[SunRescue] STOP IT. NOW.

[Bill Bradford]

On Tue, Apr 10, 2001 at 06:36:42AM -0700, ed at the7thbeer.com wrote:
> Wow, a tempest in a teapot. =20
> Anyways, ego-manaiacal megalomaniacs aside

You forgot that I'm also a Lego Maniac, and yesterday was another
Manic Monday.

Also the fact that I *do* run these lists, provide the machine that=20
does so, *and* pay for the bandwidth used every month - so I have=20
every right in the book to request that discussions be moved to
another list - and then get a little angry when someone doesnt do
so, or laughs at my requests.

Shoulda used the automatic complaint generator:
(http://www-csag.cs.uiuc.edu/individual/pakin/complaint)

The furor over metagrobolism has been an acutely frustrating cultural pheno=
menon: pregnant with great possibility, touching on vital and fascinating i=
ssues, yet initially formulated in a one-sided and huffy manner that will u=
se organized violence to suppress opposition in the coming days. What's imp=
ortant to note, however, is that Mr. William C. Bradford II's writings shar=
e many of the same characteristics. As this letter will make clear, we must=
 remove our chains and move towards the light. (In case you didn't understa=
nd that analogy, the chains symbolize William's depraved, sinful ventures, =
and the light represents the goal of getting all of us to establish a suppo=
rtive -- rather than an intimidating -- atmosphere for offering public comm=
ent.) He is missing not only the point, but also the whole paradigm shift a=
nd huge sociological implications. That fact may not be pleasant, but it is=
 a fact regardless of our wishes on the matter. I have no problem with the =
manifestly obvious statement that William is obviously hiding something. I =
have no problem with the idea that William could use a heavy dose of sensit=
ivity training. And I have no problem with the special privileges occasiona=
lly granted to sententious, evil unbalanced-types. What I do have a problem=
 with are William's obnoxious, reckless jibes.=20

Did he cancel his plans to bask in the treacherous shine of Pyrrhonism beca=
use he had a change of heart, or is he continuing the same battle on anothe=
r front? It would appear to be the latter. Disorderly menaces generally cla=
im that he has no intention to feed us ever-larger doses of his lies and cr=
ackpot assumptions, but William's often-quoted perorations belie this notio=
n. I, for one, am troubled by his constant exaggerations and half-truths, a=
nd everyone with half a brain understands that. Although this may come as a=
 surprise to some readers, I'm tired of violent nettlesome-types. Period, f=
inis, and Q.E.D.=20

William has abandoned ethics altogether. Ergo, William seeks scapegoats for=
 his own shortcomings by blaming the easiest target he can find, that is, d=
eceitful urban guerrillas. Who could have guessed that he would recruit and=
 encourage young people to mold your mind and have you see the world not as=
 it is, but as he wants you to see it, just as older drug dealers use young=
 kids to push drugs? To put it another way, how can he be so repugnant? Fir=
st, I'll give you a very brief answer, and then I'll go back and explain my=
 answer in detail. As for the brief answer, if he can't be reasoned out of =
his prejudices, he must be laughed out of them. If he can't be argued out o=
f his selfishness, he must be shamed out of it.=20

But there I go again, claiming that one can consecrate one's life to the se=
rvice of a noble idea or a glorious ideology. William, however, is more lik=
ely to shrink the so-called marketplace of ideas down to convenience-store =
size. I myself am hurt, furious, and embarrassed. Why am I hurt? Because to=
 get even the simplest message into the consciousness of recalcitrant, unco=
mpromising heavy metal fans, it has to be repeated at least 50 times. Now, =
I don't want to insult your intelligence by telling you the following 50 ti=
mes, but I feel that writing this letter is like celestial navigation. Befo=
re directional instruments were invented, sailors navigated the seas by fix=
ing their compass on the North Star. But I recently heard William tell a bu=
nch of people that hanging out with pusillanimous slumlords is a wonderful,=
 culturally enriching experience. I can't adequately describe my first reac=
tion to this notion; I simply don't know how to represent uncontrollable la=
ughter in text. Why am I furious? Because many people who follow his object=
ives have come to the erroneous conclusion that the cure for evil is more e=
vil. The truth of the matter is that all William really wants is to hang on=
to the perks he's getting from the system. That's all he really cares about=
. And why am I embarrassed? Because his hatred knows no bounds. No joke.=20

Here's an idea: Instead of giving William the ability to commit senseless a=
cts of violence against anyone daring to challenge his combative remonstrat=
ions, why don't we take away as many of his opportunities for mischief as p=
ossible? If we do, we'll then be able to study the problem and recommend co=
rrective action. Allow me to explain. I like to face facts. I like to look =
reality right in the eye and not pretend it's something else. And the reali=
ty of our present situation is this: His statements are an icon for the det=
erioration of the city, for its slow slide into crime, malaise, and filth. =
The facts are in: Some of Mr. William C. Bradford II's belligerent, unforgi=
ving teachings are so self-contradictory, they're their own refutation.

Bill

--=20
Bill Bradford
mrbill at mrbill.net
Austin, TX