October 23, 2002
The Rage and the Pride

Oriana Fallaci is a famous Italian writer (who doesn't want to be called a journalist anymore) who has done amazing things in her life. A teenage resistance fighter in WWII, a died-in-the-wool leftist, athiest, and perhaps even (former) communist, at one point a journalist who interviewed, and excoriated, some of the most powerful people of our time, she is now a very cranky old lady who says outrageous things in an extremely entertaining fashion (our specialty!) She's famous for throwing her chador into Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's face during an interview with him in Tehran.

Even if you've never read any long thing I've linked to on here, I want you to read The Rage and the Pride. It's important in its own right, a call to arms to westerners to stop rolling over and see that we're pandering to people (Muslims) who quite patently wish to destroy us. But also it gives a fascinating look at the Italian mind from the inside. It's what my wife is going to be like in sixty years. What she's mostly like even now.

Two choice qoutes:

So I changed tactics. I called a nice police officer who directs the security office and said to him: "My dear officer, I am not a politician. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I also know something about war and have certain skills. If by tomorrow you don't get that fucking tent out of here[the Piazza del Duomo, in Florence, her home town], I will burn it. I swear on my honor that I will burn it, that not even a regiment of carabinieri could stop me, and I want to be arrested for it. Taken to jail in handcuffs. That way I'll get into all the newspapers."

Sir, I'm very tied to America. I'm always arguing with it, always telling it off, but I'm still profoundly tied to it. For me America is a lover--no, a husband--to whom I will always be faithful. Assuming he doesn't sleep around on me.

Posted by scott at October 23, 2002 01:25 PM

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Comments

Wow! you didn't tell me I would be reading a book.A very insteresting read from someone who pulls no punches and is not afraid to speak her mind.

Posted by: Pat on October 23, 2002 07:40 PM

You should know that the translation you have linked to is an unauthorized one (done by me) of the original newspaper article Fallaci published in Italy after 9/11. The expanded book version (translated by Fallaci herself) is now available from amazon, and I urge you to get it. If you enjoyed the article, the book has a lot of extra material you'll want to see.

Posted by: Chris Newman on October 27, 2002 01:52 PM

I looked at the book and wondered about how different it was. I'll look again.

The really scary thing is that she writes with <<this kind of aside/emphasis>>. My wife writes the exact same way, only using **this kind of emphasis**. More Italian than even I thought.

Posted by: scott on October 29, 2002 04:03 PM
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