West Germany – “six-lane highways, suburban shopping centres… refined and partly detoxified by the condition of advanced ‘welfare state enlightenment’”. But on closer examination she found Sweden full of meanness and pedantry. Swedes split restaurant and taxi bills to the last cent, were notoriously shifty about planning social engagements, and – worst of all – continually smoked Sontag’s cigarettes without returning the favour."
If anything, these habitws seem to have gotten worse, not better, since this country's open embrace of high-level low-skill immigration, feminism and "socialism". It's been 55 years, but I still see those pathologies every day, here, lol...
It's painfully accurate. No wonder people here get so prickly about that letter she wrote, lol.
This line set off alarm bells:
And there it is:
You can pretty much ignore anything either Orwell or Sontag wrote. Orwell fought for the communists, and Sontag is a Jew. Their opinions are invalid.
Hard disagree.
Sontag was also a childless lesbian (sort of. She swung both ways). I disagree with her (and Orwell) on many things. That absolutely does not mean discounting them on things when they are generally right.
Both her and Orwell's observations were extremely on point. Just because they don't align with your personal prejudices against certain groups doesn't invalidate their opinions here.
Orwell certainly grew disillusioned with the socialist movement. 1984, which was written while he was afflicted with (eventually terminal) illness certainly shows that.
1984 is very much a critique of authoritarian government and the human condition. It might as well be aimed directly at the Socialist governments of Europe.