About the New People

[JamesSavik]

The New People are the Suburbians that exist within the cozy, or not so cozy, confines of their subdivisions. Within the context of history, suburbs are a relatively new concept that has evolved within that last couple of hundred years. These "bedroom communities" have become the cradle of our culture.

Two great forces are at work within this paradyne: the relentless advance of technology and mankinds self imposed social stagnation.

Suburbs encourage and enforce conformity. They are not an easy place to be different. Just try painting your house purple and see how fast some jackass from the homeowners association shows up with a restraining order.

[JamesSavik]

The New People

Introduction

The Suburbians

Rats Racing

A Day in Surburbia

Suburbian Daddy

Suburbian Mommy

Killswitch

Subdivisions

[EleCivil]

That was great. I liked the poems when you posted them separately, but when you put them together, they just...clicked. The meter and rhymes were enough to keep my attention and even get my head nodding, but without ever getting too Doctor-Seussy for my tastes.

*Thumbs up*

[Codey]

James,

I agree with Elecivil. The poems are good as stand alones, but are much better as a grouping. It seems like they were meant to be together.

Codey

[JamesSavik]

Per angry PM:

Yes- Suburbian Daddy is an asshole.

I was afraid that somebody might see his attitudes and give up on the poem before the end.

If you really understand him, he's pathetic and weak. He's afraid. We scare him. He doesn't know how to handle us. He wants to click is heels and go back to Kansas where it's the fifties again and everybody looks like Leave it to Beaver. He's angry and he keeps it inside for the most part. He only let's his poison out in small doses and only for the people that he loves.

I'm sorry that it upset you. If you know me at all, you'll know that hurting anybody's feelings is so against my nature I have a hard time doing it even when it's in my best interests.

Please reread it and stay with it until you get to the last stanza. You'll understand.

I'm going to put a bigot alert on the poem.

[JamesSavik]

Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State's motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY.

A Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

===============================

You saw many references to Huxley's book. If you haven't read it, you don't have to buy it, just pull it up online.

Alpha+ from "Introduction" refurs to the "top of the line" human. There are many references to this work both direct and indirect.

Huxley's vision of a genetically engineered utopia is a nightmare. Community, Idenitity, Stability means in pratical terms Conformity, Alienation, Stagnation.

Alphas as thinkers, Betas as middle managers, Gammas as factory workers and Deltas to take out the trash: high tech feudalism with designer people. People reduced to mere bits, parts of the machine, disposable and replacable as easily as you might change out a bad alternator or a leaky dishwasher.

That's DEHUMANIZATION and it's exactly where we're headed at the speed of technology unless we can find the moral courage to see it and change course as a society. Society is already well on this course.

Vision has never been the stength of nations. That is the province of its people and thinkers and we've got work to do. The work of rediscovering our humanity and reclaiming humanism as and ideal.

[aj]

Your vision of suburbia is spot on...and the sad thing is, it's equally true in the gay ghetto. Here on the Hill, in 'mo town, I totally see all the same things that you're talking about in these poems--life lived in the pursuit of distraction, living with Tina, easy sex and the endless pursuit of "the perfect man" who will come and take away our pain.

cheers,

aj

[blue]

No soma for me, thanks.

I'm sure she's as pneumatic a girl as they can be, but this Alpha would like to find someone of similar chromosomal structure... you know, XY.

[Guest rusticmonk86]

ROTFLMAO

Hahahaha!! XY