On Tue, 10 Apr 2001 07:21:34 -0400, Lee Bell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>There is a thread presently going on with a subject line full of derogatory
>ethnic terms which, unfortunately, has deteriorated to actually using one
>of those terms against a list member.
>
>I've obviously got no room to criticize a flame war between others, but I
>think I'm pretty much in line in asking that participants refrain from
>ethnic name calling.  It is offensive, counter productive and belittles
>the person who resorts to such tactics.
>
>Otherwise, have at it.


Lee, since you're addressing "the participants", I can only speak
for MYSELF.  Your comments, applied to ME were rather "out of context"
in more ways than one, as far as MY use of the term Frog is concerned.
You were simply WRONG in your reading of the "subject" which I'll
explain below.


1.  The use of the term Frog and Gruenouille for Jean-Marc by me
    has been a LONG running JOKE (without any derogatory nor
    ethnic slur implications;  and understood to be so by J-M)
    at least a year or two before the present thread.

> a subject line full of derogatory ethnic terms which, unfortunately,
> has deteriorated to actually us has deteriorated to actually using
> one of those terms against a list member.

2.  The subject line was a "quote" from a different newsgroups,
    used as a SATIRE to suggest to Chris McKinney (and others)
    to abandon the old flamewar threads and discuss SCUBA instead.
    So far, it has succeeded in the former, with Chris McKinney,
    and obviously not Jean-Marc, who merely continued the old,
    and diversified to the new.

3.  "The subject line full of derogatory terms" was understood to be
    a JOKE/SATIRE by those who participated in the early follow-up,
    thus averting a continuation of an OLD flamewar ... all until
    Jean-Marc came along to start a NEW flamewar against Viv!  Then
    *I* became J.M.'s target once more, while my OWN USE of the
    term Frog was/is no more derogatory than my use explained in (1)
    above.

4.  My utter distate for Jean-Marc's continued NOISE and DISRUPTION to
    ongoing SCUBA DISCUSSION topics was/IS genuine and real, much more
    so than his use of terms INTENDED to be derogatory on me:

    Taleban Bob
    Obersturmbannfuehrer Von Fisch?
    SloBobdan Vivosevic
    Osama Bob Laden

    etc.

But my own use of the term Frog for Jean-Marc remained no different
from its long-standing use as a JOKE, though in the present thread,
without understanding the CURRENT and HISTORY contexts, someone
may misconstrue it otherwise.

For you Lee, you should have known better insofar as MY USE is
concerned, as I explained in (1)-(4) above.  I don't speak for the
others in your group indictment of "participants" because I don't
even know who else you targeted.

I suggest you leave ME out of any continuation of your present post,
and return to SCUBA discussion instead, as you seemed to be doing so
well until you put ME back into your target-shooting range.

-- Bob.