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December 03, 2005
No time to make the Oswald-Jesus connection today . . .
Michael Demmons (via Glenn Reynolds) reviews a new film called The God Who Wasn't There -- which purports to prove that the historical Jesus never existed: .... 45 minutes into it and they’re already showing picture of Abu Ghraib. This is nothing more than a propaganda film.Michael does note, however, that if you hate Bush, "this film is for you." I don't like to see hidden agendas in films, nor do I like having my time wasted with attempts to prove what can't be proven, so I think I'll skip it. But the film does sound at least as good as this book -- recently reviewed in the Philadelphia Inquirer (a review I could only find online in Duluth): PHILADELPHIA - There are some subjects - and the web of conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy is certainly among them - that most members of the academic establishment avoid as much as possible.Noting that these books come out every November 22 (the anniversary of the assassination) the WaPo is far less impressed with the Mellen book, which appears to be little more than another recitation of Oliver Stone's theories. (Another writer quite credibly accuses Mellen of relying on documents that simply don't exist.) To believe Mellen, I think you'd have to believe that CIA Deputy Director Richard Helms authorized the JFK killing, which makes little sense to me. Oliver Stone's attempt to entangle Helms with acquitted New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw is debunked here, but these stories just go on and on, and I tire of them. Clay Shaw and David Ferrie were both said to have been gay, and in those days they'd have been closety as hell -- which means they'd have understandably not wanted anyone to know about it if they'd ever had sexual relations with Lee Harvey Oswald of all people. In the small, secretive gay world in early 60s New Orleans, it's certainly possible that there were contacts between these people, and if there were, they could very likely have been of a furtive homosexual nature. That's the sort of thing which can look highly suspicious, but closeted homosexual contacts -- even with Oswald -- do not add up to an assassination conspiracy. District Attorney Garrison, however, seems to have been positively obsessed with the gay angle nearly to the point of paranoia, and I agree that it rendered his investigation all but laughable. But instead, as author Dave Reitzes says, new leftist conspiracists cleaned things up: With time the "homosexual thrill killing" theme got sanitized out of the Garrison story. Left-leaning conspiracy buffs who swarmed all over the Garrison probe got his ear and pushed him in a more political direction.You can connect anyone to anyone if you try hard enough. (And if Oswald ran around and had sex with these guys, that proves nothing.) But conspiracy folks have tried to prove that Hitler and the Nazis were all another sinister gay plot. (As well as another looney and unprovable notion -- that Jesus was gay.) Life's too short to spend trying to prove the unprovable, much less enduring the attempts of others to do the same. I think I'll skip the film and the book. (My theory remains that Oswald never existed, of course....) AFTERTHOUGHT: Today seems to be the day for conspiracies. Hmmm... Maybe I should make Saturdays Official Paranoid Conspiracy Theory Day at Classical Values.... UPDATE (12/15/05): In what is a very interesting coincidence, blogger Jason Coleman has emailed with additional information about Shaw and Ferrie. Apparently, they were not as "closeted" as I made it appear: I was just catching up on your blog, and I noticed the JFK post.I appreciate the correction, although I'd note that gay men today who'd feel the need for female "escorts" would generally be considered "closeted." (Regarding any relationship either man may have had with Oswald, though, I suspect that they'd have wanted to cover it up even absent any connection to an assassination conspiracy.) posted by Eric on 12.03.05 at 03:10 PM
Comments
Thanks for encouraging me! And thanks for the book tip. Eric Scheie · December 3, 2005 09:40 PM |
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Please, please make saturdays conspiracy theory day.
Here's something to help:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806525312/qid=1133651832/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-2393789-5676609?n=507846&s=books&v=glance
Having just bought this for my father (A Cia Splinter Cell Killed Kennedy (and did I mention he had tenure?)), I can recommend it based on a scan of 10-20 pages.