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Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!sophie
From: sophie@mnetor.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: The Jeff Sargent debate
Message-ID: <288@mnetor.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 9-Mar-85 16:58:24 EST
Article-I.D.: mnetor.288
Posted: Sat Mar  9 16:58:24 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 11-Mar-85 10:41:56 EST
Organization: Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lines: 47

I really don't understand what all this fuss is about.

I disagree with most of Jeff's opinions on things, but to be honest, I have
to admit that his way of thinking about things is not THAT foreign to me and
his opinions might be unorthodox, but I certainly don't find them as offensive
as other people's (e.g the arndt creep) whose contributions are defended under
the guise of "freedom of speech".  I am not christian, and therefore I cannot
really relate to any of the Jesus-Christ-stuff but some of Jeff's opinions
are interesting and worthy of discussion, e.g the idea of couples living
together without having sex, much more interesting than half of net.singles
stuff which I consider to be locker-room drivel.    To be perfectly honest,
I am much more shocked by the violence of people's reaction to Jeff's posting
than by the postings themselves.   I find that violence and the idea of
kicking Jeff off VERY interesting, especially coming from people who are
usually so quick to defend freedom of speech!!!   I think it says more about
the people who are making those suggestions than it says about Jeff.  

I think that those people could do with a little introspection to find out
what it is that disturbs them so much about what Jeff says and why it disturbs
them so much.  That could be very interesting.  I personally know why I am
bothered by some of what Jeff says, because I have grown up in a catholic
environment and I can't help but respond emotionally to it, and I know that
not too deep down there is some truth and good to what he says, and that in
the action of rejecting a religious system because of some unbearable negative
effects I have also rejected with it some of the positive sides.
In my rejection, I am trying not to embrace another orthodoxy, but I can't
help doing so because it is very hard not to belong to ANY group, so whether
I want it or not, I am an orthodox atheist-feminist, and whenever I steer off
the right track, will be put back in place by my fellow feminists-atheists.

Anyway, I didn't mean to go off on such a tangent about myself because this
was not the topic of discussion.  But, I do think that some similar honest
introspection about their "dark sides" might do all orthodox anti-jeffs some
good.  (Of course some introspection about my motives behind my anti-arndt
fervor might do ME some good, so I am subjecting myself as well as others
to this lecture <-:).

The conclusion of this, if it is not clear already from what I have said, is
that I don't see any reason why Jeff should stay out of net.singles, and rather
I think other people who disagree with him should make a little effort to see
through his Christian dogma and recognise that he does have SOME valid opinions
(no matter how he arrived at them) and that even if one doesn't find any of his
opinions valid, they are interesting in that they are different opinions (and
believe me, not too uncommon at all!!!!).

Sophie Quigley
{allegra|decvax|ihnp4|linus|watmath}!utzoo!utcs!mnetor!sophie