Actually, Susan Maricle and Britt Robson are the only two people who have mis-interpreted what I said, thank heavens, or at least the only two who have contacted me. Again, as I explained on-list, I NEVER called anyone a "spreader of racism". I simply referred to a statement which had been made, which had already been included in previous posts. I even took great care to point out that it was a statement being quoted out of context, but somehow, this point was overlooked. Semantics can be difficult, in trying to phrase something so that everyone will interpret something with the same exact meaning. I would have hoped that the general tone of my post would have conveyed the nature of my meaning, more than the grammar itself, but this was apparently not the case. Again, my apologies to all concerned, but all I can do is make an effort, and I can't please everyone, it would seem. As an aside, if someone is going to contact me off-list, to address an issue which occurred in a public forum, I believe I have a responsibility to respond publicly, since that is where the presumed offense took place.
I did indeed follow the course of the discussion. Again, reviewing how I phrased my statement, please realize I did not point a finger at anyone, I was simply referring to a remark which was included in a particular context, in previous posts to the list. Nowhere was there any sort of implication that anyone on the list is a racist - quite the contrary, in fact, since in previous posts, it had already been acknowledged that this remark was made by someone else. As for the mis-spelling of alast name, I was using same spelling that appeared in the previous couple of posts. Making a comment regarding my "lack of attention" reflecting on my viewpoint is an unnecessary barb which serves no other purpose than to insult, which hardly seems appropriate. When referring to persons on a list I use first and last names, as not everyone always appreciates the use of terms such as "Ms" or "Mrs", or even "Mr. Which brings me to my next point - I am not a "Ms", but a 45-year-old male, father, grandfather, etc., for those who like to keep track of the gender associations of those who subscribe to this forum, of which I have been made aware there are a few. I hope this helps clear matters up, but this is indeed a difficult forum for problem-solving in our communities, with the degree of sensitivity afoot thus far. Ironically, every post I have ever made to this list has been followed by a number of nit-picking explanations, blanket apologies, and so forth, to the extent I often wonder why I should want to participate in such a forum at all, when so many are so quick to pounce upon semantics and such, which ultimately blur the actual issues at hand. I can't see how we're ever going to effectively tackle the much more important issues of crime, housing, police, spending, etc, if we can't move past these smaller differences > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Susan Maricle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "J. Free" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 3:43 PM > Subject: Re: [Mpls] Re: List Management, Racism, re-introduction - follow-up > > > Dear Ms. Free: > Consider me among the people (sounds like there were several) who interpreted your original post as targeting me, not the person who initiated the offending word, as a spreader of racism. > > I would like to point out that if you (and Ms. Hoberg) had followed the discussion in totality, you would have noticed it happened this way: > > 1: Poster A makes claims of list management racism. > > 2.: Poster B (that's me) acknowledges that people of color on this list often have their views discounted/dismissed. I then offer up an example of racist thinking: that whites often call white tailgaters idiots, but call black tailgaters black idiots. > > 3. Poster C asks the inane question, "Does that mean 'white (the b-word)' is racist? > > 4. I communicate to poster C offlist, then also share my information onlist, as there may be other people, like Poster D, who may wonder how to respond without hurling back equally hurtful racial invectives. (I probably should have left it as an offlist e-mail, but I didn't want my onlist silence to be misconstrued as condoning.) > > > 5. Poster E., an African American woman, e-mails me offlist to say "she gets it." That my husband's response was a unique way of saying "Whatever you call me, show me respect." > > I do know and do not mind that my name is made public on this list, but I do mind when I take the heat for other people's posts. > > Speaking of names: my name is Maricle, not Miracle. If you're going to disagree with someone, at least spell their name right ;=) The lack of attention can't help but reflect on your viewpoint. > > If I am among the persons considered in your apology, I accept. I do hope that you, Ms. Hoberg, and others who want to sustain the discussion of systemic racism will become active forum participants. > > Thanks for reading...Britt, thanks for your response. > Susan Maricle TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
