[at-l] Negative stress on the trail...

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 05:54 PM 11/23/2004 -0500, Brett wrote:
> >Hmmm, funny thing...I wrote a story for the ATN about this
> >very thing and
> >found out it made me an 'elitist' and 'sarcastic and nasty'
> >and without a
> >'sense of humor'. Who'da thunk...
>
>I think maybe that letter raised the ire of some, not so
>much for the behavior itself, which most would either
>casually forgive or humorously accept, but that it appeared
>in a prominent publication the goal of which is to promote
>the trail in a positive way for the purpose of growing the
>organization that distributes it. The letter was not on
>message, so automatically it was subversive to the cause - a
>sign of the politically correct times in which ATC now
>operates.
>
>Real people experience real emotions, which can vary widely
>and are not always in line with the higher goals of an
>unblinking establishment. We are not paid, on-the-job
>ridgerunners, most of us who hike. It's perfectly human to
>have occasional sour or misanthropic interactions along the
>trail, and it's refreshing to read about this other side of
>the trail's reality. Unfortunately the writer's job for
>Trailway News is a function of the Conference's mission
>statement, and sometimes words speak louder than acts.
>
>- blisterfree

Well, Felix' piece was not a "letter". It was a feature piece that had 
editorial review before being published. Aside from that, after having read 
his article twice, I didn't detect any hatred or contempt on his part, 
merely annoyance (which he kept to himself) at this person who insisted on 
interrupting his quiet contemplation of a special place so (IMHO) it is 
over the top to term the interaction "misanthropic".  I agree that the 
interaction described is an accurate representation of some trail 
interactions and as such I think it was/is entirely appropriate for ATN. 
ATN is one of the rare periodicals that I read in its entirety and I 
sincerely hope that it is not turning into a one sided, politically 
correct, on-message organ of bureaucracy. If it is, the voices of 
intolerance will have triumphed and that is truly sad because, like another 
AT forum that was intolerant of 'unauthorized' viewpoints, it presages a 
bad end.