For the many CN readers who do not understand satire: I have decided to, instead of replying to you one by one, just have a file with the standard response.

The standard response is for the constant e-mail I'm getting, all saying basically "Ah-hah! In CN 8.28 Orlin Grabbe has admitted to lying!"

Someday you may find yourself taking a course, like for example "English 101", where you will encounter something called "satire". I myself did not encounter satire until English 102.

Until you do get introduced to satire, here is Leonard F. Dean's introduction to Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, "A Modest Proposal," as printed in The College Omnibus, 7th Edition. (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1933), edited by Leonard F. Dean:

"The range of the essay is extended by the use of techniques that are frequently associated with fiction. The style and structure of Swift's 'A Modest Proposal,' for example, are more subtle, or indirect, than those commonly encountered in most modern articles on social injustice. Instead of arguing against his readers, Swift becomes one of them, assumes their own manner of sensible benevolence, and then goes on to expose their inhumanity by carrying to its conclusion the selfish materialism that is their unacknowledged god."

-- Leonard F. Dean

Or, to help you better grasp this, here is the above comment on Swift, updated to reflect Grabbe's "An Apology and Good-Bye":

"The range of the essay is extended by the use of techniques that are frequently associated with fiction. The style and structure of Grabbe's 'An Apology and Good-Bye,' for example, are more subtle, or indirect, than those commonly encountered in most essays probing government corruption. Instead of arguing against his readers, Grabbe becomes one of them, assumes their own manner of knee-jerk denial, and then, by becoming one of them, he goes on to expose their closemindedness by carrying to its conclusion their own illogic."

-- Brian Redman

Both I and many CN readers have had no trouble understanding Grabbe's use of satire; we have grasped the subtleties of his essay. But judging by the response I've been getting, many readers have taken Grabbe's "An Apology and Good-Bye" too literally. If you don't understand satire, sign up for "English 101." I am not an English teacher and cannot be expected to tutor you in various techniques of writing.

Brian Redman | bigred@shout.net | ftp ftp.shout.net pub/users/bigred Editor-in-Chief | ---------------Phone: 217-356-4418---------------- Conspiracy Nation | "The perfect slave thinks he's free."