I'm sorry I missed the original thread.
Rich, as others have said, this is your yard, and your rules. I agree.
I find myself in an interesting position. On the one hand, I feel that certain threads on TFL in the past few months have strained the credibility of certain parties; the simple truth (governments assume increasing amounts of power) is more insidious than NWO martian Elvis clones using obsolescent Comblock equipment infiltrating the US of A through South America...or tunneling from China...or whatever. I have not been shy about expressing the idea that those among us who spread such detritus are the sane, lawful gun-owner's true worst enemy. I have been warned.
So, I definitely agree that certain overly speculative rumors should, at the least, have a reasonable amount of substantiation before broadcasting them to God and the world. This is a time for cool heads and clear thought, and I agree with censoring or deleting such posts. As to the chief other issue...
I love my country and countrymen. I do agree that our verbiage should reflect our respect for all law-abiding occupants of the US, and that we should not have any "How to kill a cop" threads. OTOH, my position- that I will resist certain encroachments to my freedom with any means at my disposal- will
not change. If asked how I intend to receive any representative of any government agency sent to impound my weaponry, my answer- however I couch it- will not change. If I asked if I intend to lie down and die, my answer will not change. I
will attempt to express these ideas in a manner consistent with owning the high ground.
We hold our beliefs strongly-
thank God!- but I hope that we will feel the eyes of the world upon us, and express our passion in coolly calculating verbiage. We must be shining examples of what gun owners should be. We have differing ideas as to what that "best" gun owner will be, so we should each endeavor to be true to our unique vision.
This does not mean blinding ourselves to cause and effect, suggestions, or common sense.
Rich, I have treasured my time on TFL since you first invited me here so long ago. I have grown to know and respect many here; I have had the pleasure of meeting a few in person. I have had the privilege of telling some, like Byron, of the site. I believe TFL to be the best site of its kind, and I wish it even more stellar future success. I hope my views you consider to be within allowable tolerances. Any correspondence can be sent to
JohnShirley@hotmail.com .
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing.
Respectfully,
John Shirley
[This message has been edited by Spectre (edited September 18, 1999).]