[at-l] Jim and Ginny and bye bye

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

Weary wrote:
>"So Weary can beat up on Coosa for days and that's okay with everyone. Jim 
>finally gets tired of the abuse, calls him on it and he's the bad guy," 
>Ginny
>
>If my comments came across as "beating up" on Coosa, I apologize. I 
>intended no such thing. She posted a report on the reading she did to be an 
>informed citizen. I suggested she include at least one mainstream 
>publication in addition to the religious and fringe right wing sources she 
>had listed.
>
>I believe, and said, that much of the polarization that is poisoning the 
>political climate of this country stems from the growing tendency of many 
>to only read and watch opinion that they agree with.
>
>I did comment a bit harshly on an item she had posted on her blog, that she 
>had invited us to view, because the blog struck me as blatantly racist.

No, Bob - you spent several days putting out increasingly nasty and 
hysterical attacks on Coosa.  If you'd put out just one post, I'd have 
ignored you.  But after the third one,  you deserved an answer.   You got 
it.

It's one thing to "suggest" that she read something else - even if it is a 
biased, generally dishonest piece of crap.  No problem there.  It's 
something else to read what she wrote and then make up stories about what it 
said.  Face it - you didn't understand it.  Deal with it.  But don't blame 
her for your ignorance.

Polarization - yep.  Both sides of the spectrum - but noticeably naster from 
your side.  Haven't yet seen the righties accuse Kerry or Clinton of being 
Nazis.  But if you're really interested, you might want to read this - it's 
about "civility" - and, to some extent, polarization --- 
http://www.hillsdale.edu/imprimis/2000/December/default.htm

Finally - you aren't qualified to talk about racism - or even to decide what 
it is.  After you've spent 10 years in a city/county that's 80% 
black/hispanic, come back and talk to me.  Until then, you're ideas of what 
constitutes racism don't even reach the level of Stage 1 thinking.  They're 
so simplistic as to be laughable.

But it's NOT laughable when you accuse someone of racism based on something 
you've made up out of whole cloth.  That's nasty, uncivil, discourteous, 
disrespectful and just plain stupid.  Especially if you're dumping it on 
at-l.  at-l is a HIKING list.  If you're not willing to abide by the rules - 
the ONLY rule - that Ryan has asked us to observe, then why are you here.

No - I'm NOT inviting you to leave (as someone else did to me today) but if 
you can't show enough respect to Ryan to follow ONE simple rule - then you 
are shitting in his living room.  Would you do that in your own house?  I 
think your wife would have a large problem with that.

Frankly - insistence on breaking rules such that you increase polarization, 
decrease civility, increase dissension and reduce courtesy - just lacks 
"class."  Brings to mind a 6-year old having a tantrum.  And that applies to 
the whole contingent on at-l that thinks it's their "right" to dump 
political crap on the list.  Where did they lose the idea that there are a 
whole lot of diverse views - political, religious, economic and anything 
else you can imagine - on the list?  Anyone who's thruhiked "should" know 
about that --- the diversity on the Trail doesn't end at Katahdin.  It also 
shows up here - and those who just HAVE TO push their particular political 
agenda do no favors to the list, to the community - or to the Trail - by 
driving away those who don't agree with their particular agenda.  Every 
thruhiker who's driven away is a loss of knowledge and a loss of support for 
the Trail.  That's stupid.

Now - I'm done.  Except for a few private posts.  And yes - eventually, 
you'll probably get one.  About racism.  I'm not a world class expert on the 
subject, but I've had a 45 year practical education on the  subject.  Maybe 
you'll learn something.

Have a good day anyway -
Jim

PS - I've never thought of you as being stupid.  Please don't prove me wrong 
by publicly expounding further on Coosa, racism or blogs.  I generally like 
to think better of you than that.

Back to the bathroom.