Gorean Piglet-ism

"Because you see, Owl, if we could get Piglet into the letter-box, he might squeeze through the place
where the letters come, and climb down the tree and run for help." The Te of Piglet, Benjamin Hoff

During the period from the mid-1960's until the late eighties, a science fiction author writing under the non du plume "John Norman" authored a series of twenty five science fiction novels, dealing with events which supposedly occurred on the fictional planet "Gor". The series was, for three decades, one of the best-selling science fiction series in history, was published in numerous countries and extensively reprinted. Yet Norman's books were highly controversial, and within their narrative was a running commentary dealing with many serious social issues, ranging from environmentalism to the complex workings of human sexuality.

However, the books are jam-packed with things which I happen to find morally and ideologically reprehensible, not least of which are the graphically A.A.Milne-based theories which this article addresses and exposes.

Don't let the fact that these Gor books are cleverly disguised as fiction fool you. They are actually deeply powerful psychological treatises designed to work their specific ideological "mojo" on the brain of the unsuspecting reader, turning them into, among other things, drooling sex-perverts with an uncontrollable craving for honey (or "hunny," as Milne himself might call it), but who also may manifest a mad willingness to take on a hive-full of bees to satisfy that craving.

It could be argued that Norman decided to utilize some of the same ideological doctrines as did Milne (in his description of the character Piglet) as the philosophical and moral base upon which to build his fantasy world Gor. As such, it says a lot about Norman that he himself would allow himself to be swayed to Milne's distinctly Piglet-esque manner of thinking and subtextual use of "hunny" as the primary fundamental building block of the spiritual universe.

During the growth of mass Internet use in the 1990's, so-called "fans" of the Gor series were able to communicate and organise themselves, and publish "opinions" of their own via the Web. The so-called "opinions" of these so-called "Goreans" were, quite obviously, extremely subversive, based as they were upon Norman's own morally bankrupt science fiction novels. Some of the most subversive of these "Goreans" were at one time congregated in an IRC chat channel called the silk&Steel (whose own members often choose to use the abbreviation "S&S"-- which, upon closer examination, can also be read as "SandS"-- which could be pronounced "sands." As in, the "sands" which might be found within, of all places, the GRAVEL PIT of Piglet's Hundred Acres Wood.)

For the most part, the participants in these chatrooms seemed primarily interested in the application of D/s of the M/s sort. Since I myself am into that kind of thing, I consider those who practice such behaviors in a manner which I find personally agreeable to be relatively harmless, and not in need of a sound ideological smearing.

However, this environment has also spawned a so-called "Gorean Philosophy", and one of its most prolific writers uses the name _Marcus_ of Ar. (_Marcus_ operates the silk&Steel website.)

_Marcus_ has sometimes attempted to serve as a voice of common sense in the digital wasteland of the internet, especially where the Gorean fandom is concerned. Nonetheless, his distillations of the beliefs of Norman's fictional Goreans, which are widely accepted by online Goreans as being faithful to Norman's intentions, display the same mentally subversive Piglet-ist theories as the books.

Notably, _Marcus_ and his fellow "CyberGoreans", dare not only to advocate a serious study of assorted philosophical questions better left unanswered, they are also, consequently, advocating a form of Neo-Pigletism. For many, this has been nonconsensual, and the lack of familiarity of the Pooh-ist writings of Milne and Hoff, combined with the proven mind-bending powers of certain subversive internet writing techniques, have prevented people from recognising Pooh-ist doctrines when they are dressed up in a new way.

These extracts, representing the fundamental ideas of both philosophies, illustrate their identical foundations in dangerous theories of highly subliminal badness:


"Be WHAT you are: Similar in many respects to a tenet set forth by the Earth philosopher Marcus Aurelius; namely that each thing which exists possesses its own unique singularity. When a thing attempts to be something it is not, problems arise. A man is a man; a woman is a woman; a tree is a tree; a flower is a flower. To the Gorean mind, it is foolish for anything to assume the properties of another thing.Therefore, each person is required to understand his or her basic nature, and to abide by it. According to such a tenet, therefore, it is assumed that there are needs, desires and activities which are specifically masculine, and those which are specifically feminine. Though the lines may blur at times, when all things are reduced to their basic forms, each thing is appreciated and celebrated for its own uniqueness, and is not forced to assume properties of another, different, thing."	"You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are. Everything has its own place and function. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the wrong house. When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know where you belong. You also know where you don't belong. `A fish can't whistle and neither can I.' There's nothing wrong with not being able to whistle, especially if you're a fish. But there can be lots of things wrong with blindly trying to do what you aren't designed for. Unfortunately, some people aren't so wise, and end up causing big trouble for themselves and others. The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not."
--From What is the Philosophy of Gor, by _Marcus_ of Ar	--Benjamin Hoff, the Tao of Pooh

As such, this supposed "Gorean Philosophy" may be correctly identified as a version of what we morally righteous ideologues would call Neo-Pooh-ism, or, more accurate still-- Gorean Piglet-ism.

