Alvin Lee Message & Discussion Board
Ah, yes. 
I was going to take a vacation from the board, at least for a day or two, but of course, despite waking up with a bad headache, I was curious to see what may have been written in this thread since I last posted. I appreciate your good intentions, Dave, but I find I can't resist commenting that it wasn't arguing politics that caused the problem here last night. It was the point at which Dale let loose with overt and seemingly hostile personal insult-- that I've allegedly been "blasting" people on the board and then "snuggling up" to them when they agree with me, that I "always" misquote them, making their comments about me when they're not, indulging in "paranoia", etc.-- all of which was so startling and hurtful that I couldn't help but defend myself. NONE of that was fated to be simply because we were talking politics! His attacking me personally among friends in a public forum just because I was debating Obama with him more stringently or successfully than he was apparently comfortable with is not OK with me, and if I can't say so in reply, then to Hel with it all. It was wrong of him, deeply offensive to me, and it just wasn't in me to back down. I wanted him and everyone who was reading to know exactly what I thought of it, though I sought to word myself reasonably, if angrily and with characteristic forthrightness. I don't believe in sweeping things under a rug. Nothing gets learned that way. This kind of sorting-out process needs to happen after something like this, in my view, or the whole thing was in vain. Dale's insults were extreme, unwarranted, and I think an apology is an order.