NationStates Jolt Archive

"Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket...Now I've got a nickel in my pocket."

Did he really say that?

Did he really say that?

Yes.

Yes.
That's funny. While never reading his writtings, I've read excerpts. He seems to praise capitalism more than punish it.

DAMN MARX!!!! Sorry, I just had to say that.

DAMN MARX!!!! Sorry, I just had to say that.

Why?

As a communist, I can say that Marx was one of the mos ingenius thinkers of all time. Although I partially disagree with him, it is not because he strays from the idea of equality. Some people do not seem to understand that Marx isn;t sacraficing equality for capitalism, he is sacraficing it for freedom. He does not say there is a necessity for capitalism, the exchange of currency, or the need for private property, and seems to fight social classes, but is more concerned on maintaining basic civil freedoms in the process. He said that you cannot sacrafice freedom for equality. And that can turn into a conflict.

Naturally any sane person would understand that freedom is always the number 1 priority. And any intelligent communist knows that the economy can only succeed with basic economic equality. However, Marx seems to think that freedom and equality cannot coexist, that there must be one extreme or the other. The answer is that there must be a balance. While preserving freedom and democracy, some smaller, finer freedoms must be sacraficed for a working economy. After all, freedom in its purest form is anarchy, so it will always be restricted somewhat.

Why?

Because that's how I feel...I can't stand the SOB.

Because that's how I feel...I can't stand the SOB.

Is it because he was Jewish?

The facial hair?

"Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket...Now I've got a nickel in my pocket."
Yes, it was Marx...Groucho Marx, not Karl Marx.
Ya, nice try...
It's a line from the Marx brothers' movie 'The Cocoanuts.'

In the words of Apu from the Simpsons:
"Thank you...come again."

But Marx did so well under the Capitalist system in the US.

Yes, it was Marx...Groucho Marx, not Karl Marx.
Ya, nice try...
It's a line from the Marx brothers' movie 'The Cocoanuts.'

In the words of Apu from the Simpsons:
"Thank you...come again."

Give that man a cigar!

It should be noted that I never claimed it was Karl Marx...

In my defense, I did manage to catch Purly Euclid, Roach Busters and Voroziniya, so I should get at least three points for that.

But Marx did so well under the Capitalist system in the US.

If you define "doing so well" as losing just about everything you own in the Wall Street Crash, then yes, he did.

Give that man a cigar!

It should be noted that I never claimed it was Karl Marx...

In my defense, I did manage to catch Purly Euclid, Roach Busters and Voroziniya, so I should get at least three points for that.
And here I was, standing around like a fool, believing it was Karl Marx! Really, though, he did say some very nice things about capitalism.

Yes, it was Marx...Groucho Marx, not Karl Marx.
Ya, nice try...
It's a line from the Marx brothers' movie 'The Cocoanuts.'

In the words of Apu from the Simpsons:
"Thank you...come again."
I thought it was obvious that he was talking about one of the brothers Marx, (I thought it was Chico, but I have no reason to doubt it was Groucho, I just associate it with Chico). Groucho I always associate with "Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty."

"Three years ago I came to Florida without a nickel in my pocket...Now I've got a nickel in my pocket."

Under a communist system, the nickel would have one-hundreth of it's purchasing power due to hyperinflation and he wouldn't own the nickel, the "people" would.

I thought it was obvious that he was talking about one of the brothers Marx, (I thought it was Chico, but I have no reason to doubt it was Groucho, I just associate it with Chico).

Nah. Definitely Groucho:

http://www.barbneal.com/wav/marxbros/groucho/grouch40.wav

(a 60k file)

Under a communist system, the nickel would have one-hundreth of it's purchasing power due to hyperinflation and he wouldn't own the nickel, the "people" would.

He never claims that he owns the nickel, merely that it is currently in his pocket.

He never claims that he owns the nickel, merely that it is currently in his pocket.
But who'll miss a nickel? When it comes to coins, in this world, finders are keepers, loosers are weepers.

