Re: <nettime> The World Public

[Are Flagan <areflagan@artpanorama.com>]

How and what to talk about in times of war when oil runs thicker than blood
and humanity is composed as a spreadsheet:

Once upon a time I found myself at the public address given by the Dalai
Lama after his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Price. Following the customary
introductions, he stepped up to the podium and simply stood there, quite
still, for what seemed like an eternity. Anyone (and I spoke to a few people
afterward) who has ever had the "pleasure" of being singled out before a
crowd was experiencing the same panic attacks due to the unexpected silence.
Then, just as we were about to burst into fits of filling this void, he
broke into a beaming smile that had everyone smiling back in blissful
relief. The talk that eventually followed was broken by English, so, as far
as I can recall, no treaties were signed, no ideological contracts were
negotiated, and no resume or recipe for peace was advocated. Only one word
was joyfully repeated to the extent that I can quote anything at all from
what was said: compassion.

-af

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