Most who dare use the internet to communicate are periodically subjected to whiny accusations from other internet users that the accused is somehow "evil" or morally bankrupt, said accusations typically taking the form of attacks upon one's personal ideology, political affiliation or personal hygiene. And this has already been done to many supposed "Goreans," who, despite their protests to the contrary, no doubt richly deserve it. But this article utilizes detailed comparisons with proven Piglet-ist literature to take such baseless accusations to a whole new level.

Piglet-ist Goreans have indignantly denounced any such comparison by protesting that Goreans do not hail from the Hundred Acre Wood, as if Piglet-ism can be wholly defined by such minor matters as where one lives. Yet, those who dare assert such things obviously fail to understand the secret substructure of Piglet-ism to the extent which I, your humble author, do. This is understandable. But it is vitally important that you, the reader, understand the very basis of Piglet-ism: that qualifying criterion being the fact that the accused Piglet-ist has, at one time, either read, or written, a paragraph which bears some resemblence to one which involves the nefarious Piglet.

Any such attempt to deny, or distance oneself from, blatant acts of Piglet-ism should rightly be interpreted as an admission that the "avoider" is a Piglet-ist. Simply because one can make a detailed comparison of the acts and behavioral qualities which render Piglet Piglet, and they may not match those of oneself in any but the most partial or casual way, should be no impediment in the identification of one as a Piglet-ist. Better by far that one trust in the judgement of those who are more intelligent and better equipped to make such a determination. Namely, myself.

It is also well documented that Pooh-ist Piglet-ists used far different terminology to identify what Goreans are now calling "their basic forms", as witnessed in the Piglet-ist quest for honey and, in at least one instance, the invasionary seizure of Kanga's pouch to-- to use the Gorean's euphemistic words again - "assume their rightful place." (There are no reliable figures which accurately reflect the devastation which the aforementioned occupation undoubtedly caused, or how many other occupants of the Hundred Acre Woods were displaced by such an "assumption" )

Furthermore, Gorean Piglet-ism and the original Pooh-ian Piglet-ism share numerous commonalities. Both are described in works of fiction; the vehicle of this description, in most cases, consists of written words, printed upon paper pages. These "pages" are often sandwiched between two "covers." It is telling that both "Goreans" and Piglet are described as having two eyes, a single nose, two "ears," one mouth-- and, as if that weren't enough to clinch their identicality-- four limbs, consisting of two "arms" AND two "legs."

And, as this page reveals, both "Goreans" and Piglet exhibit strikingly similar behavior, and operate from a virtually identical philosophical base:

"The woman who fears she cannot please men then sometimes tends to feel hostility toward them, perhaps turning her own rage and inward disappointment outward, laying the blame upon them, and developing the obvious defensive reactions of belittling sexuality and its significance, and attempting, interestingly, to become manlike herself, to be one with them, though in an aggressive, competitive manner, often attempting to best them, as though one of themselves. Since she was not found a desirable as a woman she attempts to become a more successful man than the men who failed to note her attractiveness."

"The rather Severe people we're thinking of might be called the Eeyore Amazons. They are emotionally descended from the Puritans-- those grim souls who considered femininity No Good, along with art, music, dancing, singing, the natural world, and practically everything else that makes life enjoyable. As do a number of other people (us included), the Eeyore Amazons call themselves feminists. But the word doesn't quite fit them, somehow. They don't like femininity. Instead, they covet masculinity. Strange. Very strange."

