Respect

[Max Dashu]

Sean Crist wrote,

>It's certainly OK to hold opinions which are at variance with the majority
>scholarly view; I can certainly think of cases where I do so myself.
>Probably nobody agrees with the majority on every point.  But there seems
>to be a certain glee here in attacking every point, and doing so with
>arguments which in many cases reflect sheer ignorance.  It is starting to
>get very tiresome.  If you guys are trying to get all the specialists to
>throw up their hands and leave, you're doing a good job of it.

As a non-specialist I have been astonished by various linguists'
willingness to patiently reply to outrageous statements and rants that have
appeared on this list since I joined it. I haven't protested because it's
been rather educational and I have been enjoying the occasional humorous
rejoinders. However, sorting through the high volume of posts for the
nuggets is starting to wear. In any case, no one should have to put up with
the kind of browbeating and personal animus that has appeared in certain
recent posts.

Max