fm wrote-
Quote:BDVIf youre assuming that the previous 1000 pages will help, forget it. Ill try to summarize them for you so you can just jump in
I must say that I am at a loss to understand your participation if that characterisation of the thread is how you feel about it.
There is a great deal to be learned from this thread and a few others I could mention although I can see that anyone with such a cynical viewpoint as you express is probably not in a proper state of mind to take advantage of it.
The thread exists as a fact in the world and it is therefore of interest to anyone with a true scientific cast of mind. All facts in the world endlessly fascinate the true scientist and only time gets in the way of his curiousity being exercised on all of them. Even if your description is true it would remain a matter of interest in respect of the mechanisms which needs must have brought it about. It is at bottom a severe criticism of the American educational system and the manner of discourse of what seem on the face of it to be fairly successful products of that system. Could your characterisation be extended, as is reasonable, to cover the whole of American discourse. Is that how you talk to each other in daily life. One needn't stretch one's imagination too far to think that it might well be a distinct possibilty. If one stretched a little further with that in mind one might begin to wonder if such an accepted and normal manner of discourse is a possible cause of some of your well known social ills. The assertion and the counter assertion which you symbolise so well usually progresses to louder voices, shouting, pushing and shoving and falling short of coming to blows not speaking to each other. (Aaaaahhhh!)
Your advice to BDV makes the assumption, and making assumptions is a prime characteristic of asserters, that he isn't very bright and will be put off participating in this thread. Whether you have a motive for putting him off I don't know but by participating in the thread he might eradicate for ever any feeling he may have of emigrating from Ireland which could be extremely useful for him.
