From: russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence)
Subject: Re: Bambi Fishing
Organization: WP Group
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 03:04:14 GMT


In a previous article, I wrote: 
rl> I heard the story about the "AR radicals" who'd thrown paint on 
rl> women wearing fur coats in NYC so many times that I was tempted 
rl> to believe it myself.  And why not?  Every political movement has 
rl> it's share of people who aren't fully committed to the major 
rl> goals at hand.  

Rich Young replies, after editing out a crucial part of the above passage:
ry> Like others, I do not believe that ALL AR activists engage in such
ry> terrorist activities, but there are certainly some who do, just
ry> as there are hunters which shoot holes in "STOP" signs.  Pretending,
ry> as you seem wont to do, that EVERY supporter of a particular
ry> viewpoint, especially such an emotionally charged one as AR, limits
ry> actions to calm, reasoned discourse is ingenuous and smacks of
ry> fanaticism-induced blindness.

In article <BvvGA8.Hz4@wpg.com> russ@wpg.com (Russell Lawrence) writes:
rl> You're dreaming.  Let's edit-in the brief section of my article that you
rl> carefully edited-out:
rl> ...
rl> Does it sound like I'm saying that "EVERY supporter" of any movement 
rl> is committed to peaceful activity?

From article <1992Oct9.220438.28359@pixel.kodak.com>, by young@serum.kodak.com:
ry> How about THIS part of your posting:
ry> ======================================================================
ry> ...blowing up mailboxes is not something that the AR activists I
ry> know would ever consider doing.  [From <BvuAux.853@wpg.com>]
ry> ======================================================================
ry> 
ry> You imply here that the "AR activists [you] know" are representative of
ry> AR activists in general, ...

Of course.  Were you assuming that the bombmakers were representative 
of AR activists in general?   

ry> yet now you wish to disown them? ...

Disown whom?  The AR activists that I know?  Or the bombmakers?   I'd
be quick to disown the bombmakers, but I'm not going to disown the 
millions of AR sympathizers who wouldn't think of using violence
to get the point across.

ry> And while you're at it, how about addressing the Aspen, Colorado 
ry> demonstrations...I note that, once again, you're notably silent on the
ry> subject.

Why don't you give me some pointers to the literature so that I 
can study the facts for myself?  Without digging very deeply, it 
seems rather safe to conclude that paint and blood throwing 
aren't commonplace occurrences, given the fact that there are 
hundreds of thousands of fur-wearers in NYC, yet no police records
to document any incidents.

ry> Sure, it is POSSIBLE that the farmer's mailbox was blown up in order
ry> to provide PR for anti-AR supporters, but it's far more likely that
ry> a group of people like the ones who trashed the lab in Michigan were
ry> responsible.

rl> So you say (without proof).

ry> And so did YOU say......without proof.  Funny how the standards
ry> you impose upon yourself are so much more lax.

I was under the impression that persons were innocent until proven
guilty.  You seem to be saying that your unfounded accusations ought
to be accepted as truth until they're falsified.

-- 
Russell Lawrence, WP Group, New Orleans (504) 443-5000
russ@wpg.com   uunet!wpg!russ
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals