I, too, was saddened by Camy's departure from this list. Indeed, I was
thinking about her yesterday, while we were discussing the departure of
other Forum members, and I enthusiastically add my voice to those who
encourage her to come back.

Camy's case also serves as an object lesson that yesterday’s effort to
encourage another Forum member to leave had nothing to do with liberalism
vs. conservatism, political correctness, or free speech. The real issue is
civility. I personally welcome disagreement and controversy, but I strongly
believe that online discussion groups should not tolerate rudeness and
personal insults–which were that other member’s stock in trade. I'm
astonished to learn that some Forum members regard him as a courageous
defender of free speech and that those of us who wanted him to go away were
being "bullies." If anything, the opposite was the case. The description of
him as a “narcissistic troll” may go too far, but one need merely reread
some of that fellow’s recent postings to see how much he enjoyed starting
fires and fanning the flames. He clearly seemed more interested in drawing
attention to himself than in promoting honest debate.

A well-read friend of mine who has followed the recent disturbance on the
Forum with some astonishment has furnished a very poignant quotation from a
historian named Norman Etherington:

"The tendency to turn intellectual quarrels into personal ones closes off
debate worth having." 

Can there be a more apt description than that of what's been happening
recently on the Forum? Let's put this mess behind us and get back to
discussing real issues.

Kent Rasmussen