########################################################################## # Goanetters-2004 meet in Goa. Dec 21, Tuesday. 12 noon to 2 pm. # # Clube Vasco, Near Municipal Garden, Panjim. Pass the word around! # ##########################################################################
--- Mario Goveia <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Please calm down and accept my apologies for >personalizing my comments on the Gandhi quotes, >which was the wrong thing to do. > Mr. Goveia, Thanks for the apology. As for calming me down, it is unfortunate that an internet forum does not allow me to convey my mood or demeanor better to the readers. Because, if it did, you would have realized that I am an unsually calm man. Let me just say that your smears and accusations are among the mildest that I have personally experienced in cyberspace. With respect to the other points that you have made, this is what I have to say: 1. It is my humble opinion that your justification for the illegal Iraq war is indeed a spurious post-hoc rationalization. I simply do not have any interest in responding to it. Please don't mistake my refusal to respond for any lack of ability to do so on my part. 2. The meaning I attribute to the verb "to demonize" and all its derivatives is the same as that given in any English dictionary, which is "to represent as evil or diabolical", or more concretely, to call somebody a supporter of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, etc. 3. I take Mahatma Gandhi at his word. I think he always spoke his mind, and as directly and plainly as he could, irrespective of whether it would be perceived as politically correct or not. I would always take his words to be literally true, unless there is some reason to think that he was being deliberately sarcastic or poetic. 4. Whether I agree with Gandhi's pacifism in its entirety or not has no bearing on whether someone can call me fit to be an adviser of Hitler and Stalin. Nobody can call me (or for that matter, any avowed pacifist) the latter, unless I have stated that in my own words or proved it by my actions. 5. When a Goanetter or anybody else sends me an abusive private email, I usually do not respond to it. Sometimes I send them a reply simply stating that I am returning their garbage. This should trigger a recall of some recent pre-Thanksgiving memories in you. I doubt you have grown a thicker skin than mine after Thanksgiving. Cheers, Santosh
