21 July 2010

Day 116: Hope Anne Nathan (guest blogger)

Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weathermen by Mark Rudd.  ISBN: 9780061472756.

Oh, Mark Rudd. What am I going to do with you?

I've been reading his most recent memoir, Underground: My Life With SDS and The Weathermen. And reading it, I've been very annoyed with Mark Rudd. Mainly I've been annoyed by his lack of responsibility for his own actions, like, ever. The book is story after story about how he was just naïve; young, impressionable, and swept away by more charismatic leaders (who were really the ones who believed in violence; Mark Rudd was just confused).

And did anyone else follow the above link to the book and notice that he got the name of his own book wrong?

But today I found the sentence that just so summed up why this dude annoys me.

He was writing about a chance sexual encounter -- a one night stand (well, one afternoon stand) with a married woman, a liberal who was offering assistance to the Underground. And in describing how he felt in that moment, Underground radical bedding this more mainstream artist woman, Mark Rudd writes:

"My penis was a magic wand of liberation."

Oh was it now?

Yes, I know he was talking about how he felt as a young twentysomething radical, full of all the ego and bravado that comes with the package (so to speak). But seriously: there are some thoughts that should remain private (again, ahem). Your every inner monologue does not need to be shared with the entire planet.

Dude is a teacher now. How the fuck (cough, cough) could any student ever take him seriously after reading that?

Repeat it with me:

"My penis was a magic wand of liberation."


Hope Anne Nathan is currently unemployed and living in New York City. She received her BA in Communications from Antioch College in 1992, and has used her degree to work in a food co-op, a video rental store, and a haunted house. When not job hunting, you can find her blogging at http://hopita.livejournal.com.


*This post was taken as is from Hope's livejournal (with permission).
**If you'd like to read more about penises from guest bloggers, well, take a look at what Dayna Ingram has to say.

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