Oh, for heaven's sake... (grin)

Do you really think I'm that much of a masochist, Bobert? Man, I have a life to attend to here, know what I'm sayin'?

I do love history, always did. And Teribus is onto something there...I am fascinated by the heroism of lost causes. I think that most children grow up identifying with either the winners or the losers, depending on the circumstances of their youth. You can see that in people. Some just instinctively line up alongside the powerful and authoritative of their culture while others instinctively line up alongside those who oppose the powerful and authoritative.

If you can see it in me, Teribus, it's probably because I am the reflection of you.

You and I are tailormade to argue over stuff like that.

But to say that I "don't know jack about history!" Ooooo...that is getting nasty. The truth is, I know a lot about jack. For instance, I saw my uncle Jack off at the airport last week, and...

(okay, ignore that, I'm in a silly mood)

Okay, I do tend to like tragic losers. Let's see now. Who do I either like or am quite interested in who lost? And who won?

the Confederacy (But hey, they had style!)
the Indians (they had style and a whole lot more)
Emiliano Zapata (he won a lot, but in the end he lost)
Fidel Castro (He won! Bigtime.)
Ho Chi Minh and his people (they won!)
the Romans (I like their style, I like their uniforms, I don't like the way they thought they had a right to conquer everyone. They generally won.)
Hannibal (he won a lot, but in the end he lost)
Alexander (he won every battle he ever fought)
the Trojans (they lost)
the Germans (disagree totally with their fascist political crap, but I like their tanks and airplanes...)
the Japanese (disagree totally with their fascist crap also, but I find them interesting at the same time, and I like their ships and airplanes)
Gandhi (he won)
Jesus (you figure it out)
Buddha (needs no explanation)
Lao-Tse (as above)
Crazy Horse (never lost a battle, but was killed while a prisoner)
the British (totally disagree with their arrogant empire building, but I like their style, back when they were the redcoats. They almost always won.)
Lord Nelson (he won every time)
the Duke of Wellington (he won every time)
the Mounties, back in the old days (best police force in the world at the time)
Davy Crockett (he had style)

What it really is, Teribus...it's not necessarily that I identify with those who lost, it's that I have a very strong instinct to challenge conventional thinking. I'm a rebel against big established interests of my own time and knee-jerk majority thinking of my own time. It's that simple. If I'd been in England in the 1700's, I would probably have sympathized greatly with the revolutionary Republican forces in America and France. That's my nature. I go for the unconventional view of things.

When I am among a majority of people who take a certain prejudice for granted and don't actually think about it, I rattle their cages by challenging their position. You may have noticed that although I am generally on the Left politically, I have sometimes rattled the cages of the liberal cadres here when I thought they were getting too smug or just doing a knee-jerk reaction without giving it proper thought.

I will support even my most vigorous opponents when I agree with the specific content of what they say...and sometimes I do. Doesn't matter who it is. Sometimes they are going to make a good point.