I think this is getting closer to Godwin's law with every post.
I understand that feelings are hurt (displaced hurt, IMHO) but lest we
character-assassinate someone.

On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 7:55 AM, Gabor Szabo <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> >
> > I mean, c'mon, he supports (quote from he's page) - "a boycott of
> > Caterpillar--the company that makes the bulldozers Israel uses to
> > knock down Palestinian homes."
> > This topic is in he's "Long-term action items", whatever that means...
>
> The same page ( http://stallman.org/ ) also contains:
>
> # Boycott Coca Cola Company for using paramilitaries to murder union
> organizers.
> # Support the National Union of Journalists' boycott of Yahoo.
>
> and about a ton of things that might look nonsense to some people and
> might make sense to some other people.
>
> I think a better conclusion could be that RMS is insane.
>

That's a far cry from insane. Don't make me pull out a dictionary. :)
There is a matter of clear consistency, and just because you don't support
boycotts (Israeli, Coca Cola, Yahoo!), it does not make someone who does
believe in them to be insane. Name-calling is beneath both you, me and this
list.

Just because we don't agree with someone, or do not feel the same way as
that person (whether it be Palestinian, Israeli, or Richard Stallman), we
should be able to respect them enough to be able to engage with them. I'm
not the type of person to say "like my father used to say", but I'll quote
my father on this occasion: "Even if it's an enemy - especially if it's an
enemy - you *must* understand them. Ignoring others' priorities and goals
and refusing to understand (though not necessarily agree with) them, you
leave yourself ignorant, and ignorance is not the road to progress."

So, if we should understand our enemies, shouldn't we try to understand
those we don't want to be our enemies? This includes Palestinians, Israelis
and Richard.

Please, no more hateful, resentful or dismissal posts. This does not (and
should not) characterize a community which takes pleasure in communicating,
learning and understanding.
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