At 12:23 PM -0700 7/20/96, Sandy Sandfort wrote:
On Sat, 20 Jul 1996, David Sternlight wrote:
Glad to explain it. I used "tell" in the sense of compel, not in the sense of expressing one's opinion. "Joe told us what to do" is different from "Joe expressed his opinion of what we should do" in the sense I used it.
Really? But you wrote:
nor do YOU get to tell them that they are poor benighted fools who should agree with YOUR views on civil liberties. To assert otherwise is fascism, authoritarianism, dictatorship, pick one.
Oh, I see, "tell," "should" and "assert" REALLY mean compel. And what, exactly, would I, the "teller" be compelling them to do? I now understand how you are able to win so many debates. I guess I'd just better give up and take THE PLEDGE, you're just too sly for me.
My use of "assert" in the above paragraph is quite different. "Tell" applies to the act I'm discussing. "assert" refers to your comment about the act. As for your complaint about "should", it and tell are consistent with my meaning which was, to be more precise: Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition: "tell...1. count, enumerate; 2. to relate in detail, narrate, give utterance to; 3. to make known, divulge, reveal; 4. to report to, inform; 5. order, direct; 6. to find out by observing, recognize. I used meaning 5 in the comment you asked about. As to your tone and subsequent remarks, this conversation is now closed. You may have the last word. To be sure I don't inadvertently continue it with you,... Plonk! David