"Matt Nemmers" wrote (to Ray Gordon):
"Ray Gordon" wrote:
I think Fischer is quite sane, and capable of functioning in society.

As long as there aren't any Jews allowed in "society."

Bobby Fischer has been living in Japan (where not many Jews live).
So how 'capable of functioning in society' (to quote Ray Gordon) has
Fischer been, given his latest troubles with the Japanese authorities?

Although anti-Jewish prejudice seems to be his most conspicuous prejudice,
I suspect that Bobby Fischer has some prejudices against other peoples too.

What's he worth as a chess teacher or writer?

What's chess really "worth" in the grand scheme of things?

If Bobby Fischer were to write a book *only about chess* (wherein the editor
would have deleted all of his rants on other subjects), such as a sequel to
'My Sixty Memorable Games', then would it not be worth reading?

Should Bobby Fischer be compared to Richard Wagner?

"For a mature mind it should be possible to hold together in one's mind two
contradictory facts: that Wagner was a great artist, and second, that Wagner
was a disgusting human being. Unfortunately, one cannot have one fact without
the other."
--Edward Said ('Barenboim and the Wagner Taboo' from "Parallels and Paradoxes:
Explorations in Music and Society" by Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said)

I also think that the chess world is jealous of anyone as talented and
accomplished as he is, and since they could never approach his level of
play, they had to make themselves feel better by bashing him personally,
even though his personality has nothing to do with his chess.

Yeah, it's always about jealously, ain't it, Gordo? People are jealous
of Fischer, people are jealous of YOU (because you're an OGM....openings
grandmaster), etc.

Would many people today be 'bashing' Mike Tyson (the former heavyweight boxing
champion of the world) because they are 'jealous' of him? Mike Tyson was
just knocked out by Danny Williams (a former Commonwealth boxing champion).
If Bobby Fischer were to play a chess match with Nigel Short (the current
Commonwealth chess champion), then how likely would it be that 'the chess
world' would be 'jealous' of how well Fischer would do against Short?

Here's a clue, pal: Jealously doesn't even factor into the equation.
Fischer was a great player -- nobody can deny him that. But the reason
people "bash" him is because he's a racist criminal, not because you think
they're jealous of him.

(What follows is *not* intended as a personal comment about Matt Nemmers.)

As far as I can tell, the chess newsgroups seem dominated by writers of
white Western heritage, and there's evidently much more acceptance here of
racism against some groups of people than against other groups of people.

"Thanks for being my ****** Nick.
StanB"
--Stan Booz (17 March 2004)

"I was the only person in the entire caravan *not* employed by Operation
Restore Hope and *thus without any rights* to enter the Swedish hospital.
But *because I was white*, the (UN) peacekeeper believed me and *not*
the Bengali man from CARE."
--Deborah Scroggins (Emma's War, p. 329)

"For example, certain lives had media value while others are expendable.
The killing of those of 'us' counts as a crime; the rest are unpeople."
--John Pilger (The New Rulers of the World, p. 137)

--Nick (one of the 'unpeople')