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Re: Typo. (off-topic)
Tim Hollebeek wrote:
> Yes, it's very important we resist this, since left-wing groups never,
> ever tell jokes about George W. Bush,
Telling a joke is one thing. (For example while I don't quite
understand the hatred that Clinton engendered, he certainly
set himself up for some well-deserved jokes.) My complaint
is more subtle: I'm not complaining about jokes, but complaining
about jokes or commentary that re-inforce a falsehood. There
is a wide-spread belief that "Al Gore claimed to have invented
the Internet" and spreading that falsehood unthinkingly plays into
the hands of those who want to make him appear ridiculous.
It's a bit like making fun of Quayle for not knowing how to spell
potato(e). While that isn't a falsehood, it is a bit unfair,
since many people (including the Britsh IIRC) do spell it with an 'e'.
> or would ever post messages to non-political lists
Well, actually this is a GNU list, and GNU is a political movement,
as well as a technical one. However, political commentary is
generally inappropriate to this group.
> claiming that a particular portion of the
> population is more prone to character assassination.
I didn't quite say that. What I was trying to get across is that
I think the general flaw of right-wingers is a tendency to a lack
of empathy and too much judgement and not enough foregiveness for
other people's faults and mistakes (cfr calling for Walker to get
the death sentence). On the other hand, some left-wingers may be
too forgiving of people's mistakes.
In any case, it was an inappropriate dig, not needed for my main
point trying to defend Gore.
--
--Per Bothner
per@bothner.com http://www.bothner.com/per/