Well Said, Scott, Fred
Dulce M17 #300 On Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:51:54 EST [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Hello All, > I have been a member of this list almost since its inception, and I > have to > say that I am troubled by the political exchange of recent days. > > My primary concern is that such discussions, while arguably very > important in > the proper context, will have a chilling effect on our group as a > whole. My > guess is that the demographics of this list will likely mirror > somewhat those > of the country at large--a near 50/50 partisan split. With ever > increasing > enmity and polarization in society, we need ask if these trends are > what we want > to see manifest in a group focused on the common admiration and > enjoyment of > our small sailboats. > > Furthermore, I think it is important to ponder the potential effects > of > publicly characterizing a list member--or by > extension/affiliation--a group of list > members. While for some, glib one liners or snippy pejorative > titles might > fall into the category of playful bantering, others (myself > included) might be > deeply sensitive to/offended by the same. > > I can offer one personal example of how this might in turn affect > our > otherwise amicable exchange: I was considering the upcoming San > Juan/Gulf Island > rendezvous when a particular posting (offensive to me) arrived in my > mail box. I > asked myself honestly what I would do if the sender were to be a > participant > in this rendezvous. The honest answer was that I would avoid him, > and > probably not be warmly receptive to any of his further input. This > would be a shame, > really, as I have enjoyed the information and stories shared by this > > individual over the years, and I am sure that we could find > considerable common ground > outside of politics. Am I too sensitive? Maybe, but I suspect > there are more > than a few on this list who would react similarly. > > So, while it perhaps bucks the current tendencies of our society and > partisan > politics, I would make a plea that we preserve this list as a > sanctuary for > our beloved pastime of our boats and sailing. I don't in any way > mean to > suggest that political discourse is irrelevant. Those on this list > who know me > well are amply aware that I have my own pronounced political and/or > personal > passions. Nor am I at all unsympathetic to wanting to find the > reinforcement and > validation of politically like-minded individuals. I would only ask > that, for > purposes of harmony, we focus on that of which we are truly > like-minded--the > world of M-Boats and sailing in general. > > I believe it is incumbent upon all of us to extend individuals the > same > respect in cyberspace as we would in person. Doing so would serve > our list well. > > Thank you for your consideration, > > Scott Grometer > M15 #478 > Flicka #392 > > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
