Re: Doggeral

[Brian Flynn <bkflynn@email.unc.edu>]

On Mon, 22 May 1995, Jeff Tyeryar wrote:

> Would the writer of the following bit of doggeral please remember his or 
> her honor and append their name to any future postings.  While I have 
> serious reservations about the honor, integrety, chivalry and fairness of 
> several of our monarchs in the past few years (and absolutely no doubts 
> insofar as the current reigning king is concerned), I have absolutely no 
> respect for someone who takes shots from the utter safety of a blind.  
> Either stand up for what you believe, or admit you don't have the honor 
> to look Cuan in the face and tell him yourself.
> 
> Beornheard

They say that the middle ground is a dangerous place to be - danger of 
attach from above and below.  Well, here goes....

While I don't agree with the original ditty, neither can I agree with 
this response to it.  What Beornheard is talking about is not about honor, 
it's about questioning honor, something that I don't believe can be 
"safely" done, except anonymously.  The analogy to a blind implies an 
ambush, cowardice in hiding your actions.  It's probably the safest yet, 
certainly not the most _honest_ approach to take.

This whole topic (to me) here isn't who has or doesn't have honor.  It is 
symptomatic of the larger problem that people refuse to discuss it - out 
of fear, timidness, or whatever.  While I do understand that this is part 
of Society, it also allows dis-honorable people to get away with quite a 
lot - a song like this is one of the ways that a belief of lack of honor 
in someone is expressed.

Maybe it was done because of the possibility of that Cuan would not 
accept the same ideas if told in person?  Not knowing Cuan except by 
reputation, I can't say.

Uther