----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- There is a big difference in offending someone by disagreeing with their ideas and believes and offending someone by attacking their person. A good deal of our training as intellectuals should be devoted to abstracting ideas from the people who espouse them. We should learn to avoid stereotypes. Both sides in the debate about political correctness forget this far too often. That said, I also agree with Kevin Hoover on the use of metaphor. Rod Hay ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]