RE: Brett Bennett's a meany!

["Tom Hansen" <thansen@moscow.com>]

Greetings Vandals -

I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Lund.

Any threat to commit bodily injury to an individual should be treated as
just that, a threat, and turned over to the local authorities.

The perpetrator is likely to hide behind his/her first amendment rights in
making such a idle threat.  To me, it has no less potential for danger than
yelling "Fire" in a movie theater.  The threat should not be evaluated on
how the perpetrator intended his statement, but how the "victim" understood
the statement.

Oh, well . . .

Take care,

Tom Hansen

***********************************
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.

- Author Unknown
***********************************

-----Original Message-----
From: Saundra Lund [mailto:sslund@moscow.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 04, 2002 12:21 PM
To: 'Greg Brown'; vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: RE: Brett Bennett's a meany!


Greg Brown wrote:
"I've been called many names in the past and I agree
that personal insults should be handled privately.

Threats, however, are not protected by rules
of list etiquette. Period."

I don't want to argue here  :-), but . . .

I don't think there is *any* place in intelligent discussion, no matter
how heated, for personal insults or threats, and I'm sorry that one list
member apparently thinks it's OK to send such comments either publically
*or* privately.

I'm new to this forum and hope these kind of attacks, public or private,
aren't commonplace or I'll be leaving.  Such bullying attacks serve no
useful purpose and serve only as a form of censorship.

Not that y'all need any tips, but, Greg, my suggestion would be to send
that sad person *one* email message with a CC to abuse@ the harasser's
ISP (in this case, abuse@att.net and abuse@fsr.net).  The message should
say "Do not send me any more email."  And that's
it - no explanations, absolutely nothing else.  Then DON'T send any more
messages directly to the harasser. If you get any further personal
message from the harasser, it should be forwarded immediately to the
harasser's ISP but you should not respond in any way.

Most ISP's are very good about deactivating the account of someone who
uses it to harass other people.  The tough part about this approach is
most people want to keep up a dialogue and fight back and forth, but
once you've sent that note telling the harasser to stop, you must not
have any further contact.

This bully is fortunate I'm not running this forum because he's be
banned quicker than anyone could say, "Good-bye."


Saundra Lund
Moscow, Idaho

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to
do nothing.
Edmund Burke