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From: rohn@randvax.UUCP (Laurinda Rohn)
Newsgroups: net.news.group,net.religion
Subject: Re: Proposal for net.religion subgroups
Message-ID: <2088@randvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Nov-84 12:19:08 EST
Article-I.D.: randvax.2088
Posted: Mon Nov  5 12:19:08 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Nov-84 03:49:18 EST
References: <1619@ucf-cs.UUCP>, <967@houxm.UUCP>, <1639@ucf-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Rand Corp., Santa Monica
Lines: 47

>>From: yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid)
>>A christian mailing list is, in comparison with a net forum open
>>at least to public ears and monitoring (if not to their keyboards),
>>a rather secretive alternative. Such a secretive alternative as a
>>SUBSTITUTE FOR a public forum strikes me as something out of
>>pre-WWII Germany and makes me, as a Jew, very nervous. There are
>>many christian mailing lists, jewish mailing lists, etc. and that
>>is to be expected.... but why is a christian mailing list suggested
>>AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO a forum open to public monitoring? Is this to
>>be a network where KKK and neo-nazis can spew their obscenities
>>without fear of being 'found out'?
     .
     .
     .
>>Evil prefers the cloak of darkness and secrecy. Uprightness prefers
>>the light.

As a relatively new reader of net.news.group, I have been very impressed
with the caliber of the discussions and the reasonable airing of dissent-
ing viewpoints.  Until now.  Seldom have I seen such irrational intoler-
ance as Mr. BenDavid exhibits in his postings.  Sir, have you always
been an intolerant paranoiac, or did you have to study?  It is exactly
this sort of attitude that probably prompted the Christian mailing list.
As a committed agnostic, I have never read the contents of the mailing
list, but I really doubt that the postings are KKK and neo-nazi obscen-
ities.  Your suspicions are absurd.  There is currently a special
mailing list for feminist interests which grew out of net.women.only.
It is not read only by women, and men make frequent postings.  We do
not espouse the elimination of the entire male population.  The list
was created as a forum for people (men AND women) to discuss issues
pertaining to feminism and being female.  I strongly suspect that the
Christian mailing list was created for parallel reasons.  The creation
of net.religion.christian is a good idea, but should be done with the
understanding that arguments that Christianity is wrong are improper
and should be submitted to net.religion.

By the way, such intolerance, bigotry, and narrowmindedness as Mr.
BenDavid's ought to be confined to /dev/null, but net.flame will do
if he feels he must post such things.  Mr. BenDavid, please do not
subject the readers of net.news.group to such garbage.

					Lauri Rohn
					rohn@rand-unix.ARPA
					decvax!randvax!rohn


Intolerance is the last defense of the insecure.