Klarinet Archive - Posting 000551.txt from 2002/11

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Re Tony Pay's comments
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 23:56:19 -0500

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 18:15:38 EST, LeliaLoban@-----.com said:

> Tony, I would like to know from you what you really meant, preferably
> in plain and not too metaphorical English, because I'm not seeing any
> smiley-faces in that message, and despite Dan Leeson's assurances and
> the previous good-humored correspondence between you and the Americans
> on Klarinet, I'm finding it difficult to believe that the "HEAP OF
> FUCKING SHIT" comment can be read as anything other than
> straightforward, raving, anti-American hate-speech intended to
> *revoke* that previously good-humored correspondence. If you're
> offering the offensive remark in service of some larger point about
> the dangers of metaphorical language, then I think it would have been
> a good idea to *come to the point*, at some point sooner than now; and
> I think that on the whole, tossing that type of verbal grenade into
> the present global political situation is a better way to make enemies
> than it is to make a point about linguistics.

Yes, I will say what I really meant, Lelia. I apologise to everyone for
a grave error of judgement. Though Dan's interpretation is essentially
correct, I can now see how shocking it looks to some of you.

It's no excuse, I know, but I was rather plastered when I wrote it.

Bill Semple was quite right that I had had a little dig at my really
very nice and quite good student. So when Bill pointed that out, I
should just have given a little apology, which I could easily have done
appropriately, because the remark certainly wasn't intended to be
malicious.

Instead, I adopted the tactic of saying something I thought was so
outrageous a generalisation, so totally over the top, and so at odds
with everything I normally say, that no-one could possibly take it
seriously; and thereby indicate that my other remark hadn't been serious
either.

Clearly, that didn't work.

I hope that no-one believes that I actually *think* anything like that
about Americans. How could I? I might have reservations, even very
grave reservations, about some of your government's policies, but that's
quite a different thing. After all, many of your countrymen have
similar reservations, because quite a lot of them, who I count as my
friends, tell me so.

Your post, Lelia, brought out two points I'd totally missed. By
"someone who doesn't understand that, doesn't understand that" I was
intending to refer only to the part about varying your sound. The fact
that it could be interpreted to add weight to the 'dig' didn't occur to
me.

I'm also rather horrified to hear about your 'other' way of looking at
my 'coming to the US' post, which equally hadn't occurred to me. ("To
do what to whom?")

My God.

I am actually coming with some friends to play for fun with some other
friends. They're all staying on with family for Thanksgiving, but I
have to go back before then, so I'll miss the best bit:-(

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
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