[Vision2020] A Weatherman Indeed

[No Weatherman]

What I say to deserve this?

On Tue, Nov 4, 2008 at 6:39 AM, Rosemary <donaldrose at cpcinternet.com> wrote:
> Visionaries:
>
> The Weathermen aka The Weather Underground was a collection of mostly white,
> mostly privileged, underemployed, arguably over-educated, little brats who
> threw  violent and disruptive tantrums to emphasize their outrage at the
> imperialistic and militaristic actions of the federal government.  There was
> something singularly galling (not to mention criminal) about the
> post-adolescent jackasses who so arrogantly declared war on America, blew up
> some buildings (and a couple of their own members) and eventually
> (predictably) settled into the comfortable, upper middle-class lives they
> claimed to disdain.
>
> Now Vision 2020 has a Weatherman doppelgänge of its very own - self
> important, parochially brainwashed, rude as only the self-entitled can be,
> disruptive,  threatening, and unquestionably a jackass.  Bill Ayers
> apparently offered the justification for the extraordinarily intrusive
> behavior of No Weatherman while concurrently serving as a role model.
>
> For all Ayers'  faults - and they are numerous - Bill Ayers appears to live
> – at least at this point – in the real world. Trolls like No Weatherman
> inhabit the land of Magical Thinking – where their coercive and obsessive
> monopolization of conversation is a futile attempt to fill the chasm that
> marks the boundary between maturity and immaturity, gravitas and a
> pathetically prolonged adolescence, mental health and emotional fragility, a
> sense of being grounded in the community and the wild flaying of an
> untethered ego.  Are his pompous pronouncements irritating as hell? You
> betcha.  Are his piddling pretensions  of  educating 2020 readers insulting
> and limited in intellectual scope?  You betcha.  He is a sad and sorry piece
> of work. You definitely betcha.
>
> No Weatherman's conversational style is reminiscent of a shrieking child in
> the candy aisle demanding (and getting) a bag of Skittles to shut him up.
> One can't help noticing the little monster and drawing some pretty plain
> conclusions about the adults in charge of him.  Similarly, perhaps it is
> time to revisit the goals and ground rules of V2020. If the intention of the
> founders was to encourage a free flowing, un-moderated community
> conversation it appears to be a failed strategy, or perhaps it succeeded
> beyond their wildest dreams.  However, when an anonymous bully is allowed,
> indeed encouraged  because of the lack of enforced guidelines - to dominate
> the conversation and threaten other posters the antithesis of communication
> has been achieved.  No pragmatist is surprised when a utopian concept is
> hijacked. Perhaps it's time for a realistic reappraisal of what does or does
> not contribute to a successful community chat group.  And, it is to be
> hoped, we will soon enjoy the implementation of a structure  that actually
> invites diverse and respectful participation.
>
> Rose Huskey
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