ps Ake, there is no firing line! no guns here thankfully! remember that....take the violence out of the metaphors, that might be a start.

I think its important to feel passionately about subjects and express ourselves. we need to eschew violence -even in language.

I've got this long playing record made by the beeb in 1966 celebrating fifty years since the 1916 revolution in Dublin. theres this sentence where it says something to the effect, James Connolly And Patrick Pearse's genius was the reintrodution of violence into Irish politics. given the history of the last fifty years - does it look like such a great act of genius now?

I suspect people will argue about that last point. but I think violence of language towards each other lies at the root of some of the bitterness on mudcat between very nice people.