[at-l] Shane's Bane, The Aftermath (Part I)

[rafe.bustin@verizon.net (Raphael Bustin)]

At 05:16 PM 5/31/2002 -0500, Shane wrote:

>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.


It was a noble experiment which, IMHO, should not be
repeated.  It was never my intention to cause you such
sorrow, Shane. <g>  When you started exhorting others
to "pledge early, pledge often" -- on a daily basis -- I
kept my peace.  You became the cheerleader and
champion of that particular movement, and nobody forced
that role upon you.

In fact, some may have noticed, I left the list for a number
of weeks.  I just didn't want to be part of it under such
circumstances.  The thing didn't sit well with me, but since
the group as a whole seemed to be buying into it, I decided
it was best to just sign off and lurk.

It now appears that others may also have left, or quietly
resigned themselves to the "forced niceness" regime.
We'll never know the true numbers, I suppose, of who
approved or who disapproved -- since disapproval itself
(in public, at least) was so strongly discouraged.

I tell you what, between being kicked off of TP last year, and
then observing AT-L for the last several weeks, I've done a lot
of thinking about thought control.

Seriously, folks.  There has to be a middle ground between
raucous cacaphony and insults, and a roomful of mindless
zombies with smiley faces.


rafe b.
aka terrapin