At 10:13 PM 6/23/01 -0700 Kristin A. Ruhle wrote:
>Note how the political balance is tilting? The most vocal posters are US
>based and conservative, so the liberals and those outside the US are being
>driven away. Pretty soon the list as we knew it will be dead.
You know what the worst part of this post is? Its that I almost feel
like it is impossible for me to respond without further worsening the
quickly degrading situation on the list that I love. Still, I don't think
silence is necessarily the answer right now - Unfortunately, Gautam has
already wondered if he is about to be voted off the Brin-L island, and I
must confess that I wondered the same thing, even if I was unwilling to say
as much at first, for fear of escalating the already virulent war of words.
Kristin, you seem to remember with fondness what this List was like three
and four years ago. You may recall that there were quite a few
discussions where I was pretty much the *only* conservative poster to be
found in most discussions. I survived.
Kristin, you do *not* have a right to having the Brin List be predominantly
left-wing. I, certainly, do not have a right to having the Brin List be
predominantly right wing. Naturally, I am pleased to have for seemingly
the first time here, actually engaged in a discussion where I was backed by
several other posters - but I recognize that the current situation will
surely change again as the List continues to grow and evolve. The
political dynamics of the List were not the same one year ago, and they
will not be the same one year hence.
Nevertheless, this is not the first time, Kristin that you have left me
with the distinct impression, that you somehow think the right-ward shift
on the List is bad, even wrong. Indeed, you even wrote: "Pretty soon the
list as we knew it will be dead."
Please consider, for a moment, Kristin how hostile the average
"conservative" listmember would take this. To me, anyways, I felt like
you were telling *me* that conservatives like myself are not welcome on
this List, except as an interesting minority or curiosity. I hope you can
understand how much that implication hurts.
I hope that you can agree that it would not be right for liberal
listmembers to leave the List solely because of the prevalence of opinions
that they disagree with. Indeed, the intellectual diversity on the
environment and America's place in the world has produced some of the
highest list traffic in a long time in recent months. If this intelectual
diversity disappeared, this List would become a much quieter, and in my
humble opinion, a much lonelier place.
So, let me finish with a plea to all Listmembers: if you ever have a
problem with the actions of a Listmember, *please* take it up with them in
the nicest and most humble way off-List so as to avoid unnecessarily
inflaming anger, rather than effecting positive changes in behaviour.
In particular, I would like to ask you, Kristin, (and Jeroen, and anyone
else who believes that the actions of conservatives, such as myself, drove
Charlie Bell (and others) away from the List) to e-mail me OffList with
specifics of what you think I (or other conservatives) are doing wrong, and
what we can do to change. If the problem is simply being "conservative"
and having the nerve to say so with confidence - well, there is nothing I
can do about that - but at least I would then know that there is nothing
that I can do about that. If it is something else, then I will do my best
to change and make ammends if at all possible. And if you can't take the
time to discuss specifics with me, then I humbly suggest that you cease
your public beratements of myself and conservatives, and that you forever
hold your peace.
My e-mail address is: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
We are products of the same history, reaching from Jerusalem and
Athens to Warsaw and Washington. We share more than an alliance.
We share a civilization. - George W. Bush, Warsaw, 06/15/01
