Re: [Leica] the dialectics of Mr Kotsinadelis

[Joe Berenbaum <joe-b@dircon.co.uk>]

At 03:55 PM 5/11/99 +0200, you wrote:
>Mr Kotsinadelis seems to follow a dialectical logic. He professes to be our
>staunchest attacker of every perceived glimpse of censorship, especially
>when he happens to note a glimmer of it in his self defined enigmatic "gang
>of five". He defends his right to say whatever he likes based on a simple
>law of freedom that says that whenever you do not like his (or any other
>persons) postings, you simply  ignore them or use the delete button. I
>fully agree with this position.

<snip>

So do I. I decided some time ago that I didn't see any useful content in
his messages- they seemed to be mostly attacking other Leica users in a
personal way and my feeling was predominantly one of disgust and sadness.
So I filter his messages into a file that I don't read and that gets
emptied routinely! My enjoyment of the LUG has risen considerably since I
did this. I've been on the LUG for a few years now and I have observed a
phenomenon that does not seem to occur on other camera lists- that of the
attacking contributor who seems to be on the list in mostly order to attack
users of that line of equipment. In the case of Leica it is easy enough I
suppose, especially if ones psychological makeup is such that one tends to
point the finger at others and blame them for one's own uncomfortable
feelings, rather than taking reesponsibility and sorting one's feelings out
in a healthy way. Such attacking and blaming behaviour is emotional
dishonesty and it is not, in my opinion, a sign of psychological health. In
the context of the LUG- Leicas and their lenses are expensive. Apart from
the professional photographers who use them, there are many better paid
professional people who share the interest- lawyers, doctors, dentists, and
so on, and a number are on this list. If someone has a grudge against such
people, whether it is on political grounds or merely personal jealousy,
where better to take a swipe at them than here? I don't find reading such
attacks useful in any way. I feel the hostility and anger in these messages
that attack other Leica users and I feel like I'm reading psychologically
abusive material. So I filter them. I think it is all the attention they
warrant, personally. And I think that if someone displays such consistent
attacking behaviour over a period of time then I am not being summary in my
judgement. I am free to read, not read or even filter out such
contributions, and I am free to suggest the same freedom to others.



Joe Berenbaum