Subject: Reaction to Recent Bartcopping from another Bart

Hello Bartcop,

What a source of strength you have been in the last month while I have been
here in Taipei, Taiwan with only the Whore Times on-line to provide news from the front.
I've laughed, I've cried, I've avoided studying Chinese to read many back issues.

Like you, I'm utterly disgusted with the Democrats. Its much worse when you expect something
out of people. And don't even get me started on the Naderites. I actually talked my way out of
getting laid with a cute Naderite, that's how pissed I was.

ha ha
You are a Democrat!

Also, I live in Florida, in Miami-Dade. But I used to live in Alachua County, a heavily black,
heavily Democratic county. And guess what, my name was bounced from the rolls. Why?
Who knows? At the time, I didn't get too mad, I just went out and worked like hell for Al Gore
--I had come back from Taiwan too late to re-register.

I also went to Al Gore's South Beach bash. It was just ok and it kind of summed up the whole campaign.
You had a big stage but not enough space for everybody who wanted to see "the next President of the
United States." So a lot of people ended up pissed off. You had a bunch of people on stage talking tough,
but Al Gore didn't say a word about George Bush--the only "contentious" thing was "I wanna fight for you."

Well, if he'd let Clinton fight for him, maybe he'd have a chance. I mean, imagine a more dramatic setting
--fires on the beach--midnight on an exciting night--even boring Al should have roused the crowd.
But if we had had Clinton there it would have insane. Forget 300 votes, we would have won by tens of
thousands. I'm only 23 but I studied American history, and Al Gore seems like Ed Muskie or the Hube to me.
Also, I think he must have been drugged to the gills on anti-depressants and stimulants to act the way that he has.

Anyway,
Its kind of hard being an American overseas now. For the first time, due to the Supreme Court, when I took
out my passport I didn't feel proud of being an American. And everybody overseas told me at the very start
of the post-election fiasco--"Kid, the fix is in," and I went on naively insisting that no, really, we're going to
do the right thing. If they had had a complete count and Gore had lost I could have dealt with it much better,
but this way feels all wrong, to put it mildly.

My last point regards your account of the boxing match. Ok, you know that Oriental means East and
Occidental means West, but these terms really don't make much sense from an American or an Asian
perspective just from a European perspective. SO, strictly speaking you are being "Eurocentric."

Second, I was hanging out with some American friends who are of Asian decent here in a bar and this
South African woman said to me "sotto voce" (not!) oh, you have "yellow fever." To which I responded,
well, we are all Americans, so its not like that. Needless to say, my friend heard what this ignorant person
said and was quite offended. I wish I had said something a bit more forceful in retrospect, but oh well.
Anyway, living over here really makes you understand what is like to look different--everyday I feel old
and fat, even though by non-Asian standards I'm not. You know that during the Vietnam war, Vietnamese
women had operations to make their eyes more "Western"? Its not really a big deal, but maybe you could
think of a different way to say that the guy's eyes were shut for him.

Bart, the truth is, he really, really did look like he was from Asia.
I have the tape, I could vid-cap it, but it wouldn't change anything.
I'm sure if I had some world travel experience I'd see things differently.
I imagine you can tell a Vietnamese from a Korean from a Japanese to a Chinese
with the slightest glance, but from dusty Oklahoma, they look similar.

With that said, I guess all I can say is thanks for livening things up and I'll try to find that Chinaco here.
(I kinda like Mezcal, myself.) Actually, Taiwan is the #1 per capita spot for XO cognac consumption.
Oh yeah, and the best rum in the world, and I've heard this from Jamaicans--is Havana Club 7 years.
Can't get it in the states, though, can ya?
Bummer.

Thanks again for your, uh, "Irreverent fun and lively denunciations of dunces."

Sincerely,
Bart Motes
 

I didn't know there was such a thing as luxury rum,
but as I prove every day, there's a lot I don't know.
Thanks for the note,

bc