Why can't you just kick Jeroen out of the group? -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Jon Gabriel Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2002 8:40 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Hey, can we can this?
Julia, I appreciate that you're no doubt interested in not having this become yet another "MidEast Hell" debate. Thank you for posting such a well thought out solution to the problems we've been having. But I do believe my conversation with Jeroen is indicative of a larger problem that I think should be addressed. We've had many people here, myself included, who have complained that when Jeroen argues a point he does not accept standard definitions of terms or substantiation from a widely accepted authority when they disagree with his position. This effectively makes having reasonable conversations with him impossible, since he refuses to accept he's wrong. I'd be happy to can the discussion, except that if I walk away from this conversation, *I'll* be accused by him of not answering his questions. It will also solve nothing unless he agrees to follow the guidelines you laid out. So, when Jeroen agrees to every single point you made in your post, I'll drop it. Jon >From: Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Hey, can we can this? >Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 15:49:05 -0500 > >For anyone unclear on the meaning of the word "can", in the first >instance, it means "able to" and in the second, it means "put a stop >to". :) > >(I went to dictionary.com for this one. The second is US slang, >although there is an entry in the OED for it; of course, the OED >identifies it as such.) > >I don't really care where the whole "anti-semitism" discussion came from >right now. We seem to be at an impasse with it, and not really getting >anywhere. > >I have suggestions for dealing with it in the future: > >1) Try to avoid using "anti-semite" or any variant thereof. > >2) If someone from the USA accuses someone from another continent of >anti-semitism, assume that that USAn means "anti-Jew", and address that >point. (Prefacing it with "I assume you mean anti-Jew", just to make >sure you start out on the same page, would be helpful.) Arguing about >the definition, we've discovered, may not get you anywhere. > >3) If someone from the European side of the Atlantic uses the term >"anti-semitism", ask for clarification before assuming it does or does >not specifically target Jews. > >4) Any discussion by USAns about a US public figure that includes an >indictment for "anti-semitism" should be assumed to mean "anti-Jew". >Folks from the other side of the Atlantic butting in with "helpful" >broadening of definition in this case will likely be met with being >ignored at best, and if something comes up later in the discussion in >which their input would be a valuable view, it would likely be >discounted by some as a result of that earlier butting in. > >************* > >On discussing the definition of words in general, if a USAn has used a >word and you're not sure just what they mean by it, consult a US >dictionary. (I'm sure someone will jump in with a reply giving links to >5 on-line ones or more, and I would recommend bookmarking at least 2 of >those if you think you might need it.) If someone on the other side of >the Atlantic is using a word whose meaning you're unsure of, consult a >UK dictionary. I'm sure William can provide us with a link if there's a >good one on-line. I would recommend bookmarking *that*, as well. I >have access to the OED on-line, but I don't want to end up in a position >of asking, "Is that all I am to you? A dictionary?" of anyone, so don't >abuse me. :) I also may be slow in getting to it, depending on various >factors, including where I am in my reproductive cycle, if I initially >read the e-mail while drunk half off my kiester with beer or fully drunk >from a "purple margarita" from Baby Acapulco, how swamped with work my >husband is, etc. > >And when debating the meaning of a word, don't insult the size of >anyone's dic-tionary, or otherwise indicate that it's inferior, because >most people don't appreciate having their dic-tionary so insulted, and >may feel symbolically cast- in a bad light. > > Julia > >who now has to load *her* car so she can drive *it* to Brenham before it >gets dark and makes finding the hotel there that much harder, so we can >get to RenFest *tomorrow* bright and early, and on Monday, we can deal >with the transmission problem that cropped up in *Dan's* car in Elgin >(and thankfully, we hadn't got any farther than that) when Dan was >driving us in that direction earlier today. :P >(Oh, and I'm thankful that Parmer Ln. goes all the way to US 290 now, >because it saved us time and distance on the limping back.) >_______________________________________________ >http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
