Whither the Wirehouse?

I have a piece up at the WSJ today talking about whether or not I need to soften my stance on Old Wall Street.  I think you’ll like it…

In the late 15th Century, the Moorish King Boabdil was hanging onto his remaining territory in Spain by the skin of his teeth.  Christian monarchs had eaten away at his sultanate’s defenses and finally, they took the strategically important city of Alhama.

In a highly explicit example of “shooting the messenger,” Boabdil takes the letters that tell of his beloved Alhama’s fall and tosses them into the fire.  He then tosses the man who brought the letters to him into the fire as well.  Sigmund Freud will describe the king’s actions as “fending off what is distressing or unbearable.”  Boabdil, Freud says, is combating the feeling of his powerlessness by “not letting it be true.”

Keep reading:

Perhaps I’ve Been a Bit Too Harsh…  (WSJ)