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Re: Robert Johnson -- now beyond the bounds?
William Bangs (wbbangs@U.WASHINGTON.EDU)
Sat, 11 Mar 1995 20:55:05 -0800
Robert, you are right to oppose violence by any means, but may I
respectfully ask you not to do so through censorship? It has been my
experience that only people whose ideas can be heard in no other way turn
to violence. You note that you're not attacking Mr. Johnson from a moral
high-horse, but you are. You've placed yourself above him in exactly the
adult-child terms I'm sure he is waiting for to justify his bloodthirsty
plans (Oh WELL! If I can't even get through to ACADEMICS...).
Censorship is always wrong; writing your opinion on the Internet is
always right. You fulfill an important function by railing against
Robert Johnson -- one which should not be demeaned by advocating
censorship, especially on the grounds of Mr. Johnson's 'childishness'.
In fact I would agree with those who recommend Mr. Johnson get out of
Colorado. Maybe the thing to do is to send him on a (forced) to the area
he wants to shoot up -- without his gun. The 'force' could be as simple
as making him an offer he can't refuse: lots of money he could use to
write intelligently about the real situation upon his return, or prision
next time he advocates criminality in public. He could be accompanied by
one or two Chiapas -- with guns of their own, merely to keep him in
line. He could engage them -- and anyone else who would listen to him --
in any kind of DIALOUGUE he wantedd; dialougue, and nothing more. Isn't
that a better solution than censorship?
Ben Bangs -- Seattle, USA
Do what's right, not what's easy!
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