pynchon-l-digest V2 #2199

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Doug wrote:

> If I understand you correctly, you're saying that something in the "tone"
> of what I write convinces you that I believe that I am " the only one who
> knows exactly what is "the right thing to do".  This sounds similar to
> Corathers' response -- it's not the content of what I write, but it's an
> attitude that you infer from my tone.

If by content you mean the expressions of your political POV, yes, it is mainly
the attitude I infer from your tone that I object to. The content of P-list
related posts is a different matter, but the Quail has said just about
everything about your list tactics there is to say.

> Can you be more specfic?  Is my writing too direct?  Not enough passive
> voice, turgid, academic syntax? Too many colorful verbs and nouns? What?

I do not have the time for an analysis of your prose style. I am offering my
opinions and impressions.

> On this same topic of how people write on Pynchon-L, and while I've got
> your attention, what do you think about people like Quail, who hector and
> bluster and lard their posts with insults, epithets, and ad hominem
> attacks, and at the same time scream about how reasonable and rational and
> polite they are?

Quail is in fact reasonable and rational, if not always polite to everybody.

> You apparently don't have any problem with this sort of
> thing, as long as it's not me, or do I misunderstand you?  And you tend to
> give Terrance a free pass, no matter how vile he becomes -- what's up with
> that?  Play favorites if you like, but it's only fair to point out when
> you're doing this, especially when you make it a point to comment on what I
> write here on Pynchon-L.  If I misunderstand you or mischaracterize what
> you're saying, I apologize.

In a way it was a marvellous feat you accomplished by bringing Terrance and the
Quail to the point that they were merely capable of shouting at you. Has
happened to me, too. Have you ever thought about why you have such an effect
upon people?

As for the rest of your post: I don't know whether "Doug Millison" is your
actual name, though I assume it is. You don't know whether "Thomas Eckhardt" is
my actual name, though you perhaps assume it is. I assume that "David Morris"
and "Robert Jackson" are the actual names of the persons who post under those
names, but I can't be sure. Generally, I don't care: A "person" on a mailing
list consists of his/her postings. The human being behind the texts is subject
to conjecture, very much like the author of a fictional text.

This is my last post on this thread.

Thomas