From: Rabid Wombat <wombat@mcfeely.bsfs.org>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 07:29:25 +0800
To: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
Subject: Re: Paul Merrill, his eyes uncovered! (or so he claims)
In-Reply-To: <199808022219.AAA09511@replay.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.91.980731230242.12499A-100000@mcfeely.bsfs.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




Or you could get back on your medication.


On Mon, 3 Aug 1998, Anonymous wrote:

> On Sun, 2 Aug 1998, Paul H. Merrill wrote:
> 
> > Never has a single missive opened my eyes so thououghly.
> > 
> > First, I had always thought that libertarians were somewhat equivalent
> > to my personal philosophy of Rational Anarchism.  Thanks to your pearly
> > prose I now know that libertarians are not rational.  I attribute my
> > failure to notice this in the past to the plethora of
> > pseudo-libertarians (like Tim May) that have a brain and can say
> > something beyond "What I want is right and you are wrong".
> > 
> > Second, I now recognize fully the signs of masked inferiority.  Any
> > attempt to allow the unwashed masses access to computer technology is
> > met with contempt and belittlement.  Personally, I do not fear what
> > others may be able to accomplish if they have a tool that they have the
> > ability to use.
> 
> Despite your mentality, I resist the urge to hope that you should learn
> from practical experience what is apparently eluding you. That would
> probably take the general form of you being in an automobile accident and
> getting killed because the idiot who stops to "help" you attempts to do
> CPR the Hollywood way and tells somebody who actually knows what they're
> doing that he can handle it. 
> 
> Because I expect people to have basic knowledge above and beyond clicking
> a mouse, pushing buttons on a television remote, mixing vinegar and baking
> soda, and learning CPR by watching Baywatch, I'm suffering from "masked
> inferiority."
> 
> Thank you for opening my eyes, Paul. I will now flush years of higher
> education down the drain and become like the "common man" so I'm not
> accused of exhibiting signs of "masked inferiority." When I'm trying to
> wash mold off my house and make a "jiffy mold remover" by mixing ammonia,
> chlorine bleach, and a plethora of other things, thereby releasing toxic
> gasses and quite possibly causing the barrel it was in to explode throwing
> shrapnel all over the block, I'll claim ignorance. 
> 
> Or maybe somebody can practice medicine by asking for "fifteen cc's
> anaprovaline" in emergencies because they heard it on Star Trek. 
> 
> Or maybe I could use large quantities of butyric acid to scare dogs away
> from my home. When the neighbors complain, I can claim ignorance. Of
> course, the area might be uninhabitable for a while. Phew!
> 
> After all, ignorance is what is prized in this society. The techies are
> just somebody to pay when you need them, and make fun of and assault the
> rest of the time.
> 
> > Third, reality has never seemed to be a strong-point with libertarians,
> > but now I see that the disregard for reality an asset in your book. 
> > Because the reality is that most of those poor folk out there can't use
> > UNIX.  Not won't, can't.  Their phobia does not allow it, just as your
> > phobia does not allow you to consider any possible way that they might
> > gain even a fraction of the power of the Information Age that you
> > already have.
> 
> So these people now are "victims" of a "phobia" which prevents them from
> reading documentation and bothering to educate themselves. If you don't
> want to claim ignorance, claim that you're a victim; it always works these
> days.
> 
> They can gain all the power they want. It's when they walk in with an
> assault rifle in each hand and start spraying the room randomly with
> cluelessness-inducing ammo that people get mad.
> 
> If in doubt, claim you are a victim of this widespread epidemic known as
> "phobia of clue."
> 
> > Fourth, while I am a whore and will run or build any system that someone
> > is willing to pay me to, I do have my limits.  I know longer accept
> > contracts or employment related to the military and intelligence
> > communities.  Neither, do I sell my body.  I leave that to the wannabe
> > geeks like yourself.
> 
> I think you're suffering from denial, Paul, and that you're lashing out at
> anybody who could be a threat to your business because of masked
> inferiority.
> 
> > 
> > Again, Thank you for opening my eyes.
> 
> No problem. Don't mention it.
> 
>