Beating the shit out of each other?

[The Great Quail]

OK, my last comment on this.... Keith is one of my favorite participants, so
I feel I should respond:

> Quail is one of my favorite participants as well, but the photo was too
> much. I didn't even smile. I cringed. FWIW. Those who enjoy this kind of
> thing are just keeping it alive. Even inviting Doug to respond in like
> manner. Why? There's enough creativity and intelligence on this list to have
> fun in more enjoyable ways than beating the shit out of each other, no?

First of all, I thought it was clear that I was teasing everyone involved by
making Doug out to be the Immanuel Goldstein of "Pynchsoc." The fact is, I
long ago weighed in that I thought this whole debate on 9-11 and homeland
was inane, as it JUST KEEPS GOING ON. Then of course, like everything else
around here, it degrades into a Doug vs. AntiDoug argument.

My intentions were to parody the whole list. In no way at all did I think I
was beating the shit out of anyone -- perhaps my sense of humor is rougher
than others. I obviously meant no violence, and I used an image Doug himself
made public. (Though I do believe he thinks "quails suck.")

Second of all, my letter inviting Doug to reply in kind was off-list, though
I don't think he realized that. And by "in kind," I meant something that
shared a kinship with parody, not meanness, which was not present in the
intentions of my posting.

However, one thing I will say is this: EVERYONE here who argues with Doug on
an ad hominem basis is "keeping it alive." That includes Terrence, me, and
occasionally you, Keith. One thing I can say, though, is this -- every once
in a while, someone who doesn't agree with Doug will stand and say, "Enough
of this!"

The fact is, there are two souls dwelling, ach! in our collective breasts.
One is the desire to have an intelligent, reasonable forum, the other is the
desire to give it out as good as the other guy can. In each of us, at one
time or another, the balance has shifted. Right now, Keith is crying "stop!"
-- but often he is one of the more witty people to put down Doug.... Next,
it might be Terrence, then maybe even me.

I'll be quiet now....

--Quail