I agree that opposing points of view are important.
But Mr. Bottoms' letter denigrated the ENTIRE Muslim
population--which is plain wrong to me--and if that's
a so-called "extremely liberal point of view" then by
all means call me liberal. 

Look I believe that the KKK has the right to march in
this country and espouse it's point of view. But that
doesn't mean that I have to support it--which is what
I was trying to say about Mr. Bottoms. That is, he has
a right to say what he wants to say. At the same time,
I have the right (in fact a duty) to oppose that kind
of speech.

I know that some people are tired of this thread. I
came to it late and I promise that this will be my
last word.

--- Rebecca Fitzgerald <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hmmm...it's very interesting that while Mr. Bottoms
> posted a quoted article
> that is certainly controversial and expresses the
> purported opinion of one
> retired general. But, Mr. Bottoms has not sunk to
> the depths of some members
> of this list. I've seen posts that referred to him
> as a "creep" or a
> "troll." Most posts dismissed him as a "mad ranter"
> or an inflammatory
> "baiter." 
> 
> Mr. Bottom's post has actually helped expose a
> serious weakness of this
> list, and one that prevents me from recommending it
> to my colleagues and
> students. The Museum-L listserv is a very
> politically polarized list, very
> intolerant of any views other than the extremely
> liberal one. Folks who do
> express a contrary view are shouted down and
> characterized as bumpkins or
> ignorant. 
> 
> I belong to several successful history listservs
> that could serve as models
> to this group. I'd like to recommend MARHST-L, a
> maritime history listserv.
> This list includes members from every corner of the
> world, and every
> political leaning. And because of the maritime
> content, politics and war are
> necessarily part of the discussion. The difference
> is that these discussions
> are framed carefully, respectful to ALL members,
> regardless of nation or
> viewpoint. We would do well to emulate this list.
> 
> Successful listservs go beyond civility, to caring.
> I was in a meeting
> yesterday with colleagues from Iraq and Lebanon. The
> gentleman from Iraq was
> describing some of the country's internal problems
> that have resulted from
> the war, and the ensuing poverty. He insisted on
> using his English, and used
> the word "careless" to describe the behaviors of
> some of his countrymen:
> looting, robbing and mugging other Iraqis. His
> meaning was that they had no
> love of their own countrymen. I've thought lots
> about his use of the word
> and it seems to apply here. We don't mean to hurt
> with our words, but we are
> careless...meaning that we have no love/concern for
> the folks who are
> reading our posts. 
> 
> Donning my asbestos suit!
> 
> Becky Fitzgerald
> Susquehanna Museum
> 
>
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The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).