----- Original Message ----- From: Neil Faulkner N.Faulkner@tesco.net
Me. I've dealt in pretty much this kind of agit-prop myself, via someone else who posted on my behalf, and as I recall I got vitriolically flamed
for
it. Not unjustifiably, either. But then I was still in my Angry Young
Man
phase (I'm a late developer, obviously) . Hopefully I'm now wiser as well as older. Wise enough, at least, to have realised that it simply doesn't work, and it's not the way to enter into constructive dialogue with an opposing point of view. If anything, it creates needless opposition, turning potential allies against you.
In fairness to Wendy, I have to say that I've often found that when I raised issues, in my usual pedantic, logic-diagram style, that I thought were sure to stir up discussion, they've gone totally ignored, sometimes to my disappointment. I mean, if I'd come on the list and said "I find issues of gender and sexuality in Deliverance, especially with regard to Avon's conduct in Meegat's presence, occasionally questionable," would anyone have responded at all? Whereas Wendy's post, using provocative words like "sexism," got people talking about the wider issues.
See? She's even got *me* participating on a thread about slash fiction. I think I saw a pig fly past my window...
Fiona
The Posthumous Memoirs of Secretary Rontane Available for public perusal at http://nyder.r67.net
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