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Strategies & Market Trends : Bob Brinker: Market Savant & Radio Host -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Brinker, Jr. who wrote (3427)	2/17/1998 5:26:00 PM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 42834

Bob: Re:" I appreciate Don's directness. He is a little rough around the edges but you can't say he doesn't speak his mind." "I look forward to reading Don's posts...just don't take it so personally. Try laughing, thats what I do!" A little rough around the edges? Now that is an understatement <g>. I used to hear that same argument in dealing with sexual harassment cases when a manager was accused of creating a hostile working environment. Defense counsel would say: "Hey, if you knew John you would know that he didn't mean anything by those lewd sex jokes. That's John. That's how he expresses himself." Well, sorry, that reasoning never worked (except for plaintiff) and, no, I am not saying don is liable for sexual harassment<g>; I am saying that one should always write from the reader's perspective. Perhaps don may choose to use the "<g>" or the "<G>" or the "<VBG>" in the future to make his intentions clear. I think it is very easy for those who have not been in the way of don's steamroller to say "don't take it personally." Unfortunately, personal insults about one's intelligence are taken personally and that should be of no surprise to you or don. There is something to be said for undressing a disagreeable or ignorant post by questioning the statement and leaving the poster out of it personally. Now don't get me wrong here. I see these kind of disagreeable or ignorant posts concerning your Dad often on this board and they make me ill. It is good to have don lane for the defense of da Brink and I am sure many people on this thread appreciate his presence and comments at one time or another. But the personal insults make me ill as well. Imagine, just for a second, a board where everyone treats everyone else like don comes across with personal insults. (He does not do this all the time but he crosses the line often enough). I don't know about you but junior high school barbs and one upmanship just doesn't do it for me anymore. Yet that is the very kind of hostile posting environment (the analogy works here) that don's posts can foster sometimes. (You called me an "idiot" well you are a "jerk" and so on). That is why SI has "terms of service" that are aimed at discouraging this kind of behavior. Take a look at them. They work sort of like copyright law in a lot of ways. Supposedly they apply to everyone. But, perhaps, some board participants are tacitly carving an exception for don in abiding by the terms of service. Perhaps some board participants are willing to overlook don's conduct in exchange for his commentary. They don't want to scare don away at any cost to themselves personally or to anyone else. Others are not willing to overlook don's behavior at any cost perhaps because they have been a victim or because it goes against their own sense of right and wrong. With these two factions operating against one another in the presence of a dominating figure in the form of don, you have a nice foundation for a dysfunctional family <g>. Absolutely fascinating. I guess your Dad is right again: we do live in interesting times <g>. Have fun.