[Me] Two different (alleged) people on this newsgroup who claim to be
objectivists, have completely different opinions of me, and apparently
I scare them. These conclusions provide very interesting insight into
their own characters, and tells me a few things about them.
[Me] Charles Bell seems to be of the opinion I am a socialist
[Bell] The (alleged) Charles Bell
Charlie, I apologize. I probably should have rephrased that to say
that it was two alleged objectivists. I probably meant to originally
say that "two different (alleged) objectivists" then realized I should
say it different, then left "alleged" in with "people."
I believe in you. You're far too entertaining to be anything but a
person; no bot could possibly do as good a job as you do at being so
entertaining.
[Bell] may think either you are ignorant and stupid or you
deliberately and with dishonest intent refuse to define your belief
system even in the vaguest of ways.
I've been a very private person for many years. Besides, I'm a
trader; if I tell you everything I might not get you or others to
respond to my comments. So I can throw things out as necessary in
order to get them.
Besides, what can I say about myself? I'm not trying to get laid, so
giving out personal details about myself doesn't really give me
anything.
[Bell] You bring up identifying facts on yourself, possibly as a means
to an argument from authority, and yet fail to carry that evidence
over to another context.
I only identify things about myself when I think it's necessary or
relevant. I want my words to stand or fall on the basis of the
validity of my ideas.
[Bell] You say you are a programmer of 35 years and yet how does a
programmer come to know "in all [his] lifetime" U.S. Congressional
Continuing Resolutions, about which he also knows quite some detail,
has been thus and so? Why is this question not a question which should
be answered?
Because I'm more than just a programmer. My first job, probably at 8
years old, was when I ran a lemonade stand at 5c a glass (paper cup,
that is). I think I made over $5 profit after costs that day, which
is quite a bit of money back in 1969.
Not only that, I even sold one to one of my competitors, some girl who
ran a lemonade stand a few blocks away. I've been a miscellaneous
temporary help person, a file clerk, a telephone operator (did that
for four years), a computer programmer, a tax preparer, a web
designer, an artist, an auditor for a real estate office, a
bookkeeper.
My mother took me to a store to get a bicycle, even though I didn't
know how. We took that bicycle home by walking, roughly five miles.
me riding the bicycle as best I could. By the time we got home two or
three hours later I did know how to ride a bike. I first learned to
drive an automobile with automatic transmission, then learned 20 years
later how to drive a stick.
I got my high school diploma and went into junior college at 16.
About seven years ago I started having problems with one of my knees,
such that I was walking with a cane. It got worse, such that I was in
terrible pain but I got through it. Until the other knee failed and I
ended up in a wheelchair about 4 years ago.
I've written two whole books, one 400 pages and the other 700, and I
have three others partially written, about 70, 150 and 200 pages.
Plus I have ideas for other books to write. I've probably written
tens of thousands of articles on BBSs, Usenet and web sites.
I'm told I started reading at three.
I am a voracious reader, although I don't read as much as I used to.
I read on almost any subject; I try to learn a little about everything
so I can understand how the world works.
I first started studying law probably at 11 when I got interested in
copyright. I read public utility tariff schedules for fun. I have
read statutes, court decisions, bills, several constitutions (Did you
know in California it's constitutionally prohibited to engage in
Duelling?). I'm a notary public licensed in two states.
I learn things because I love to learn and because I never know where
good ideas come from.
[Me] Two self-claimed Objectivists have completely incompatible
opinions about my character. Despite the fact they know nothing about
me.
[Bell] FYI: fascists, socialists, anarchists, Marxists (a kind of
anarchist),
Marxists are no more anarchists than Fox News. They want complete
control of the powers of the State. An anarchist wants no state at
all.
[Bell] So as an Objectivist may identify in a particular instance you
as one of these from what you say, for you refuse to identify even in
the vaguest way your belief system, to create "the fact they know
nothing about [you]"], you are all of these.
Mr. Bell, you've made another error. You seem to be merging a
completely different set of different systems together and presuming
them to be identical.
We can start at the sort of system they had in Galt's gulch, a
voluntary collection of individuals with no government at all. You
could basically say that was anarchist or maybe even less. Then you
can pile on as much government as you can stomach until you get to
Musolini's fascism, Stalin's Communism, Mao's Communism, or North
Korea's whatever-they-have but whatever it is, it ain't very nice.
But if someone was comparing, say, Sweden and Libya, both of which
claim to be socialist countries, and consider them both the same is to
make a serious error. Two different countries can be called something
similar or the same thing yet be completely different.
The fact of the matter remains, that I asked you a question or two.
You asked me to respond. I said if you showed me yours, I'd show you
mine. I'm still waiting to hear your answer. Then I will tell you
mine. Because like the people in Galt's Gulch, I am a trader, Mr.
Bell. I want to be paid first.