About the MGP supporters I cannot speak, because I do not know the circumstances of the case. Was it a caste or class battle?
To me, your disdain for diversity is reflected in your criticism of networks where The Other (however these be defined) seem to predominate. If you had to make such comments uniformly about all groupings (even though the argument of seeing identity primarily in religious terms is basically flawed), I would have accepted your concerns more easily. How is one's personal faith (or lack of it) a relevant issue? Do you decide about the religion of the posters to Goanet ("over 98%") on the basis of their names and surnames? Would this necessarily reflect their religious positions? Why are you obsessed with religious divides alone, when it is a fact that we are made up of multiple, simultaneous identities (gender, class, caste, language, region, age, skin-colour, etc)? Why do you pick and choose names and facts selectively to gain credence for your theories on the above basis? I think it is a rather imagination-rich creative interpretation of facts to see Mario Goveia as a "secular catholic.... driven out from Goanet". Many people have left and joined us over the years. Why do you not shed tears for any ones with Catholic-sounding names? If what you say is true, why do a number of practising Catholics find Goanet too "secular", or feel the need of other networks (like the Catholic-Goan Network, for instance)? You also seem to be dangerously trying to overlap Hindu and independent-thinking Catholic with support for the BJP. At the end of the day, I think it boils down to the high envy levels among some against a 17-year-old volunteer-driven experiment in alternative communication. One that has reshaped communication (particularly among the Goan diaspora, but also a small but significant section back home). So much so, that some would like to discredit Goanet, if they can't damage it. Whisper campaigns can cause suspicions; but people do know how to read between the lines. Please participate in discussions on a regular basis, if you would like not to be seen as someone just shift a few votes and influence public opinion at election time (like the ads before previous elections that appeared in newspapers here). FN PS: The BJP or MGP are not the only two "demonic political parties". The Congress is tougher to deal with, because it is a chameleon and claims to be "secular". Smaller regional parties have proven to be little more than feeder channels for the Big Two parties when they fall short of MLAs. What we need is an alert citizenry who would not see politics merely as a voting-once-every-five-years duty, and one which cannot be manipulated to suit the narrow electoral interests of the parties that -- yes -- *dominate* us! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------