First of all, all of the bannees have been invited back if they want to come. I do not find Emile more acceptable than the bannees, and it is not fair to say that I do.
Emile just appeared here awhile ago. He is not banned by SI, and he has not violated the Feelies thread rules since I have been back. If you think his presence at SI in general is unacceptable, perhaps you should spend your energy trying to get him removed at that level. I think you could gather quite a lot of support for that!
Of course I do not think that the Achille Lauro incident was pulled off by the Israelis. The problem that I have with the Israelis is that they HAVE done many things I find absolutely disgusting related to their stealing the land they call Israel, driving its inhabitants into refugee camps, massacring them, etc. I am definitely anti-Zionist, as are many other fair-minded people on earth. I am not anti-Semitic, though. I live in a Jewish neighborhood, my daughter spent her childhood making challah every Friday afternoon at Jewish after-school care and during the summer at Jewish art camp. I have always had Jewish friends and acquaintances in my life at home and at work. Not all Jews are Zionists, either. It is perfectly acceptable to present anti-Zionist viewpoints at SI. America is about the only country I can think of that is pro-Zionist, in fact.
I cannot in good conscience have thread rules that ban people just on my whim, although I know some other thread heads do that. I would rather just not participate at SI than participate like that. If I banned everyone I didn't like for one reason or another, this would be an arbitrary and closed kind of place (with far fewer participants).
I have been here on and off since 1996. I know a little about Emile and his history. The fact is that if he just posts articles from reasonably reputable publications and sources them, there isn't anything I can do. He probably is enjoying all this attention, though. I have suggested before that if the people who hang out at Feelies don't want to interact with him, the best thing to do is ignore him and his posts. I think by giving him attention you may be encouraging him to continue here. Now I would also prefer not to write posts about him, but when you bring him up and also implicate me, I have to defend myself.
I wonder if you realize how offensive it is for you to imply that I in some way sanction his views. |
