On Tue, 6 Jul 93 16:08:00 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote -

The discussion of free speech and political correctness is apparently not welcome by some on this list. I guess the usual religious debates about which mail reader is better are what we're supposed to talk about. Well, I'm a member of this list, too, and issues of censorship and free speech are more interesting to me--and to some others, I suspect--than the intricacies of "MH."

Hear, hear. Settle down, old chum. I suppose it takes a volitile issue or two to get me off of my keister, but now that I'm up, I'm more than willing to toss my (good?) name into the fracas. Idealisms are much akin to links in a chain; each crafted individually, yet forming a bond that link each idealism together into a society. (Discussions on how healthy this society really should be left for future discusion.) I walk a fine line between an affectionado for free speech and a staunch supporter of individual rights and privacy. Each aspect has its proponents and contentions, yet each aspect needs protection under _human_ law. Now, where does one infringe upon the other? I have always been fond of the adage that "your right to swing your fist ends when it hits my nose," and I hope you understand my sentiment. I have even played the role of the "net police" in at least one instance. (But then again, I did not react to rumor, innuendo or happenstance. This is another topic entirely. Those who subscribe to RISKS may be the wiser.) I applaud your exploit in the bitwise/erotica/net-police experiment. I personally think it was damned clever and proved a valuable point. In fact, I'd like to get your permission to reprint your original message in Legal Net News, por favor.

What is happening to free speech? What has happened to "Sir, I disagree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it."?

I was a military-man (once upon a time), and took that oath seriously. I tired of the "spinning-your-wheels" metality, so I naturally migrated into the private telecommunications sector. I would still defend it today, to death. Make no mistake, this country may have developed some serious problems over the course of the past 200 years, but some of us hold the intrinsic values embelished in the Constitution dear. What Tim has done is above and beyond petty in-fighting in this group. We are about change, challenge and chaos. We are old, we are new. We change, yet we are the same. What does it take? Ask us. We will tell you -- its about stirring up the pot. Paul Ferguson | "Confidence is the feeling you get Network Integrator | just before you fully understand Centreville, Virginia USA | the problem." fergp@sytex.com | - Murphy's 7th Law of Computing Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?