Newsgroups: bit.listserv.deaf-l
Date:         Thu, 17 Dec 1992 16:56:58 EST
From:         "Joseph P. Riolo" <riolo@COR4.PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: embellishment

Hello, Lew...

      Needless to say, I am late!  On my list of excuses, I choose no. 41,
58, 102, 452, and hmmm maybe 643.

>     You've been posting quite a few messages recently, but you have yet to
>answer David James' direct question of a few weeks ago. David and I and
>several other people are still waiting for your response.

      Oh, really.  I have no idea that there are people out there waiting
for my answer.  Let me write no. 781 on my list:  "I thought no one wants
my response to __(insert name)__'s post."  And, add no. 781 to above.

>     You said you could understand why Deaf people would not believe what
>Henry Kisor wrote about his life -- because you yourself believe that he
>embellished the facts in order to make his book more marketable.

      I do not believe completely that he embellished his facts in his
book.  It is just my feeling that he could have done it but at the same
time, he could not have done it anyway.  It is hard to know which one
Henry was doing.

      Let me quote what I said a while ago on 9/25/92:

>      You have to earn trust (and respect).  It does not come for free.  I
>can understand why this group feels that way.
>      .
>      .
>      .
>      One thing I have learned from the book titled "Amusing Ourselves to
>Death" (I think the title is correct) is that most of the times, media
>has to be entertainable so that it can earn money.  It is very possible
>that Henry's book is revised slightly or alot so to make it more entertainable
>for people to buy his books.  That is my feeling.  I do not claim that I
>am right.  I do not know how much is left out, how much is distorted,
>how much is added, so on.

      I should have added that this is also true for all autobiographies.
I do not intend to single out Henry's book.  I do not really like
autobiographies as much as knowledge books.  It is just my feeling that
all the authors of the autobiographies are not being honest at all the
times.  It is difficult to know what they are hiding.  They have
complete monopoly on what go to their books.  I can not simply put my
trust in them completely as I could do with my friends.  It is just
understandable for anyone to tell other sides of stories about the
authors.  To be fair both to the authors and people who tell other sides,
I have to listen to both of them and I have to decide what to do with
what I have received from them.


>     David asked you to explain exactly what Kisor wrote that you don't
>believe, and why you don't believe it.
>     We are waiting for you to challenge one or more specific passages in
>the book.

      I have not read Henry's book yet.  My friend lent me her book yesterday
and I will try to read it as fast as I can.  But, to be honest with you, I
am not going to believe everything in the book.  I may certainly believe
some of the book but not 100% of the book.

                                        Joseph P. Riolo
                                        <riolo@pica.army.mil>
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU