On the Subject of Courteous Discourse

[John Harvey]

Having read the following message from Thomas Keene:

<quote>
I would like to ask the list moderator(s) to NOT act too quickly in
censoring those that express opinions about others on the list. 
Librarians are not delicate flowers.  We can take the rough and tumble. 
Sometimes ideas or actions (and the individuals that espouse them)
deserve
attack.  Defining someone with a derogatory term may not be at all out
of
line.  Personal discomfort cannot be the borderline between discussion
that is allowable and that which isn't in this, or any other, serious
debate.
</quote>

I feel compelled to reply. Surely our society has slid far enough into
the habit of equating those who express ideas with the ideas themselves.

Although I could not agree more that some philosophies should be fought
against, to go a step further and resort to ad hominem attacks on the
individuals themselves, whether that attack takes the form of
name-calling, burning in effigy, or actual physical assault, is surely
the first step toward the sort of "us versus them" mentality that finds
its final expression in places such as Rwanda and Serbia.

At the very least, we can try to maintain a modicum of civility in a
forum which is, after all, nominally devoted to scholarly discussion. If
you feel that considerations of "personal discomfort" are irrelevant to
this, or any other, discussion, then by all means, take it to private
e-mail, and leave the people who come here to find or share information
out of it.

On a more pragmatic note, the administrators of this or any list
obviously have the final say as to what is or is not suitable and
allowable.

All in my humble opinion, of course.

John Harvey

---====+++(*)+++====---

You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to be done. 
-Kilgore Trout

All opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and in no
way reflect official policies of the Irving Public Library or the City
of Irving.

Contents under pressure.