An extended debate got started after a list member objected to the tag-line on Mike Melland's email (see previous entry) which read:
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." President Ronald Reagan, 1985
This line got Gerry Grzyb worked up enough to post a response, a long quotation from a Marine General complaining about the uses of the Marines. And they were off. . .
I don't think it is worthy of a summary, since I have much to catch up on today, but the argument ebbed and flowed about American foreign policy, the U.S. Military, Iraq, the Nuremburg Trials, and finally, some personal insults.
As the postings continued, we were hit by the usual "remove me" emails from people who still haven't learned to avoid responding to the whole list (and who don't actually ever look at the email with specific unsubscribe instructions). The final? unsubscribe came from Tom Lammers, who denounced the whole list (but especially Gerry Grzyb) and let us all know he will not discuss any longer.
The discussion about the Marines has generally been unproductive, but information about book-rental and other campus issues have been informative. Outside the often heated rhetoric of Lammers, Grzyb and a few others, it has not been a bad outlet for broader connections across campus.
4 comments:
Well, at least I am willing to sign my name to my "heated" opinions.
I know, I know, I am a scaredy-cat.
Anonymous blogs, like unsigned letters to the editor, merit no further consideration. If a person will not sign his name to an opinion, he has no right to that opinion. Or at least, I am under no obligation to give it the least regard.
I spoke my mind as I saw fit in any forum on this campus prior to receiving tenure. I never once felt any unease about my future because of my opinions. This is a university, not junior high.
Although I merit no further consideration, thanks for stopping back to see if I responded to your comment!
You live in an idyllic fantasy world if you think that people's political opinions have no impact on tenure decisions in the ivory tower.
Now I may not be a particularly radical voice, but it is without a doubt that challenging prevailing conventions or the administration can cause real, concrete problems.
I would add that it seems to me that your public voice has become louder and more stridant since you received tenure. . .
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