Wolf, just to clarify, the last 9 months have been pretty divisive. Dimethiad threads were never known for amiability, but the online comments are getting pretty hostile.
People who used to find at least some common ground are now seeing each other as enemies. We've reached that point of extreme polarization.
Given low voter turnouts in political elections lately, it will be interesting to see how the Dimethaid contest compares. Apathy is a scarce commodity among Dimethaid investors, these days.
At some point in the future, this will all be a distant memory. The antagonisms will diminish, or be forgotten. Many have never been involved in a proxy fight. Many never thought they'd own a stock around which such serious questions revolve.
But they do, and the battle is hot.
There are some interesting questions, too. The internet: was it a factor? Did it change anything? After all, proxy fights have been around for a long time. It may have helped the challengers more than the incumbents, but that's good, IMO. It's too damned difficult to wrest control from management as it is. The internet has allowed all aspects of all (well, almost all) the questions to be addressed.
Another development has been the re-alignment of posters. By and large, even those who previously fought bitterly have coalesced around the anti-management platform.
Those (like me) who strongly supported management at one time have been forced to eat their words. There was lots of Humble Pie being passed around. But it's those who supported management who feel most betrayed. They've become implacable enemies of the incumbents.
There are many other issues worthy of discussion: the ironies abound.
The Markham Gang's latest move - to extend the voting deadline - supports the view that they're in trouble. As we all know, some elections are not won - they're lost.
We'll know soon. Shareholders appear to have chosen change. If they have, perhaps Dimethaid can achieve the potential we once hoped for.
In the aftermath, I suspect many dark unknowns will be exposed to light - and this board will return to life.
Regards,
Jim |
