On Sat, Mar 30, 2002 at 12:58:12PM -0500, John D. Giorgis wrote: > Sorry, Erik, but even excepting all of Jeroen's past statements on > this issue, there is only one possible explanation that I can fathom > to explain comparing a people with the organization that tried to > exterminate them, that systemitically organized a genocide against > them. That word, Erik, is hatred.
First of all, as I pointed out and you seem to have missed, hatred is the wrong word. So is anti-Semite. Just because some makes arguments that are misguided or ignorant does not prove that they harbor malice toward Israelis or Jews. Second, given that Jeroen has denied that he is anti-Semitic and also denies hating Israelis or Jews, what do you hope to accomplish by callling him by that name and attributing those views to him? > What would you have me do Erik? I suggest you start by not calling someone names and attributing feelings to them that they have denied, and then retreating out of the discussion. That is a cheap shot not worthy of you. At a minimum I would suggest you refrain from making comments like that about someone in the future. It doesn't accomplish any worthwhile goals that I am aware of, and it usually makes things worse. Moving on from the minimum, you might retract the personal statements or even admit that it was a mistake to make them. On to the next level, if the matter is as important to you as it sounds like to me, then you might consider continuing a calm and reasoned discussion on the topic, providing evidence when possible and explaining your viewpoints clearly. Few worthwhile things are easy, and it may not accomplish anything. But total failure is far from certain. Are you sure you're not giving up too easily? There are a lot of people who hold views similar to those you have expressed disagreement with. If you make a reasonable and clear argument, you have a chance of persauading at least a few people to change a few of their views. That seems like a worthy goal for a good Catholic, don't you think? -- "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.erikreuter.com/
