>think of me more as that scraggly tomcat that hangs around and just
>-thinks- he owns the place :-)
Kyle - what a wonderful self-portrait, but I think I would put in
"young" as a descriptive. Perhaps it is only because age is a relative
perspective, and we tend to use years rather than wisdom to define
people. I enjoyed meeting you and discussing a couple of important
points.
We on this list tend to forget that all people are not as easy
going as they seem, that all harp folks are not ready to accept
criticism and others' opinions for just that -- opinions. Anyhow, I've
always felt that I have a right to my opinion, you have a right to your
opinion, and with the advent of new or more information my opinion can
be changed or modified. Further, I have a right to tell other people if
the occasion warrants it what my opinion is. They have the right to
listen or not listen.
Teaching and learning is the give and take of opinions as well as
facts. How often have we all been in a classroom where we felt the
teacher/professor is teaching the subject from a personal viewpoint.
We can call that their *bias*. When watching tv news it is difficult
to separate factual news from news shown from a specific slanted
sight-angle (opinion). We can call that the speaker's commentary (news
commentator).
What is this all about, some of you may ask? Take the latest post
to the list regarding asking for harp players' opinions of different
harps. What is the point? Am I going to purchase a harp because you
recommend it, or am I going to evaluate the harp with my own ears,
fingers, eyes? We all are (well, most of us are) adults and we make
decisions every day about things of which we know nothing! If someone
asks me what I like, then that is all it is, what I like. And I do
have opinions! I may be thrilled that you think my opinion is valuable
to you, and thank you for asking. But, what I like is not necessarily
what you like. An example, most people like chocolate, I do not.
Should the Nestle or Whitman companies sue me because I say I don't
like chocolate?
Well, folks, I end with a caution of advice: be careful what you
say on the net. There is a freedom to express opinion, but there is a
freedom also of someone who might suffer from your expressed opinion to
sue you for defamation of character.
Personally, it sickens me to think some of us are so small minded.
Betty