Subject: re: offensive signature block
Date: Dec 15 15:37:49 1997
From: Louise Martell - martell at u.washington.edu


Enough. Please carry out this dialogue in private and let's all get back
to birds.

*****************************************************************************
Louise Martell
Family and Child Nursing Box 357262
University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7262
e-mail martell at u.washington.edu
*****************************************************************************


On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, PAGODROMA wrote:

> Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
> 47.56N, 122.13W
> (Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> God was my co-pilot,
> but when we crashed in the mountains,
> I had to eat him :-))
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> John 8:7
> "So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He
> who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." (i.e. me =
> 'her' in this case, which should read 'him', referring back to 'me' of course,
> and not 'Him' which may in fact be 'Her', but more likely, neither, or both,
> or some as yet undefined entity, or some space born energy life force, or the
> manifestation of all life and creation. See how complicated this gets, and
> then we all go storming off to war and kill off the bloody dissidents).
> http://209.66.73.233/cgi-bin/bible.exe
>
> Luke 6:37
> "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be
> condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
> http://209.66.73.233/cgi-bin/bible.exe
>
> I feel like a 3rd grade boy in Catholic parochial school being slapped on the
> wrist with a ruler by those guilt mongering nuns and priests dressed in black.
> I had no idea some flame was burning in tweeterland until one tweet posted
> privately to me commenting on the Swallow-tailed Gull: "BTW, what do you mean
> by your ending byline (re the controversy erupting over slamming the church or
> whatever)?"
>
> Huh?!!? Hello?
>
> Even this noon (Monday), no such referenced tweeter mail has arrived in my
> inbox. For some evil reason, it can take up to three days for the latest
> postings to arrive, all trickling in helter-skelter, out of order, like a jig-
> saw puzzle, and I end up having to piece it together in an order flowing with
> a thread. --I'm still trying to figure out what this urban Peregrine variant
> 'side-hill gouger cuckoo' string is all about... back-side & front-side
> gouger?! -- very funny BTW! And some of you wonder why some of us are so
> warped at this entertaining luncheon forum. LOL! So, I rushed to the Tweeters
> E-mail website to see what the fuss was all about, click on "most recent" and
> low and behold, a whole parcel of replies to "CALBIRD cool opportunity". Good
> heavens! What could forwarding a post offering a golden opportunity to
> experience the wonders of spending a few weeks on California's Farallon
> Islands for FREE conjure up, me wonders?! Surely the die-hard anti-California
> faction of Washingtonians aren't even *that* provincial and protective as to
> get all riled up over this!!? Maybe it was the misplaced typo, 'Least Storm
> Petrel' which probably should have read Leach's? I had to scroll through the
> whole thing (the original CALBIRD post) twice before I figured out what all
> the fuss was about -- oh! ..the signature byline! This little objection brings
> to mind a comment by Hal Opperman (Xantus thread) about the "thought police".
> Of course, reading Tweeters from the "most recent postings" option means
> reading an evolving thread backwards, and when the "impudent" reference to me
> cropped up leaping off the screen early on, I really was completely miffed by
> this all until scrolling back up for a re-read to see that that remark was
> made within the context of Michael Price's reply.
>
> I haven't cracked a bible in probably 25 years. But I'm not ignorant nor
> insensitive either, having spent all of the first half of my life and
> formative years little by little learning bits and pieces here and there and
> establishing a firm foundation upon which to build my life, my *eternal
> thanks* to my life-long and devoted parents who raised me as they did in the
> Protestant (Methodist) faith with all the trimmings in the bread basket
> heartland of middle America. I feel like one of the 'lucky' ones and it
> saddens me to the point of tears sometimes to see kids and so much of society
> today seemingly misguided, lost, and cast adrift. Worsened even more to see
> Archdeacon Francis, of all people, seemingly throwing up his hands in
> submission to write and post before the entire world, and in not such good
> English too I might add (shudder shudder): "But what can we except out of
> people these days there minds are warped." Long gone is the nostalgic '50's
> era of my boyhood innocence.
