creativity/machine

Anne kindly forwarded me this piece posted by Pam Sykes to nettime:

Much of what Andrea Dworkin had to say made me profoundly uncomfortable. For that, and for her courage in continuing to say it, she has my gratitude and my respect. She also had a deep understanding of and respect for the power of words — still and always our primary medium of intellectual exchange, most especially in this space. The currency of words is so profoundly debased in political life & in much of the media that it’s especially important to rememember that:

“…words matter. Words can be used to educate, to clarify, to inform, to illuminate. Words can also be used to intimidate, to threaten, to insult, to coerce, to incite hatred, to encourage ignorance. Words can make us better or worse people, more compassionate or more prejudiced, more generous or more cruel. Words matter because words significantly determine what we know and what we do. Words change us or keep us the same. Women, deprived of words, are deprived of life. Women, deprived of a forum for words, are deprived of the power necessary to ensure both survival and well-being.”

–
“The Power of Words, 1978″

Good to see something useful coming off a mailing list…thanks Anne.