Greg, I think you misunderstood the tone and some of the substance of what Don
Coffey-- not Coffee-- said. I also think you made some erroneous assumptions about
where he's coming from.
He is not an ardent modern western square dancer, first of all. Yes, he's danced
MWSD but left after a few years for some of the reasons he cites. And I certainly
didn't think any of what he wrote was an attack on those who enjoy contras. I
have no interest in reigniting flame wars between contras and squares; many of
us have been through those destructive exchanges.
I posted Don's comments because I thought they were a thoughtful look a some paralles
that he finds of concern; if anything those comments could be thought of as "the
helpful admonition of a friend." Indeed, I felt that your response was far more
intemperate than his comments.
One of the things I've enjoyed about another listserv-- the trad-dance-callers
list-- is that it includes enthusiasts from the worlds of traditional squares,
contemporary contras, modern western squares, and so on, all sharing information
and thoughts from our different perspectives. This SharedWeight list, though it
focuses most of the time on contras, has also been notable over the years for
civil discourse. I'm sorry that you seemed to take my post as an attack on a form
of dance you like, as do I. It certainly wasn't meant that way.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
