Dear GeorgeH,

I realize that participating in a forum of this sort leaves one open to all manner of personal attacks. And that's fine, as far as it goes. My hide is thick enough to absorb a barb or two in the name of free and open discussion.

But even though the brand of malicious sewage you spewed at me is, as a rule, beneath the dignity of reply, you made one comment that I cannot in good conscience leave unanswered.

Yes, George, it is true that I own a firearm -- a rusty old 20-gauge that I bought for $40 one Thanksgiving so I could go quail hunting with my father. I don't even have shells for it anymore, and it hasn't been fired in years. But it's mine, and I treasure it. And I treasure my right to own it and, if necessary, use it in the defense of my home and family as a free citizen living under the U.S. Constitution.

Now then, to slyly hint that this somehow makes me a racist is not just bad manners (being a rude, self-righteous prig, after all, is hardly a criminal offense) but quite beyond the framework of commom decency that generally graces the Mudcat forum.

Free expression is one thing, but this sort of unproven -- and completely false -- accusation is an especially ugly sort of violence and ought not to be posted.

I am sorry and grieved and injured that you feel compelled to give written expression to the same venemous hatred practiced by the bigots you claim to despise. It is obvious to me, and I hope to others, that you are, in fact, cut from the same cloth.

Sincerely, Anthony Brown