Kurt Vonnegut

[musicman1956]

What was the book or short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. that featured the population wearing handicaps so that everyone was physically equal. I remember the story and my daughter wants to read it, but the title eludes me.

[glasman]

Harrison Bergeron.

[mallam]

A pretty obscure title, isnt it, glasman? How DO you remember such things? And I guess it must have been memory. Difficult to google. In the context of the escalating PC debate I too would have liked to recommend it to my offspring. I would particularly have liked to have remembered the title, as the story is evidence that I am capable of changing my opinion in response to the cogency of arguments against it: when I read it I was impressed by its apparent reductio ad absurdum of PC, but I would not be now, any more than by Michael Bywater's fallacy-riddled attack on political correctness in The Independent of 12 February 2009, hilarious though it is.

[glasman]

I read it when I was quite young and I find that my memory retention is quite good from that time. Nowadays, I probably couldn't tell you the name of something that I read last month. I must check out that article in the Independent that you mentioned in your post - if I can find it?

[musicman1956]

Thanks for your answer Glassman, but I don't recall any Kurt Vonnegut book or short story by that name. I read them all from 1972 when I was introduced to his work, Please can you have another think.

[mallam]

Dont be so wet, musicman! Once youve got the title yyou can look it up: Harrison Bergeron

So glasman, my trust in you has been vindicated. I could hardly tell you what i had for breakfast, and short of trawling the net a lot more than that I have to rely on people like you. Sometimes it seems the net is better than a good memory, but oh no it isnt.

The Indy article that i mentioned in my post is here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-brit ain/its-pc-gone-mad-how-did-taking-offence-bec ome-a-national-obsession-1607060.html

[musicman1956]

Apologies all round, glasman. It WAS Harrison Bergeron. It was a short story in the compilation "Welcome to the Monkey House". For some reason I thought it was a plot included in a novel. Ah well.. Sorry again

[musicman1956]

Mallam, I didn't ask your opinion, you want to be someone's bitch, find somwhere else to do it.

[glasman]

Sorry Musicman, I missed your query of 16/2 but I see that you later answered the question yourself so all's well. Bye.