Luis,
This is exactly the condescending know-it-all world's-leading-expert
attitude that I find so annoying whether it comes from Terry or you or
whoever.
I did not assume that I know everything about the conflict. I am well aware
that what was played out publicly on the list was probably just the tip of
the iceberg. In fact, that was precisely why I have kept silent until now.
The hostility with which anyone daring to voice a dissenting opinion on this
matter has been met is much more disturbing to me than was the original
conflict. If I was privy to what was going on behind the scene I might feel
differently. But I wasn't and I don't. The outright meanness with which some
people responded to posts from Leticia Mora, David Milton, Jack Fulton, and
more recently Gene Laughter and Peter Marshall (those are just the ones I
remember right now) is at least as destructive as anything that Terry King
has wrought.
Before you accuse me of being a sympathiser or apologist for Terry, I'd like
to remind you that I too have been on the receiving end of one of his
tirades (a year or 2 ago when I questioned his derogatory and bigoted use of
the word "anorak" which seems to have a peculiarly British slang meaning not
shared on this side of the Atlantic). But making a scapegoat of him will not
keep this group free of conflict for very long. There are others here who
are just as contentious, if not more so.
For the record, I don't recognize any hierarchy on this list as confering
special privledges to certain individuals based on name recognition,
quantity of postings, or any other measure. I do not mean this as an insult
to regular contributors; rather, that new members, lurkers and occasional
posters have as much right to voice their (our) opinions on controversial
issues as do you or Judy or me or anyone else and to be treated with the
same respect that you expect for yourself.
>>It is doubtful that banishing (silencing) one of the combatants has really
>>put an end to the conflict in a meaningful way.
>
>Those who know more have no doubts whatsoever.
I'll end with a quote from Dr.. Seuss: "Oh the things we think we know that
are not so." (I think this applies to all of us.)
Sincerely,
Keith