Jim Goad / Answer Me! zine....any readers of his stuff?

[vi5]

Not sure if anyone is familiar with him or his writing and such. It's one of those love/hate prospects. In so many ways he's a really good writer and he does touch upon some salient points about the ugly truths and reality of our culture and modern america that we choose sometimes to avoid . But so much of his stuff is offensive (sometimes calculatingly so) and his opnions veer towards the gratuitously anti-"PC" that I could never really fully enjoy his work.

His views on so many subjects are totally counter to mine and border on the horrific. But still I can appreciate his stuff on the same level as a Bukowski, Thompson, Selby, etc. in that it's not pretty but it's ugliness is presented in such a way that it is at the very least compelling.

[Zuni]

1. I love Jim Goad and Answer Me!

I have read a bunch of his stuff and love it, and I love it because he is offensive and doesn't care.

I think his opinions are often ugly, but then again I don't find much offensive. Sometimes the truth is ugly.

[vi5]

2. Exactly....

..I don't offend easily either but I still have certain elements where I think I see things through rose colored glasses, having been raised in a pretty stable, economically secure environment. Reading stuff like his forces me to take off those glasses and look at some ugly aspects of humanity.

His views on economic class in america having as much influence or shape on culture as race or religion is some interesting stuff.

[Zuni]

4. "The Redneck Manifesto"

is absolutely brilliant---when he talks about poor backward white folk becoming society's convienant scapegoat, he makes a lot of sense.

[flamingyouth]

3. I used to, years ago

I can't remember the details, but I think I lost him around the time of his divorce. He stopped publishing for a while. This would have been the mid '90s or so.

[vi5]

7. Yeah, for better or worse, his ex wife Debbie softened his edges...

..well, nothing about either of them is or was soft around the edges. But she acted as almost a critics shield in some ways. Once he lost her some of his stuff took on a slightly less palatable edge.

[blackcatpgh]

5. yep, and he's still around

i've read his stuff since answer me! #2 came out.

he does seem to like to push people's buttons and make them squirm. as you said, sometimes "gratuitously anti-PC." he's been that way for years, and the whole prison/court battle thing he went through seems to have made him even more so. sometimes, though, he comes off with some really interesting stuff. have you seen his website (talk about gratuitously anti-PC)?

WARNING: not safe for work, or for ANYONE WHO ISN'T THICK SKINNED:
http://www.jimgoad.com/

[vi5]

6. Yeah, I still check in with his site somewhat regularly...

It makes for some interesting reading.

[Zuni]

10. his words are so wrong, but they captivate

for example, on the Indonesian Tsunami:

Apparently some tsunami just rolled over someplace halfway around the world where they make jasmine tea and a loaf of bread will buy you a village full of hookers for a month. Hundreds of thousands o' small religious people the color of figs have either drowned to death or are dying in a post-tidal-wave bacterial nightmare

[Zuni]

8. Funny as hell

He doesn't care. That is why I find stuff like the Onion and Whitehouse.org so funny---they can be so offensive and they do not give a fuck.

[blackcatpgh]

9. agree with your other post up there, Zuni

"redneck manifesto" was pretty goddamned good -- my personal favorite of all the stuff he's done.