From: spencer@shine.Princeton.EDU (S. Spencer Sun)
Subject: Re: the purpose of soc.motss (was: off-topic discussions)
Reply-To: spencer@phoenix.princeton.edu (S. Spencer Sun)
Organization: Live Organ Transplants
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 17:40:49 GMT

In article <1dk6t3INNqiu@mizar.usc.edu>, adolphso@mizar.usc.edu (adolphson) writes:
>In article <1992Nov8.212335.16424@spdcc.com> 
>dyer@spdcc.com (Steve Dyer) writes:
>> In article <1djqkhINNor7@mizar.usc.edu>
>> adolphso@mizar.usc.edu (adolphson) writes:
>> >Look, doll, the fact that I'm a nelly faggot colors -- hell,
>> >practically determines -- everything I think about, everything 
>> >I write about, everything I talk about.
>>
>> [...]
>
>[...]
>
>>>I don't draw these
>>>distinctions between the gay and the not-gay aspects of my
>>>life that you seem able to do with yours,
>>
>> Well, you know these class-of-'94's: not-gay is what they study in
>> school and how they act in class, 
>
>And not just in class -- it's how they act whenever they're in
>public.

I'm not drawing distinctions between gay and not-gay aspects of life.  If
you're gay, then you're gay for every second of your life.  But that
doesn't mean it's RELEVANT every second of your life.  I think you can
draw a similar parallel to race here.  I happen to be Chinese also, but
I don't feel compelled to draw attention to it while I'm having dinner
with my friends, or discussing music, or bitching about asshole
professors.  If I mentioned "Oh by the way, I'm Chinese" into any of
those conversations, they'd look at me funny and say "What's your
point?"  OK, granted, some of that ridiculousness is because just by
looking at me, it's plain that I'm of an Oriental persuasion and you
can't do that with sexual orientation, but even assuming some
hypothetical world where skin color didn't determine race, my comment
"BTW I'm Chinese" is just as wholly irrelevant to any of the example
topics.

That is what I meant by topics being non-motss-relevant.

>> and gay is what they do when they
>> get together amongst themselves to dance on the tables with the
>> shades drawn.  Or maybe they debate politics these days; I'm not
>> sure.
>
>Politics?  Somehow I don't think so.  No, I picture them
>giving house parties with the door securely locked and the
>shades drawn.  They put on Madonna and prance around copying
>her moves. 
>
>> >and I would actively
>> >campaign against any attempt to muzzle soc.motss.  Could you
>> >please explain what it is, exactly, that you'd like to see
>> >written about here to the exclusion of all else?
>>
>> Indeed.  I can't wait to read this.
>
>I can't wait for it myself.

I have to say I was a bit taken aback by this, and the tone of the last
three articles overall (by Arne, Steve, and Arne, in that order).  Why
such hostility?  Why so quick to make snide, disparaging stereotypes
about college undergrads?  Aren't these the very qualities we despise
when we're on the receiving end?

Of course we don't have to agree, but if we're going to disagree, we can
at least try to do it civilly.

I can't answer your question.  ("what it is, exactly...?")

I can tell you things that, *in my opinion*, shouldn't be here, which is
how this all got started.

At any way since I have apparently botched this beyond belief, let's try
taking this from the top with a fresh start (new thread) and see where it
goes.  (Yeah, I know, you're just dying to read it).

-----
sss/PU'94 Dept of CS (spencer@phoenix.princeton.edu)/JvNCnet (spencer@jvnc.net)
Weird?  We've experienced *death*!  Now somehow we've brought back our
sins physically, and they're *pissed*.