>
> The point is, I retained some of the more important philosophical teachings
> which are essential for conducting and maintaining a relatively harmonious and
> peaceful life coexistent amidst all the pitfalls along the way. But here, and
> just to prove once again the *awesome power* of the INTERNET and the WEB, as
> if this little technological marvel *is* God, and with already knowing the
> gist of the above cited verses to heart, albeit not the exact wording, I
> launched a search to see if I could actually find the exact verses I was
> thinking of, having no idea really where they were, probably somewhere between
> Matthew and John, I figured. Web Search Enter: Bible Verses. The first
> potential site was 3rd on the list out of over 'only' 4,000,000 choices
> Presto, click on that, and a bible verse search engine appears; I enter the
> word "sin" figuring that there would be millions of those so specific to that
> word that actually nailing the exact reference would be like looking for a
> needle in a haystack, I guessed. *Every* verse in the bible that had the word
> "sin" even if it was 'contained' within another word (e.g. single) was listed,
> 'sin' highlighted in blue, and each reference and verse cited. I didn't even
> have to wait for this numbing long list to upload into my machine; they just
> all appeared instantly at the click of the mouse! A quick scrolling scan and,
> Presto! In less than three minutes flat total from the very start (search:
> Bible Verses) to finish, I was right on the exact verse that I had in mind.
> Next, Search, Enter: "judge not". Presto, the first bible passage at the top
> of that list had this one precisely, all in less than 10 seconds! So impressed
> am I, I've bookmarked this web page. This beats running out right now amidst
> the Christmas shopping melee to buy a hard copy of the bible.
>
> So if anything good can be said over this little snit, it would have to be
> that Archdeacon Francis at least jolted me into action after 25 years and into
> actually taking a look at the bible again, albeit on the Web. All the answers,
> inspiration, and plain common sense you ever need to know (except stuff about
> gull ID) are in there without possessing a required continuous and righteous
> lifetime of preparatory knowledge. All of those passages are open to
> interpretation and application to current times of course, none-the-less,
> after clearing away the clutter, the root meanings applicable to and tailored
> to an individual's needs are personal and still valid.
>
> I haven't actively practiced in any organized religion for 25, maybe 30 years.
> And I don't necessarily find my faith and my answers within the confines of
> simple wooden or brick structures, or splashy glass palaces, or fancy colossus
> "Oz"-like towering spires piercing the night sky with Gabriel blaring his
> trumpet, or on the radio, or gracing the tube with the likes of Cable TV's
> TBN. We each find and follow our paths in accordance with not always societal
> accepted standards built upon experiences over a lifetime. What I do accept
> and endorse is gleaned from a lifetime of unique travel opportunities, a free
> fringe benefit that goes hand in hand with the work I do as a globe trotting
> marine wildlife biologist, and absorbing so much just by being in an ever
> ready state of awareness and wonderment over even the most minuscule of things
> in nature and life. As Don Baccus pointed out, Christianity is NOT the only
> religion offered out there, nor the one and only one that our global society
> must embrace. These fortuitous and rewarding experiences afforded me over so
> many years have yielded deeply enriching opportunities to sample peoples from
> all over the world, their differing cultures and walks of life, to observe
> their values, beliefs, philosophies, and religions. I relish these
> opportunities and experiences with as much enthusiasm as I do the birds in
> those and all places. Global travel on such a shoestring grand scale, means
> deliberate distancing of myself from the throngs of package tourists and
> discarding the attendant comforts of western living as the only path to
> connect with the human bonds common to those diverse places. Thus, I've
> learned from my travels and experiences and have come to adopt and apply bits
> and pieces from all over the spectrum into my own philosophy and being. They
> all focus pretty much around a central common sense theme; just over time and
> eons of geographical isolation have each vectored out in various directions
> and interpretations. Sadly, these remain often times so strange and alien,
> hence misunderstood and dismissed by those of us who have never or have seldom
> been blessed with similar mind-opening opportunities, or are tied to other
> obligations, or are just plain too afraid to try. Traveling and opening one's
> self and mind up to the mysteries strips away the pretense, the biases, and
> the fears, and we suddenly are graced with an aura of enlightenment that warms
> the heart and soul.
>
> To my thinking, in this relatively new and fast-paced electronic medium, the
> ideal signature block if one so chooses to use one at all would be something
> different, unique, inspiring or humorous for each day of one's cyber life
> unless it is one so classic and simple like Michael Price's quote from Buzz
> Lightyear (fabulous movie: "Toy Story") that it is so befitting to a birding
> forum like Tweeters. However, if I did that, then everyone *really would*
> think I have way too much time on my hands and I *really am* spending all of
> my life crunching on the keyboard and on the INTERNET.
>
> The little joke about God in my recent past signature block had only been put
> up there for the short life span of about two weeks and is not even
> 'original'. I stole it from somewhere else in cyberspace. I thought it funny
> as did a number of others who specifically sent private remarks well before
> this little brouhaha erupted. The context from where it comes should be
> obvious to most, but if not, then recall the commercial airliner crash high up
> in the most remote and frozen South American Andes a few years back where the
> survivors had to resort to cannibalism to survive. Very likely there are other
> tweets and web surfing lurkers from beyond who have remained silently in
> obscurity who may have shared the same views as Archdeacon Francis. There are
> all sorts of sordid off color jokes for every event, tragedy, and moment in
> human history (witness the tasteless slough with Princess Diana's death, the
> space shuttle Challenger tragedy, OJ, ...the list is endless, especially in
> the INTERNET). Sick? Maybe, especially if misinterpreted and taken too
> literally and out of context. This warped sense of humor is just part of the
> strange brew that bonds the insecurities of the human condition and experience
> which affects us all, and well... helps us seek our identity as human in a
> global community.
>
> I dare say "God" was not offended by my little crack. Otherwise, "He" would
> not be standing over my shoulder right now guiding the words in this
> composition. It's hard to come up with something unique and/or "original" for
> a signature block byline. However, I am withdrawing the 'offending' byline,
> NOT because an extreme minority may have found it offensive, disturbing, or
> distracting, but because I was already tiring of it even before this incident
> and feel that it has run it's course.
>
> And to you, Archdeacon Francis, I am not beholding any resentment towards you
> or your comment. You are entitled to your opinion as clearly so stated in the
> U.S. Constitution with regards to free speech. However, in this case, and as
> per the rather subtle unwritten rules of 'netiquette' it would have been more
> appropriate to have addressed your objection to me privately rather than the
> whole list and consequently risk facing the wrath, discreditation, and
> humiliation, not just from Tweeters, but before the eyes of the whole world,
> most of whom will remain silent. Your posting (at least to me) rang with a bit
> of newness and naivety to the sometimes shocking world of the INTERNET, and I
> can certainly understand and forgive for that. But, if you were offended just
> by *my* mere harmless little signature byline "joke", ...well, brace yourself
> buster; you ain't seen nuthin' yet! '-)
>
> I hope, Archdeacon Francis, that this response won't dissuade you in
> continuing to enjoy Tweeters, maybe even contribute from time to time, and I
> invite you to join in in our discussions. All are welcome here as are all
> points of view no matter how heated and controversial, or just plain wierd,
> they can get sometimes. We're still all friends. Rest assured, there are no
> lingering or smoldering hostilities or resentments.. Travel through cyberspace
> is way to fast to dawdle along burdened with such, and as I've said before,
> here and elsewhere, my attention span and memory to just about anything is
> about as long as the life expectancy of a gnat in a batswarm. [This btw
> *would* make a good signature byline -- and it *is* original, though probably
> not; I've just not seen it ever before yet. If someone wants to use it, then
> cite me as author ;-)) It might be the only time in my life that I might be
> famous for anything '-)]
>
> To all you other tweets who have endured this long, sorry for being so long
> (again). 'Nuff said on this I think. Now, le's get back to those side-hill
> gouger cuckoos and other wierd Tales from the Crypt. :-)) Your comments are
> welcome, but perhaps best done in private rather than further clutter Tweeters
> with any further non-birding related matters. Sincerely, --Richard
>
> Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
> 47.56N, 122.13W
> (Seattle/Bellevue, WA USA)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> STOP! System Failure! Save Your Work!
> [signature byline down for maintenance]
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>