Someone stateside writes to suggest that my insinuation, this morning, that lessons learned from the U.S. military's adventure in Iraq are also applicable to running a used bookstore is evidence of my classism, conservatism, "false consciousness," and numerous other, even more poorly argued charges.

Maybe. But consider the following.

Pulpfiction buying counter, 4pm:

DIRTY SCABROUS CRACKHEAD #1: [eating a McFlurry; lines delivered around a mouthful of ice cream and caramel sauce] I got a great record here...a guy said I should bring it in. [Proffers completely trashed Beatles LP in a dirty, mould-ridden sleeve].

CJB: Thanks, but I'm not buying any records right now.

DIRTY SCABROUS CRACKHEAD #2: [also eating a McFlurry] The guy said he should bring it in!

DSC#1: Twenty bucks, man. That's all I'm asking.

CJB: Thanks, but no. I'm not buying any records at the moment.

DSC#2: You just can't wait to get us out of here, can you?

CJB: Yeah, pretty much.

DSC#2: You're a fucking goof, man! A fuckin' goof!

DSC#1: [to #2] C'mon...

DSC#2: Fuckin' kick his ass...fuck him up... [Exits store; throws McFlurry against the window]

Thomas Ricks, Fiasco:

"Major Wilson, the historian and 101st planner, later concluded that much of the firing on U.S. troops in the summer and fall of 2003 consisted of honor shots, intended not so much to kill Americans as to restore Iraqi honor. 'Honor and pride lie at the center of tribal society,' he wrote. In a society where honor equals power, and power equals survival, the restoration of damaged honor can be a matter of urgency. But that didn't mean that Iraqis insulted by American troops necessarily felt they had to respond lethally, Wilson reflected. 'Honor that is lost or taken must be returned by the offender, through ritualistic truce sessions, else it will be taken back through force of arms.' In Iraq this sometimes was expressed in ways similar to the American Indian practice of counting coup, in which damaging the enemy wasn't as important as demonstrating that one could. So, Wilson observed, an Iraqi would take a wild shot with a rocket-propelled grenade, or fire randomly into the air as a U.S. patrol passed. 'Often the act of taking a stand against the "subject of dishonor" is enough to restore the honor to the family or tribe,' whether or not the attack actually injured someone, he wrote."

Thus, cjb, enlightened, makes no further response, and DSC #1 and #2 exit the premises. No name-calling, no fistfight, no 911 call, no broken window. Peace reigns. Thanks, Thomas Ricks!
- posted by cjb @ 8:32 PM