Under a communist system, the nickel would have one-hundreth of it's purchasing power due to hyperinflation and he wouldn't own the nickel, the "people" would.

Well, technically, under a true (Karl) Marxist communist system everything would be divided on the basis of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". Thus the nickel would only really have value as a historical artifact or as a thin metal disk useful for some purpose other than as a unit of exchange (such as drilling a hole in it to make a washer).

Nah. Definitely Groucho:

http://www.barbneal.com/wav/marxbros/groucho/grouch40.wav

(a 60k file)Yah, I started thinking about it and i can hear it in that fast-talker voice he used, I jut had it in my mind in the that accent of Chico's. I think it's funnier in Chico's accent the way my mind has it, but it was definetely Groucho. Maybe if I hadn't watched the Marx brothers movies while stoned I would be able to keep them straight.

Wait, I have never used, nor do I know anyone who has ever used, illegal drugs. I've just read about them. That's the ticket, I've read about them.

Maybe if I hadn't watched the Marx brothers movies while stoned I would be able to keep them straight.

I suggest watching them again while straight.

Ach, nah, I just recommend watching them again, whatever state you may be in.

Maybe you could explain to me why the Marx brothers remain hilarious, Laurel and Hardy are occasionally amusing (excepting their better slapstick, which remains quality stuff), but Charlie Chaplin just doesn't seem funny at all?

Let's get back on the subject, please. Not once has someone responded to my reply. And you didn't trick me with that "groucho" marx line, because i dont really pay attention to those kind of replies

All I know is: This is what happens to pinkos in my nation:

:mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5: :mp5:

Let's get back on the subject, please. Not once has someone responded to my reply. And you didn't trick me with that "groucho" marx line, because i dont really pay attention to those kind of replies

We are on subject: in case you had missed it the subject was Groucho Marx. Whatever possessed people to assume I meant Karl Marx is quite beyond me. It was you that was off-topic.

Maybe you could explain to me why the Marx brothers remain hilarious, Laurel and Hardy are occasionally amusing (excepting their better slapstick, which remains quality stuff), but Charlie Chaplin just doesn't seem funny at all?
It;s because to a large extent we've lost the all the bagage that attached to the stereotype of Chaplin's charecter that made his behavior funny. Or to put it another way, tramps aren't what they used to be. Without the cultural background of the early 20th century, we tend to misclassify his charecter from what it was, a tramp - a peculiar beasite, close to a hobo, but higher up the chain, disreputable but not unapprochable, possibly up to no good but more likely not, maybe hardworking or lazy but not good for a long term employee, possibly a socialist (communist) but maybe not, definetely not viscous like a hobo, and so on. The closest one might find in modern america is one of those mexican guys who sells oranges on the street corners in CA, but that's not too close. Tramps were not part of the system, but not opposed to it, they were more observers of the system who occasionally would work in it while not joining it. This is just a bit of what the stereotype of Chaplin's chareccter evoked - and we've lost the cultural references to identify the Chaplin charecter.

let's look at the Marx Brothers instead. Graucho played the fast talking conman, a stereotype which still exist. Chico played the not-too-bright flunky, a stereotype which also still exists. Harpo didn't do humor which relied upon a sterotype, he created his own archtype and since he had to define it to his original audiences, his current audiences can pick up most of that definition. Zippo I really cannot recall, so I'll ignore him.

Can we at least talk about Karl Marx?

And I'm not a pinko--I'm a red

To continue with the original thought and perhaps delve into the value of a nickel (from marx in a 1974 Interview) which I found on the web while looking to see if I missed any marx brother films. I always wanted to be rich. I still want to be rich. Why, years ago, I came to Los Angeles without a nickel in my pocket. Now, I have a nickel in my pocket. Unfortunately, the nickel today isn't worth what it used to be. Do you know what this country needs? A seven-cent nickel. We've been using the five-cent nickel since 1492. So why not give the seven-cent nickel a chance? If that works out, next year we could have an eight-cent nickel.