Tom, Actually...I was thinking quite the contrary. Although I had originally intended to bait people with PETA vitriol, after a few off-list responses (your's included) I began to see that I was ALSO going to have a chance to see how people responded to "the opposition." I can say that some of the responses were not that good. If I were someone honestly arguing against fly fishing (or fishing in general)...many of the responses would have done nothing besides confirming views that fishermen are insensitive to animals or other opinions. I will honestly say, however, that I enjoyed your responses the most. When I responded to one of them with a "well put, salient response" I was serious. I intentionally baited you with more questions to see how you would respond. Your selection of paragraphs describing various sources of absolute (e.g. God vs nature, etc.) were quite good. You replied responsibly...entered the field of debate without emotion (or, at least, did not convey emotion) and a willingness to engage someone on neutral ground in an ACCEPTING manner. This is something that is lacking in many arenas of debate these days (social, religious, etc.).
So...I hope that you were not further embarrassed by our exchange. At no time whatsoever did I feel that I was trying to trick you into a foolish behavior. And - kudos to you! I would trust you to enter the arena of debate on our behalf. Best regards, Chris
