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I am currently having, by means of a firefight of e-mails, an ideological knife-fight with one of the most prominent of all HP fanfic writers. The differences between this person - "A" - and myself are such that I regard A's views as dangerous to the very foundation of freedom, while A regards mine as close to terrorism and murder. Disagreement could not be wider. Yet A has not made so much as one public allusion to the debate between us, or taken any action by which the views A disapproves might be attacked by third parties; in spite of the fact that A knows that A's views might play very well to a certain gallery, and that some people would be all too happy to attack me in print. A evidently does not feel that a political disagreement between free adults, even a very serious one, is something to be settled by mob violence. A is behaving like an adult and an honest person, and, in spite of my intense disapproval of A's views, my opinion of this person is, if anything, raised by all the things A has NOT seen fit to do.
I had a similar disagreement with a person I will call B. B proceeded to de-friend me on the spot. A friend offered to mediate. B, instead of doing anything to bridge the gap, opened a thread in B's LJ, which was dedicated to garnering support for B's attitude - especially the attitude that "nobody has any right to disapprove of any of my views to my face". In this thread, B made a crass pretence of keeping my identity confidential while doing everything in B's power to reveal it. B behaved like an egomaniac with a weak sense of self-respect, in need of having B's sense of self-value enhanced by mob support, and unwilling or unable to defend any controversial position except by mob action. B is contemptible and I regret ever friending this person. I feel particularly sorry for the poor, honest, well-meaning friend who, not even knowing B, took upon herself to try to make peace, simply because in her world people try to understand each other. She played the most honest part in the play and got damned little thanks for it.
I had a similar disagreement with a person I will call B. B proceeded to de-friend me on the spot. A friend offered to mediate. B, instead of doing anything to bridge the gap, opened a thread in B's LJ, which was dedicated to garnering support for B's attitude - especially the attitude that "nobody has any right to disapprove of any of my views to my face". In this thread, B made a crass pretence of keeping my identity confidential while doing everything in B's power to reveal it. B behaved like an egomaniac with a weak sense of self-respect, in need of having B's sense of self-value enhanced by mob support, and unwilling or unable to defend any controversial position except by mob action. B is contemptible and I regret ever friending this person. I feel particularly sorry for the poor, honest, well-meaning friend who, not even knowing B, took upon herself to try to make peace, simply because in her world people try to understand each other. She played the most honest part in the play and got damned little thanks for it.
