. . . on my way to the Forum.
    I was gone all day. Just got back. Did I miss anything important?
    Seriously, folks, I did just return to the barrage of postings. 
Taken all at once, it's quite a roller-coaster, particularly after 
spending hectic hours on deadline for a certain daily newspaper. My 
brain is spinning a bit, and I'm trying to keep my emotions from 
churning. That's not the best state of mind for making anything 
resembling cogent points, but here we go.
    First, to Joe McCullough's students and Jocelyn and anyone else put 
off by the sometimes ugly turns taken here of late: Please stick around 
and help make this work. There's much to be learned and way too much to 
be shared, and take it on faith from someone who was sorely (and I do 
mean sore) tempted to quit the Forum a few months back. I was as fed up 
as anybody, folks, and, thankfully, I followed the advice of someone 
infinitely wiser and more insightful on all matters Twain (I won't 
mention any names, but his initials are R. Kent R.). Joe and Jocelyn, 
you're needed here. Your influence is needed here. Your experience is 
needed here . . and I'm good and angry with myself for not speaking up 
before things got to this point.
   Kevin B. probably took a few months off his life keeping this forum 
alive, and he has been owed more than continuing silence. So, Kevin, 
sorry, buddy; you deserve far better than you've got.
   I have always said that the community of Twain scholars and 
researchers and enthusiasts are the most generous, sharing and welcoming 
I've ever encountered. Perhaps, to some, that assessment will seem to 
have taken a beating of late, but I have no doubt that it's just as true 
now as it was when they pulled me into the fold back in the early '90s. 
For the record, as many of you already know, I am not an academic. Nor 
does my view on any Twain matter come from a so-called liberal or 
conservative perspective. I stand with Mr. Twain as a dedicated Mugwump. 
So this is not coming from what some might label an academic or 
political bias.
    That being said, I think there has been some confusion on the Forum 
between concerns over political correctness and freedom of speech. I am 
not in favor of anyone resigning from this forum or being expelled from 
it. I'm not questioning anyone's right to say anything, Can we all 
concede that, whoever you are, you  have that right. But just because 
you have the right to say something doesn't make it right to say it. 
That's the civil part of civil discourse. Let me put this another way. . .
    Have you heard the one about the Pollock who hated Polish jokes? I 
did. Growing up in a Polish-American family, I heard and laughed at my 
share of Polish jokes. I had no objection to them. They seemed harmless. 
As I got older, despite people telling me that it was just all in good 
fun, I realized there were proud Polish aunts and cousins around me who 
were deeply hurt and offended by Polish jokes and the use of the term 
Pollock. I stopped using the word and repeating the jokes, not out of 
some great consciousness raising (that came later). They first stopped 
because I realized the language was deeply offensive to someone in the 
room -- someone I cared about deeply.Forgive me for stating the obvious, 
but that's where the "civil" in civil discourse comes in.
    Some well-meaning friends said, "What's the harm? Tell 'em to get a 
sense of humor! They're only jokes. Learn to laugh at yourself." The 
problem with that kind of rationale is that when you look directly in 
the eyes of a wounded or angry person, you see the harm.
    I was not walking in lockstep to the beat of political correctness. 
I'm old enough that the term didn't have popular currency at the time. I 
was merely taking a step toward recognizing the humanity of other humans 
in the room.
    This Forum is a room -- a meeting place, if you will. And if someone 
says that a derogatory or racist term makes them uncomfortable, call me 
old-fashion, I believe those feelings should be honored and respected. 
It's not a matter of  rights or academic biases. It's a matter of 
decency. It's not a question of political correctness. It's a question 
of respect.
     And this is coming from somebody who believes political correctness 
has been carried way too far in this country. I don't think that a 
person's one-time slip of the tongue immediately condemns him or her as 
a racist or some kind of monster. Sometimes human beings are just 
stupid. Lord knows I've been and crossed a line or two with ill-chosen 
words. How many foot-in-mouth moments would you like the chance to take 
back over a lifetime? But once you know that what you've said has 
wounded an innocent bystander, I've always thought the proper response 
was, "I'm sorry." You can't fall back on the civil discourse defense 
without being civil.
    No, I don't think someone should be run out of town or off campus or 
even off an Internet forum for using the term Oriental instead of Asian. 
An overreaction certainly would be the greater crime than ignorance. But 
once someone informed the speaker that Oriental was taken as offensive, 
an apology and mutual understanding should be its own reward. And it 
should be the end of the matter.
    But to persist, and to dismiss any requests for civility or respect 
as cowardice or bullying is in itself a form of bullying. There's 
certainly no need to deal with anyone's intellectual arguments when you 
sweep them away as lockstep thinking, political correctness or academic 
myopia.
    The reason this Forum is cherished by so many, I believe, is that it 
has historically been a place where people share their enthusiasm for 
Mark Twain, knowing that a question or observation will be treated with 
respect. I still believe this thinking reflects the better angels of our 
nature. That's not to suggest things shouldn't, when warranted, get 
rough. That's not say there shouldn't be a vigorous debate. No one is 
suggesting anyone pulls the intellectual punches.   
    All right, I know I'm preaching to the proverbial choir here, and 
that's kind of the point. That is the spirit that truly runs through 
this Forum and all of Mark Twain scholarship. This spirit was 
emotionally hijacked for a while and held hostage, and I, for one, am 
all for declaring this independence day.
    This Forum is in danger. It works when it bends without breaking. We 
are, and I don't think I'm being melodramatic, near the breaking point. 
I kind of like the idea of there still being a Forum 10 years from now. 
You want to fight? How about we fight for that? I assure you, it's worth it.
    The rightful Duke of Bilgewater,
       Mark