[Peace-discuss] AWARE

[John W.]

On Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 1:25 PM, John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 1:03 PM, <jgeo61 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Silly?  I support the First Amendment as much as you do.  I want another
>> venue, stage, arena for the 3-4 of you to debate your issues as often and as
>> fervently as you wish to.  I want as many AWARE folks to read and enjoy as
>> they wish to and to respond in kind if they chose to.  I and the many who
>> have contacted me personally through all of this, want a space too to talk
>> about some differing issues related to peace.  When I am on this list, I do
>> feel as if I have arrived at a party 15min. late and now am having trouble
>> adapting to the current topic of conversation.  I know that it will be just
>> as difficult to change the conversation even if I can get my toe in.
>>
>
> I guess I wonder what is preventing the rest of you, the "Silent Majority"
> on this list, from saying anything you want to say at any time you want to
> say it.  I try to exercise a bit of discretion, but if I have something to
> say I just say it.  I don't feel constrained in the least except by my own
> sense of decency....and occasionally not even by that.  :-)
>
> I also thought that Peace-discuss, as opposed to Peace and Peace-action and
> so on, was where people could post thought-provoking articles, personal
> observations, and what have you.  DISCUSSION, as the list name implies.
>
> Sure, Carl's unvarying fulminations against Obama and Wayne's myopic
> libertarian rants sometimes get tiresome.  And sure, their overly pedantic
> personalities cloy at times.  But I still haven't worn out the "delete" key
> on my keyboard.  And occasionally those two worthies come up with a gem that
> is well worth reading or thinking about.
>
> I actually enjoyed the little discussion of "pontificate".  For those of
> you who don't like words and etymology...well, there's that delete key.
>
> I dunno.  It seems like much ado about relatively nothing to me, at least
> on this list.  No one is stopping anyone that I can see from planning any
> sort of PEACE ACTION their little heart desires.
>
> Of course I don't attend AWARE meetings, so maybe there's something else
> going on of which I'm unaware (pun not initially intended, but thoroughly
> enjoyed by Yours Truly  :-) ).  I actually appreciate being permitted to
> participate on this list.  And as long as that permission endures, I won't
> feel or be intimidated by Carl or anyone else.  By the same token, I'd hate
> to be deprived of the wisdom of Ricky Baldwin, Stuart Levy, Dave Johnson,
> and others.  And I'm sure some of the "lurkers" have wisdom to share as
> well.  Please share it.
>
> John Wason
>

I will add that there are other organizations in town that actually DO stuff
as opposed to merely talking about stuff.  CU Citizens for Peace and Justice
comes immediately to mind, as does the IMC.  I'm sure there are others.
Some of the members of the two aforementioned groups are also on this list,
but they're not the pedants.  I personally stopped participating in AWARE
functions after a relatively short stint because I couldn't see where AWARE
was DOING much of value.  Perhaps that simply reflects my own personality
rather than anything that AWARE stands for or does.  Nevertheless I suspect
that my perspective is shared by others.  I like and need an organization
that manages to strike a good balance between communicating, doing, and
enhancing personal relationships.  It's not easy, but it can be done.

John again




>   I want to know why you folks need an audience of 165 plus readers to host
>> your own conversations?  For the record, 30 plus msgs. per day are too many
>> for many of us to listen to.  No, I will not take my toys and go home; I
>> want a solution to this issue.
>>
>> Joy George
>>
>
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