From: Replicant00@aol.com
Date: Tue Oct 26 1999 - 12:30:42 MDT
In a message dated 10/25/1999 8:28:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
spike66@ibm.net writes:
<< I see no reason why one should not choose
one's own name to fit ones taste and personality traits.
>>
people are ignoring a crucial problem here... The discussion is avoiding the
central issue: whether letting go of cultural heritage is based on one of
the following.
1. "shame" - a dislike of one's own heritage and the trappings thereof
2. a desire to 'assimilate' into mainstream sulture ( in this case
Christian/Caucasion hegemony) and remove the stigma and prjudice against
one;s race ( in this case anti-semitism).
3. An insistance on blatant individualism, shunning cultural ties for the
simple reason that labels not define who we are, and should not.
4. other factors
I think Ayn rand was a blend of 2 and 3. The values she espoused were of
upper middle class and rich peoplel, who - during the time period she existed
- were 99% anti-semetic and would have shunned her. However, that in itself
was not the total motivation, which we can deduce by her extremist views on
indiviuality and egoist propaganda.
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