[at-l] OT-LONG-BITTER WAS: MAY PLEDGE TOTALS UPDATE: Keep the List Friendly (AT-L/ATC fundraiser)

[shane@theplacewithnoname.com (Shane Steinkamp)]

> So how come we never heard a word about that until
> just now (or rather, until I started griping about
> it yesterday?)

Because you were the first one to say something publicly,
instead of just sending me private hate mail.

> Or does it demonstrate exactly the effect I was
> worried about -- i.e.., people were too cowed to
> speak their minds?
>
> IMHO, it was all quite well intentioned, and even
> did some good, both for the ATC and the list.  But
> there are negative side effects that nobody was
> willing to acknowledge -- not publicly, anyway.
>
> I'll take healthy, open dissent over coerced
> unanimity, any day.

Email is a difficult medium, since it's only words and I
can't see your body language or listen to the inflection of
your voice, but I perceive that you - and many other
people - may have taken this little pledge drive too
seriously.

Ryan told us to play nice and stay on topic, and in the
process we raised a little money for the ATC.  Ryan was
going to tell us to play nice anyway.  From the email I got
people were either thrilled with the idea, or believed that
the Thought Police had hatched a clever plot in league with
List Nazis to squelch free speech, free expression, and free
thinking.

I seriously considered writing a "What I Learned from the
ATC/AT-L Pledge Drive" post, and enumerating all the
concerns and crappy remarks I got via email, but I didn't.
I'm still trying not to.

The pledge drive was hatched when Ryan said, 'I'll send $$$
to the ATC if the list can stay civil.', and I said, "I've
got $20.00 to throw on that bandwagon...".  It went on from
there.  Eventually I started getting mail from people
complaining of various things - from being embarrassed that
they could not afford to participate all the way to railing
against 'suppressed expression'.  While I understand the
former, I do not understand the latter, since, in almost
every pledge message Ryan's rules were neatly defined:

***

Dr. R says: "Environmental awareness, as it relates to the
trail & it's corridor is fine.  A post about a GM factory in
Mexico or some such is not on topic. I've got a pretty good
idea what I consider good behavior, as do folks on the list.
I'll warn once."

***

I fail to see why this 'rule' invoked so much emotional
response from people, and I fail to see how staying on topic
and being civil could be considered 'coerced unanimity'.
I'm not even clear on the objective meaning of the
statement.  Nobody cowed anybody.  Nobody locked anybody
out.  Nobody was banned.  Nobody's testicles were stepped
on.  No on-topic topic was banned.  Nobody burned any
churches, assassinated any list members, or claimed that
aliens had stolen Elvis' brain.

It was just a little pledge drive.  We raised a few bucks,
had a little fun, and gave everybody a chance to take a
break from the massive prick wave that was going on before
Ryan stepped in and told everybody to zip up their pants and
play nice.  A few people took that as an opportunity to run
the free expression banner up the pole and declare their
aggrieved status.  A few people played along.  A few people
picked up their toy soldiers and went home.  A few people
sent me some ugly email.  A few people sent me some
favorable email.  A few people ate granola, while some
others at the tuna fish.

Now the party is over, and while I have left largely
unvisited the sinister implication that there were 'negative
side effects that nobody was willing to acknowledge -- not
publicly, anyway', I'm not going to address that.  I'm not
going to tell you who puked in the fish bowl either.  The
party's over.  It's time to do something else.

If everybody wants to go back to where we were and start
stomping each others guts out, there's nothing to stop you
now if that's what you want.  'Cept Ryan.  Of course, if we
want to have civil discourse about on-topic topics, then we
can do that too.  Of course, we've always been able to do
that - even during the pledge drive.

IMHO. YMMV. TTL not included.

In the very end, I would like to apologize to all those who
were negatively affected by the pledge drive in any way:  I
am sorry that I threw my $20.00 on the pile.  I am sorry
that I volunteered to keep track of the pledges.  I am sorry
that some of you were humorless enough to take offence when
something was happening that was trail positive.  I am sorry
that some of you were ugly enough to send me ugly email.
Hell, I'm sorry that some of you are ugly.  I'm sorry that
I'm ugly sometimes. I'm sorry that your happiness is so
easily soured.  I am sorry that I am writing this now.  I am
especially sorry that I have spent so much time on this when
I could have been working on my trip report and planning my
next hike.  I'm sorry for my grief, my pain, my life, the
lives of my ancestors, and the lives of my inheritors.  I'm
sorry for the Roman War Machine, both world wars, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki, Korea, Vietnam, drugs, bugs, and alcohol.  I'm
sorry about Elvis, slavery, Patsy Klein, for throwing my
brother out of the top bunk onto his head on a hardwood
floor when I was eight, Jimmy Dean (the movie star, not the
sausage), the fact that my brother recovered his memory,
country music generally, the fact that my brother told on
me, terrorism, pacifism, the fact that I later made my
brother be my personal slave, communism, all other -isms,
and the fact that ice cream cones always leak.  I am
especially sorry if you take any of this personally,
seriously, or without your vitamins.

I hope that covers everything...

Shane

"Life is short.  Eat butter."