Theos-Talk Archives (July 1996 Message tl00009)

At 10:07 PM 6/30/96 -0400, you wrote:

>
>Hold down the ALT key and, at the same time press the numbers 130 on the
>number pad (not the top row) then let go of ALT.  It is unlikely to
>arrive at the other end of an e-mail though.

Michael made me a whole directory of those things, never seems to work
though. But I've been using the number row rather than the key pad. So I'll
give it a try. what's the difference actually?
>> 

>
>Who's bragging?  You seemed to imply that Brit theosophists were
>recruited from "middle" or "upper middle class" people.  I would not
>have mentioned the matter at all if you had not raised it in the first
>place.

I did not "imply" I said right out that in the early days of theosophy all
of the theosophists, and particularly those in the British section were
clearly from the "Upper-Middle" and "middle" classes. That is true is it
not? I did not say it was true today, though I suspect it is still largely
true. Perhaps in England a man with the number of higher degrees you possess
would still be marked by his birth class, but not in any rational country.
Also, I have never heard of even "irregular Bishops" being considered
members of the lower class.
>

>
>But it isn't.  This is an anachronism.  The "class war" notions have
>been dead for decades.

Alan: That's just not true. I introduced Michael Freestone to a friend of
mine from Manchester who is a PHD in quantum theory, and a College p
Professor, and the minute he heard that Michael had graduated from
Westminster he turned on him. Told me he hated the "Upper-classes". Now that
was only a couple of years ago. I don't think it's nearly as dead as you'd
like to pretend it is. What proves it most clearly to me is your
hypersensitivity to the entire subject.
>
>> Marx probably got his
>>notions because he lived in England (and of course, both Marx and Engles had
>>no contact with the lower classes other than to hand them their hats and
>>coats). Alan, when you have spent as much time "in the streets" and "on the
>>barricades" as I have, actively working for the betterment of the lower
>>classes and other disenfranchised folks, then, and only then, will you be
>>eligible to engage in subtle little digs. I still love you dearly, and
>>respect you greatly, but I think you really need to "get over it".
>
>And how do you know I have not done these things?  In my younger days I
>was very active in anarchist and socialist circles in London.  I believe
>my name is still on an MI5 list somewhere.  I am not making subtle
>little digs, just trying to adjust the record without making a fuss.
>Please do not talk down to me - I am not a Russian serf, and I love you
>dearly too.

You know how I know? Because in the last 60 years there has been no real "in
the streets" action in England. I am talking about the Civil Rights activity
in the south where one could easily get killed and where many did. The
English anarch o-socialists have no record to equal it.
I think I am one of the few people who is on both the FBI"s shit list and
the KGB's shitlist for totally different reasons. 

Why would you say "I am not a Russian Serf"? I've never even seen a "Russian
Serf", and I never will either Because they were freed by my Great
Grandmother's half brother, Alexander III. I was neither patronizing you or
"talking down to you". Nor would I. But you must begin to understand that
Americans tend to be hyper-sensitive to what they perceive as British
snobbery. Don't forget that snob stands for "sine nobilitas".
>Alan
>---------
>THEOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL:
>Ancient Wisdom for a New Age
>TI@nellie2.demon.co.uk
>http://www.garlic.com/~rdon/TI.html
>
Now, I've gotten it off my chest, and you've gotten it off yours. Let's go
back to being good friend shall we?

alexei