Sharon, I'm not suggesting that women should "drop the matter," I'm suggesting that we should all drop the matter. The original threads were stupid and offensive, and this thread is merely adding fuel to the fire.

I wasn't going to get involved in this, but something katlaughing said in her post of 14-Aug-02 - 05:06 PM resonated with me, and I felt I needed to put my two cents in. I know Sandy Paton from years ago. I've never met Caroline. Nor have I met Jean Ritchie. But the thought of someone whom I respect as highly as I do these people stumbling into this particular kind of wrangle makes me a bit ashamed for the Mudcatters who participate. At this point, I would not recommend Mudcat to people whom I respect because of the nature of so many of the threads, including this one.

My suggestion was that if someone starts an offensive thread, PM them. Don't turn it into an open battle.

I just want to see this stop, so this is the last I will contribute to this thread.

Don Firth