From: Alex Ramonsky (alex@ramonsky.com)
Date: Thu May 30 2002 - 17:23:30 MDT
(reply is below)
Brian Phillips wrote:
>It appears Alex Ramonsky <alex@ramonsky.com> wrote
>
>
><I hate to say 'I told you so', but if you'll take a look at those
>quotes from the archives, at least you learn what sort of thing not to
>talk about to avoid giving them more ammunition.>
>
>I hate to say "you are behaving as if you had the intelligence of
>an egg noodle" but the day I "self-censor" what I say on a
>mailing list SOLELY because some self-righteous jerks are
>"watching" the archives and will twist my statements to
>attack this list/org is the day I take my toys and go play elsewhere!
> It's despicable to chime in on a self-censorship theme, and you
>should be deeply ashamed of yourself for participating in
>it in this fashion. I already have to deal with fragile PCegos
>all day at work, I simply won't tolerate some nebulous "every
>body act like Big Brother is watching, and BB is a liberal goon"
>policy, whether stated in the list charter, or unwritten and enforced
>by list opinions. Either this list represents liberty through human
>ascension to higher levels of rationality or it doesn't.
> I will simply unsubscribe and spend the time reading or tend my cacti
>if it tends to the latter.
>You, Alex, lost major respect points for this comment.
>
>regards,
>Brian
>
>
>
>
Didn't know I had any respect points! (not sure if I want to be
'respected'?) : )
Perhaps you have misunderstood me? (perhaps you haven't! : ) ) In the
same sense that I swear like a trouper when out with my mates but don't
do it in front of my best friend's granny , In the same sense that
someone may one day have to say, 'No, officer, I have never taken
drugs', in the same sense that you don't tell your boss what you
honestly think of him/her, or maybe your landlord, in the ultimate sense
that we are all dependent for our well-being and progress on other's
goodwill, in thet same sense, I think we should be cautious, considerate
and aware (not paranoid; there's a big difference). Past experience with
media and reputation (and goodness me, the repercussions of that) have
taught me it is wise to censor myself unless I am in the sole company of
trusted friends. An open newsgroup is not private. That was one thing.
Another thing is I'm aware of how people automatically create categories
and assign others to those categories with only the loosest evidence.
Hence, we get unpleasant associations such as Catholic
priests=paedophiles, Jewish=stingy, scottish=violent and
American=obese. These are fringe prejudices that have grown as memes
because of people doing this.
I am not suggesting that anyone should censor what they say. Let me get
that clear from the start. I'm saying you should use your intelligence
to decide exactly _how_ you say it...if you have stuff to say, then
surely to articulate it in a manner least likely to cause offence or
unneccessary trouble is the wisest course. Emotional baiting or
sensationalist tactics don't make for good communication; they makes us
look stupid and juvenile. It is naive to think those who violently
disagree with your point of view (eg nazis, racists, anti-tech types
etc) will fail to use your words against you at any opportunity.
But even so, I ultimately stand for freedom and I take risks. They are
informed, calculated risks that I accept full responsibility for. I _am_
prepared for anything I say to suddenly appear in a newspaper or on the
news, hideously misquoted, with a headline such as 'Extropians
support....................(whatever it was)...I know this can happen
because it's happened before, to a lot of people! Since I know that, I
can adjust the way I say things, just like I would in front of your granny.
I consider this respect (for the group or for the granny) and I don't
think there's anything wrong with awareness or respect.
Each individual must decide for themself how and when they censor their
words, and it is never up to me to judge another in this respect. I was
merely pointing out a few things that some people may not have realised,
and leaving it up to them to decide what to do about that. Informed
choices are always better, but I leave the choice, as of course I must,
up to you.It should never be any other way, and I think it is
unfortunate if I was misunderstood.
So, I apologise.
I apologise for having to defend myself against unprovoked attacks. I
apologise for the state of mind of those who would use our liberty
against us. And I apologise for waiting so long before I blew naivety
out of the sky.
...but as with anything else, it's the thought that counts.
Ramonsky
The Ramonsky disclaimer:
Anything I may have said or written which causes offence, was not meant
to; however please let me know, so that I won't do it again, whatever it
was.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 09:14:31 MST