Bloggasm

Recently I got the opportunity to interview a friend of mine, the Martian Anthropologist. You might have heard of him – he’s a hard-hitting left-wing alien (ok, not really an alien) who, along with the owner of Bulldog Manifesto, starting the “Impeach Bush Coalition” in September 2005. I caught up with M. last week, and here’s how the interview went:

For the benefit of our readers, please introduce yourself, and if possible, tell us your real name?

I can tell you that my middle name is Dylan. My parents named me after Bob Dylan.

Are you really an alien? Or are the rumors unfounded?

No comment. Sorry!

What are your plans for Martian Anthropologist? It has a strong focus on political issues. Do you think you will ever be diluting the focus to include personal stories?

I think that I’ve been doing that already, somewhat. What I really want the Martian Anthropologist to be about is what I’m thinking. A lot of times, it’s about politics. Sometimes it isn’t.

Tell us a bit about how the Impeach Bush Coalition came into being, and where it stands now?

It’s actually the brainchild of the Bulldog Manifesto’s blog owner. He deserves most of the credit and you should probably direct questions to him.

Note: Martian is being modest, so I won’t push him further on this. The fact is that despite Bulldog Manifesto’s greater readership, if it hadn’t been for Martian’s strong writing and clear ideas, IBC would never have gotten this far.

My initial impression of IBC is that you guys haven’t progressed beyond calling for Bush’s impeachment. Beyond that, do you have any plans in place to take the movement on a greater scale and take action beyond the impeachment?

Frustratingly, Bush hasn’t been impeached yet. I’m not sure what further action we could take. The pen, as they say, is mightier than the sword.

Note: Not exactly the answer I was looking for. My initial gripe with IBC was the same as it is now – there’s no solid agenda beyond impeachment. At this stage, we’re looking at political instability and a void in leadership after Bush, not progress and development. Of course, that’s just my view and I’m sitting several thousand miles outside of the US.

You also write some fiction – how’s that coming along?

I really enjoy it. I’m editing a story that I wrote last October that I will be posting. As you know, I’ve been very sick, so I do it as I get the energy.

Note: You can read M’s writings at Town of Autumn.

You recently blogged that Islam is not a religion of peace – a clear reference to the cartoon controversy. How much influence do you think the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (and subsequent retaliation against the US in Muslim countries) have had an influence on how people perceive Muslims in the West?

I think the fact that many terrorists are followers of this religion influences it more than anything.

I recently posted on Bloggasm talking about how we rely on other peoples’ expertise to direct us to information that is of the most interest to us. How do you think you have differentiated Martian Anthropologist as “the blog to read” for your readers?

I think people have gotten the idea that I like to think about things, be it politics, or life, the universe, and everything. People have told me that I seem to look at the world in a different way than most people. I think they enjoy that.

With your strong views, you must have a lot of people disagreeing with you. How do you deal with criticism?

Typically, I track the person down and torture them until they recant.

Do you have any political ambitions?

Yes, but weak ones. I think I’d make a good mayor or President. But I don’t think I could make the moral sacrifices necessary to get there.

Plus, it would be too much darn work.

Which five blogs (apart from your own) would you recommend that people read?

Raistlin’s Ghost

Bulldog Manifesto

Anthropik Network

Way of the mind

Stargazer Space

Thanks for taking the time out for the interview, M. Hope you get better soon.

The Martian Anthropologist