Among his many assists along the way of getting this blog of mine off the ground, Kevin from Bull City Rising directed my attention to an entry on Blazer Manpurse's unfortunately defunct Bullsh@t (http://bullshat.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/if-you-build-it-they-will-come/) that is similar in concept to my first post, and from which the above image is borrowed. I hadn't read the piece (and was in fact completely ignorant of Manpurse's blog) before writing my own. At this point, I'm wont to chalk it up as further evidence that great minds think alike.
Upon first reading this phantom prefiguration, most likely due to being gripped by a not entirely conscious fit of creative competitiveness, I found that it rubbed me the wrong way. At the time I decided to let it go. But a few days ago, after starting the day off by drinking a big glass of Haterade, I felt compelled to issue a brash response. Nevertheless, I decided to wait a few days to let my jets cool before writing anything I would regret.
The upshot was that upon rereading Manpurse's post, I found it much less offensive than I did initially. He and I most certainly have quite different, if at times compatible, senses of humor. As a staunch pluralist, I'm committed to the recognition and cultivation of such tempermental variety. And, upon noticing that he appended the acronym BFA to his digital signature, I felt more willing to consider the possibility that he includes himself within the category of "creative class" that he so viciously satirizes rather than positing a Manichean in-group/out-group divide. Such gestures of self-referentiality are exactly what differentiates simple-minded fratboy joshing from the complex art form of parody.
There are still a couple of things that stick in my maw, most superficially the spurious suggestion that Porche ownership is correlated with shopping at Trader Joe's. More importantly, however, at times Manpurse seems to be mocking not only certain questionable details of the Trinity Loft's marketing materials, but the very concept itself. In general, his swipes at redevelopment seem to suggest the impossibility that it could be done self-critically, which to me is as dangerous as pursuing it uncritically insofar at it likewise rules out the potential of positive growth.
But, all this aside, upon second reading I discovered that what bugged me was not so much Manpurse's piece itself but rather a response posted by one "Dead Bastard," which seems to embrace the divisive and nihilistic tendencies that Manpurse merely flirts with. As a dyed-in-the-wool postliberal progressive, it seems utterly backward to me to define "progress," as Dead Bastard does, as "getting dumb yuppies to spend idgit money on squat."
For the time being I'll let the infantile name calling go. What warrants comment is a certain view, which we have come across in different quarters as well: namely, that a smaller, well designed, and genuinely aesthetically pleasing dwelling could be of equal value to a cookie-cutter McMansion on an acre of water-guzzling grass. Even beyond issues of taste, there is the very practical matter that occupying a larger home than you actually need has environmentally disasterous consequences. Besides, I for one cringe at the idea of yard work, so a smaller plot is a plus rather than a minus.
There are further points of rebuttal I could issue, but for now I'll merely summarize my argument in terms Dead Bastard, whoever he may be, may be more likely to understand. Say what you want, my friend, but ten years from now we'll be able to sell our loft to dumber yuppies than us for considerably more than we paid for it. Now you can either see that as progress, as a sign of the increased viability of a Durham resurgence, or you can view it as today's sign that the apocalypse in imminent. It's no secret that I would back the former option.
I'd love to write more, but if you'll excuse me I have to go refill Dead Bastard's mom's water bowl.
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