what happened to the word savvy Marcus of Ar?
Nothing happened to him. He's still out there, watching, writing, participating, and having a wonderful and interesting life.
What he isn't doing as much these days is pulling out his hair in response to the latest batch of indignities heaped upon the word "Gorean" by the latest batch of misguided roleplayers. He long ago realized the folly of trying to forcefully educate people who don't want to be educated, or who really don't give a fig about the actual truth of the matter, anyway.
This is not a concession; it is a simple acknowledgement of fact. Things are still quite Gorean in my corner of the room, I assure you. Nothing has changed; Norman's books are still there for our enjoyment and enlightenment; they still contain valuable insight to the human condition; and there are still people interacting, online and off, in supposed "Gorean" guises, who are completely consumed by virtual swordfights and virtual slave sex. Just as there are people who interact, online and off, in "vampire" personae, or whatever.
Fine; let them. Provided no one is harmed, let them have their play. Not all Gorean-based roleplay is poorly done, or out of line. Some of it is educational, and is a very cool simulation of how the players would actually interact in a Gorean environment. But a whole lot of it just degrades into a cyber-sex version of "I touched you last," with silly adaptations and bizarre misinterpretations of the material from the Gor books completely fouling the experiment. I have never considered most of THAT to be any more than what it is: self-centered game play. I didn't have a lot of time in my life for that back in the mid-1990's, nor do I, these days. I know what I know, and live accordingly to the best of my ability. That's the message, and the one true path. All else is smoke and mirrors.
I also admit to being rather puzzled by accusations that the ideology I have extracted from Norman's Gor books can be equated with "Nazism" (as a few ridiculous folk out there in cyber la-la-land seem determined to assert). I can only assume that the comparison is made because 1) they can think of nothing worse to call me, and 2) they don't actually understand the eco-socialist, geno-racist and geo-nationalist dogma that underpinned actual Nazism.
The fault is probably mine; I may have been unclear or I might have chosen misleading terminology when explaining the Gorean mindset. What I have described, and what it is actually based on, is simple and straightforward "meritocracy"-- i.e, the best and brightest should be celebrated and held up as examples for being the best and brightest, and that one should not be too surprised when the best and brightest tend to wind up at the head of the pack. Some factors that contribute to this are genetic; some people are born with different traits. Taller people are usually better at basketball, because they have a shorter path to the hoop. That kind of common-sense stuff.
What I NEVER said or meant to imply (nor did Norman) was that any specific genetic group had the monopoly on success. I've read more than a few studies on genetic biochemistry; I know that any such claim would be completely ludicrous. Traits are traits. Some work better in certain situations than others. And race is largely a figment of the uneducated imagination; a package of mostly cosmetic traits based more on locational survival than anything else.
So, essentially all I ever had to say on the topic was the shocking revelation that "if one must do certain things, it is better to be better at doing those things."
To some, it would seem, even such an innocuous assertion as that must be rubber-stamped and labeled a product of some evil eugenic conspiracy.
In my opinion, there's just no excuse for that kind of dumb. But then-- the internet is full of odd folks with whacked agendas.
So... still here. Still Gorean. Still writing and thinking. Still not a Nazi.
Still not engaging in petty infighting; still ignoring the worst examples of bad Gorean roleplay.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I wish you well,
_Marcus_