--John Norman, Page 39 Explorers of Gor

--Benjamin Hoff, the Te of Piglet

Both Gor and the Hundred Acre Woods are described by their respective creators as being places which possess such identical items as trees, grass, and a "sky." Both contain numerous species of animals, specifically adapted to their described environment. Often, Piglet and his animal friends are described as "marching" to the houses of Owl or Kanga, and Goreans are sometimes identically described as "marching" to various places. Even more telling is the fact that Pooh, one of Piglet's several accomplices, even dons and wears a honey-pot in a distinctly "helmet-like" manner; some Goreans are described as wearing metal helmets. And as if that were not damning enough, both Piglet and at least one Gorean share a similar ignorance of poetry:

"Is that it"? I asked.
"That is the first verse," said Hurtha. "Also, I am catching my breath."
"I thought you said it was a short poem," I said.
"You needn't listen if do not wish to," said Hurtha. "I can recite it to Boabissia."
"No, no," I said. "I just thought you said it was a short poem."
"It was, when I said that," he said. "But I have since expanded it."
"It is wonderful," I said. "It is only that I am not sure that it is as wonderful as many of your other poems."
"My poor, dear, sweet friend, said Hurtha. "How little you know of poetry."

--John Norman, Mercenaries of Gor

'And that's the whole poem,' he said. 'Do you like it, Piglet?'
'All except the shillings,' said Piglet. 'I don't think they ought to be there.'
'They wanted to come in after the pounds,' explained Pooh, 'so I let them. It is the best way to write poetry, letting things come.'
'Oh, I didn't know,' said Piglet.

--A.A. Milne, 'The House at Pooh Corner,' 0ctober 11, 1928

Further congruences between Pooh-ist and Gorean Piglet-ism could be listed (such as similar attitudes to environmentalism and long ranting that humanity is somehow "damaging" the ecology) but let this final example of Gor paraphrasing Pooh-ist Piglet-ism at a detailed, even trivial level, suffice for the moment: both philosophies dare to elevate nature over technology, as described here:

"They would not care for the blackened grass growing between the bricks; they would take no note of the spider's architecture, nor marvel at the flight of a wren darting to its nest among the smoke-blackened, carved stones. There would be no time. There would be no time for them, no time for seeing, or feeling, or touching, or loving, or finding out what it might be to be alive. Clouds would be strangers to them; rain an inconvenience, snow a nuisance; a tree an anachronism; a flower an oddity, cut and frozen in a florist's refrigerator. These were men without meaning, so full and so empty, so crowded, so desolate, so busy, so needlessly occupied. These were the gray men, the hurrying men, the efficient, smug, tragic insects, noiseless on soft feet on the billion iron hills of technology. How few of them gazed ever on the stars."

"...Western industrial society sneers at the relatively harmless myths and acquired beliefs of the native peoples of the world-- a good many of which have at least some basis in fact-- while perpetuating irrational beliefs and practices so dangerous that they are destroying the earth. And probably the most destructive of all the Illusions of the West is the superstitious notion that Technology will solve all our difficulties.

In truth, Western industrial society does not even notice the Material World. It quickly discards it, leaves it to rust in the rain. The material world is Here and Now, and industrial society does not appreciate or pay attention to the Here and Now. It's too busy coveting and rushing after the There and Later On."

--John Norman, pg 238-239 Marauders of Gor

--Benjamin Hoff, the Te of Piglet

"Why are the men of Gor different from those of Earth? Is it that it is only a matter of chance, that on Earth and not Gor due to a chance dynamic or a particular situation, the consequences of which were not understood, civilization developed not as the expression, celebration and enhancement of nature, constituting a palace within which nature might thrive, but as its nemesis, its stunting foe?"

"The fearful fantasies we have inherited have conditioned us to believe that we need to be protected from the natural world. .. In other words, modern man's difficulties, dangerous beliefs, and feelings of loneliness, spiritual emptiness, and personal weakness are caused by his illusions about, and separation from, the natural world."

--John Norman, pg 305, Explorers of Gor

--Benjamin Hoff, the Te of Piglet

Given the identical behavior of their protagonists, their similar philosophical viewpoints, and their detailed agreement in no less than five, count them, FIVE pairs of quotations extracted from the literally millions of words which have been used to describe these two literary creations, why do the adherents of this so-called "Gorean Philosophy" not admit that their philosophy already has a name, and that name is Piglet-ism?

If you wish to agree or congratulate me on my mental acuity, you can mail Moron@spitemail.com

Following the original publication of this article to the internet, "Christopher Robin" responded with a weak and useless attempt to demonstrate that sometimes one can compare quotations from books out of context in a leading manner as supposed "proof" that those books, or the concepts contained within them, are identical. However, the identification of the so-called "Gorean Philosophy" as a form of Neo-Piglet-ism, is based on the fact that they agree on all of the above issues and share the same foundation, as demonstrated by the irrefutable quotes shown above.