Repeating His Story


"History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce," wrote a hack, probably on a deadline for a Michael Jackson column. And he wouldn't be the only one. David Ehrenstein, in 11/28 - 12/4 issue of the L.A. Weekly starts his "Perp of Pop" piece:

"'History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce,' a puckish German wit once quipped. But were Karl Marx alive today, he would doubtless find both tragedy and comedy in the pedophile scandals of that most egregious piece of late-20th-century detritus, Michael Jackson."

And, in the 12/1 issue of Newsweek,
Jonathan Alter begins his "Between the Lines" column:
"History, Karl Marx said, repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce. So what does farce repeat
itself as? Cliche?"


Let's compromise, shall we: If Marx was alive now, he wouldn't give a shit about Michael Jackson; and, yes, his quote is indeed a cliche.


- Media Yenta's Brother