To the thread:
A few weeks ago, when I wrote a post here replying to Straight Life's request that we stay on topic, I never thought the outcome would lead to this amount of hurt feelings and missed opportunities. I resigned from the G&K a few weeks ago, but have been reading it regularly and with increasing sadness and consternation. I hope that my words in this post will direct us to as much healing as my words to Straight Life did toward strife.
First, Straight Life, I owe you an apology for having personalized your request and responded so defensively. There was no need to sign off the way I did and I understand that it was very likely my words that started the conflagration here. You will not read posts like that again from me. Ironically, as I've read your posts here over the past few weeks, I've realized that you're exactly the kind of person and investor that I can learn from. I hope you can forgive me and continue posting here.
Second, I'd like to address the issue of sexism that has surfaced. I am a woman, posting under a gender neutral name. I orginally posted under my real name, but after a couple of unpleasant incidents of sexualized comments and come-ons by PM, I changed my screen to reflect my avocation. This seems to have worked for me, as it's given me a buffer, but I've never intended to try to confuse people as to my gender and hope I have not done so.
Like it or not, this is an imperfect world, and women face different challenges, and cope differently, than men. The psychological literature abounds with gender-based stylistic differences in communication, for instance, finding that women are both more affiliative and less confrontative than men in conversation. I think this is the basis for much of our dissension on the thread. My post discussing how my investment profits have allowed my husband to leave his job and re-train as a teacher was affiliative in nature. I read Straight Life's post (rightly or wrongly) as a repudiation of that and I was stung. Gender-based stylistic differences at work.
I also believe that my (and other women's) issues with some thread elders' style are somewhat gender-based. To be more clear, I am pointing out that these differences exist, not judging them. I hope that sn diego's posts yesterday, that she felt rather unwelcome here, be taken in the same light as That Dad Guy's post today, in which he made a similar point. I am pleased that they were both able to express their sense of disenfranchisement and hope that we, as a thread, will attempt to be more inclusive.
And finally, I was shocked and saddened by Frank's decision to leave this thread. It gives me no joy to think that he felt driven away. I join Jill, sn diego, snasraway, Mike Buckley, and all the others, in asking him to return to the G&K thread when he feels ready. I hope that out of the ashes of this conflagration there will arise a thread that keeps its brains focused upon gorilla hunting and its heart open to all hunters, male or female, young or old, seasoned or new.
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