James Douglas expulsion

[Brett Rushforth]

As an interloper I am reluctant to weigh in at all, but I feel a sense of
duty to do so.  I personally have read no posts that were offensive enough
to warrant Mr. Douglas's rejection from the list.  I have to agree that
those making the decision to expel him ought to be specific when they
allege wrongdoing.  What in particular was offensive?  I may not have read
the postings...the more technically linguistic ones often pass me by.

It is, in fact, the purpose of these lists to gather divers opinions that
bear on a subject of mutual scholarly interest.  It seems that rejecting
Mr. Douglas from the list runs counter to the stated objectives of listserv.

Another point: who says that only First Nations have an authoritative voice
on these matters?  Does that mean that only women can write about women,
only whites about whites, only fork lift operators about fork lift
operators?  There is value to both an emic and an etic point of view.  The
function of a discussion list is not to establish and defend a company
line, but to encourage pointed debate and discussion, to share research
ideas, and to network among people with similar interests.

Regards,
Brett Rushforth
University of California, Davis