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Atlas Shrugged Shirt Starts a Discussion

Posted by richrobinson 5 years, 6 months ago to The Gulch: General
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It's cool here in Pittsburgh today so I threw on my Atlas Shrugged sweatshirt. A customer in her twenties looked at and said "I like your shirt". We talked a bit and she said she read the book but isn't sure she understood it. Not surprising with all the crazy indoctrination going on in the public schools. Sounds like she wants to learn more about Ayn Rand. Pretty cool.


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    Posted by Arthgallo 5 years, 6 months ago
    I wear my "Atlas Shrugged - No longer Fiction" T-shirt whenever I go to Whole Foods. I enjoy the scowls.
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    • Posted by 5 years, 6 months ago
      I have had some anti Rand people make comments. They always make fools of themselves. I'll ask if they read the book and most say no. One said she read it when she was 12. I highly doubt that.
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    • Posted by term2 5 years, 6 months ago
      Whole foods would be probably one of the best places to expose leftists to AR. I went to a whole foods place basically once, but I didnt feel at all comfortable there. Wierd people.
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      • Posted by exceller 5 years, 6 months ago
        Yes. It must be a store with an atmosphere that is specifically suited for leftists.

        A friend of mine (who is also a vegetarian) shops there regularly.

        There was no way I could compel him to read AS. I think leftists spread the word of what not to touch with a ten foot pole, because he was not giving me any reasons, only that he did not want to read it.
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  • Posted by PURB 5 years, 6 months ago
    Thanks for sharing. A few weeks ago, I wore my Atlas which reproduces an image of the first edition dust jacket in Paris. A woman on St Germain recognized it and stepped into conversation with me on the meaning and importance of the novel to her. She always wanted a first edition, she said, so I handed her my card. I sell rare, signed and manuscript Rand, so the T turned out to be advertising.
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  • Posted by term2 5 years, 6 months ago
    I think the biggest issue with Objectivism is that most people are not philosophically oriented. They live in their emotions created by their past thoughts and experiences. Thats why education when very young is important.

    I have had little success actually convincing average grown up people- I think for that reason
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  • Posted by $ 25n56il4 5 years, 6 months ago
    It's never too late to learn. Congrats to you for informing her!
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    • Posted by $ Suzanne43 5 years, 6 months ago
      Yes, we need to inform whenever possible. My husband and I have a bumper sticker on our car which says, "We need you, John Galt." Several people have asked about it, so we try to take the time to give them a thoughtful answer and recommend the book to them. We were stopped by a lady who wanted to take a picture of the bumper sticker to send to her son. So you never know the impact of something as simple as a sweatshirt, t-shirt, or a bumper sticker can have.
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 4 years, 5 months ago
    Unfortunately, I can't order a T-shirt like that, because I have no assurance that it would not be made in a totalitarian state, and I am not willing to prop up Red China or any other totalitarian govern-
    ment. (And I doubt that Ayn Rand would condone that practice, either.)
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  • Posted by jconne 5 years, 6 months ago
    Some of the lines I use when Ayn Rand becomes a topic of discussion - often initiated by me...

    - Can I share my most outrageous assertion about her? ... She has done for philosophy what Newton did for physics! She grounded it in reality and made it a science for the first time. Look first-hand paying no attention to all the detractors or even fans like me. Many are fans for the wrong reasons and don't represent the ideas well.

    - Ayn Rand is very controversial because she questions everyone's unquestionable assumptions. What do you think people do when their unquestionable assumptions are questioned? ... Yes, they attack! That's why every negative word in English had been used to describe her. It's smearing without reason.

    - if this interests you, I recommend you read her ideas and judge them with your best intelligence and integrity to see if they will serve you well. If they don't meet your standard, then ignore them. But I recommend you ask how these ideas are justified, even if they contradict what you and others think is right. Look at the assumptions and reasoning - first-hand.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 4 years, 5 months ago
    I saw a comment today on this thread from long ago. I didn't realize how much I missed some of the people who have shrugged even from Galt's Gulch.

    One of my student employees was asking for peronsal information to put on my new company's web site. One of the questions was, "If you could, who would you like to share a cup of coffee with?" My response was "John Galt. And if you ask, 'Who is John Galt?', I told her that she would have to discover that for herself."
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