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In Reply to: Re: I agree but disagree posted by moonshiner on May 15, 2006 at 13:31:31:
I try not to disregard the angry rants that get posted on the various boards simply because they're angry. Tom Buckley's particular rant lost credibility with me because he made accusations without providing statements of evidence, such as, "I think Tim Peters is an asshole because on such-and-such a date and place Tim did x, y, z." Maybe there is a ring of truth to what Buckley said, but it came across to me as a lot of sour grapes and vindictiveness. When people get into name-calling (whether SG or FG), they tend to loose credibility with me.
Help me understand something. Why would negotiating a charity deal that involved moldy rice be a damnable offense? Shit happens, doesn't it? So Tim beat his own promotional drum about the "good" deed of a rice shipment that was worthless. Is that a crime? In my book, it's just the arrogance of an insecure person covering up for sloppy work.
As far as threats go, I didn't like Deb's clumsy attempt at intimidation, but it came across as the kind of BS lawyers are taught to fling around, and she backed off immediately. Buckley's threat, on the other hand, sounded like the kind of BS that batterers throw around--it carried the crazy edge of interpersonal violence.
I probably do cut SGs a little more slack than FGs when it comes to my willingness to tolerate immature, hostile behavior. Quite frankly, I expect more of my peers (people in their 50s and 60s) in the way of self-control, insight and judgment than I expect from people in their 20s and 30s.
And maybe I am soft-peddling on Deb about her father. When someone is defensive about a loved one, I see no reason to escalate that defensiveness with more criticism. Being solicitous toward Deb doesn't mean I think Tim Peters is a saint or that she's particularly knowledgeable about her father's business. It seems totally human to me for her to want to defend her father. Crimeny, even Tricia & Julie Nixon defended their father when the nation was howling for his head on a platter. Why? Because they were plugged into a loving side of Tricky Dick that none of the rest of us could see or appreciate. Seems to me there's a time and place for building on the positive, even if the person of interest is an absolute scoundrel.
