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Date Posted: 14:51:06 05/26/02 Sun
Author: Wakener
Subject: Re: Scott's difficult to stuff into a neat box
In reply to: Hobsonphile 's message, "Scott's difficult to stuff into a neat box" on 23:24:23 05/23/02 Thu

I LIKE
>Steven- but I don't agree with some of his actions as
>principal. In reality, I think he's disturbingly
>inconsistent in asserting his authority- the charges
>Scott leveled at him are based in truth, IMHO.

Which is on my top ten list of Steven Harper criticisms (asking a teacher to falsify a grade is number one).

I love
>Scott- but I do think he can be too quick to judge, to
>competitive, and too abrasive.

Well...except when he's letting arrogant little pissant >BLEEP!
>>>Of course, these days, the entire concept of
>authority orientation has gone the way of the
>tyrannosaurus and the dodo--especially where kids are
>concerned.<<
>
>I definitely agree with you here. This is part of the
>reason why I often find Scott to be so refreshing in
>his vice principal role. At 22, I fear I'm already an
>old school marm itching to tell those young
>whippersnappers to turn their hats around the right
>way, tie their shoe laces, remove their tongue studs,
>and wash their filthy mouths out with soap. I cheer
>whenever Scott verbally disembowels one of Winslow's
>young miscreants. ;)

22? There's hope for society yet!
>
>
>>>You've never seen me post that Hershey Neo-waves are
>one fabulous ice cream sandwich, either, but that
>doesn't mean I don't think so.<<
>
>Are they really? I've never tried them. ;)

They're my secret vice. They're made in Hershey, PA, but not by the same company that makes the chocolate bars.
>
>>>Guber is by no means one-dimensional<<
>
>No, he isn't. Which is why, I suppose, I object to
>the description of him as "weak." He is not
>universally so.

No, not universally so.
There used to be a comic book, Power Man and Iron Fist, written by Chris Claremont, an author known--almost infamous--for writing very strong female characters. Somebody bet him that he couldn't write a one-dimensional weak woman, so he created a character called Harmony Young to be the romantic interest for Power Man. From what I understand, he eventually quit the book because he couldn't stand the temptation to lose the bet by giving her depth. Which just goes to show that with good writers, it takes effort to make a character completely shallow.
>
The contrast there is between
>levels of emotional strength--the second woman has
>more of it than the first. Well, I'd say the same
>thing about Scott Guber. The only thing is, depending
>on the context of the situation, Scotty-boy can be
>either one. The second one is almost always within the
>context of school duties; the first, within the
>context of private social relationships.<<
>
>This is true, but I guess I just don't see how that
>reflects poorly on Scott.

In a nutshell, consider any case where you can look at his actions and say, "Whattaya DOIN'??? You're better than that!" When he's not living up to what you know from his moments of strength and stability he should be capable of, I think it's a negative reflection on him. Not that I would want a fictional character who was *all* positive.
>
>>>I observe that when Scott shows backbone, it is
>usually in connection with the application of
>clear-cut doctrine from the book. That just says he
>gets his spine from the book, NOT that he goes to the
>book *because* it provides a spine. I think Scott
>likes rights and wrongs that are clear-cut, and he is
>drawn to regulations because they reflect that. They
>also give him a stable frame of reference in which to
>operate, where everyone can look up the rules and know
>what page they are working from. Scott is a man of
>integrity operating in a world where few people can
>make that claim. When one gets into the frame of
>relativisms and dialectics, he's lost. He doesn't want
>to deal with a world where the rules change every five
>minutes subject to someone's relative whims--most
>people's whims are based on their level of personal
>integrity, and Scott has decided not to be a student
>of other people's whims (except when absolutely
>necessary--as with Sheryl Holt). When you're dealing
>with people on a personal level, you are often dealing
>with those aspects of personality that Scott doesn't
>like to deal with. Things change so fast, that you
>can't always point to a consistent rule. In an
>argument, you can't always point to a schema of rules.
>In a debate, you can. In postmodern lit, you can't
>always point to a unifying structure or principle. In
>Renaissance Lit, you can. In modern music...sheesh.
>Scott listens to classical, baroque, romantic--music
>with defined structure as well as individual
>creativity. These things, like the rule book, answer
>to qualities already in Scott--consistent qualities.<<
>
>Again, this is true. But again, I fail to see how
>this is a bad thing. Maybe because I am, by
>temperament, someone who also appreciates the Rule of
>Law over the Rule of Man.

It's not the best thing if you are going to deal with other Homo sapiens on anything other than a professional level, you must admit. But hey...I don't like human beings that much myself. ;^)
>
Remember what Scott said to
>Kevin in the season finale last year to encourage him?
> "It has been my experience that you have always had
>something to say. Because, Mr. Jackson, YOU HAVE
>SOMETHING TO SAY." On one level, he may have desired
>victory for himself, but that was certainly not the
>only, nor the most important, level of motivation.

Perhaps not the only one, but I don't think we got enough on what was going on inside Scott's head to determine the most important one.
>
>On the whole, I think Scott is extremely difficult to
>stuff into the "weak" box, especially after this
>year's finale. And this time around, you can't claim
>"administration situation," because he was also a
>personal support for Steven.

Oh, sure I can. Subtract all the "Don't worry about the school--I've got that covered, and what is left? Standard human compassion for a friend and for a co-worker. I did like seeing him give the middle finger to Danny over the prayer issue, though. I think the rider "And if you don't like it, %_&# you," was strongly implied.

>PS: Oh yes, and, as I am Jewish, the fact that Scott
>is Jewish certainly doesn't hurt my estimation of him
>either. ;)

Loved the "I was explaining why I'm not wearing a gown" bit!

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