Bob--

Having had the pleasure of "Martin Gibson's" cyber-company, I can sympathize.

Actually I feel a little guilty and must apologize--I'm sorry I didn't read the Pete Seeger thread before I described "Martin" as "sweetness and light" on musical threads. I was dead wrong on that--his bile is obviously not restricted to non-musical topics, as is painfully evident from that thread. That the worth of Pete Seeger is a topic of debate (on a folk forum!) is truly amazing. We all have "hot buttons" but who would have thought that appreciation of Pete Seeger would be one for "Martin"?

Hats off to Ron Oloesko, Don Firth, et al. for the calm, measured way they dealt with Martin's mindless spewing. I would not have been so diplomatic.

However I still contend:

1) Freedom of speech demands we let Martin post whatever he wants, no matter how stupid and/or vulgar. Perhaps in Utopia his freedom of speech would be restricted to comments on types of guitars, but censorship is no solution and it's a slippery slope anyway.

2) Rather than leave threads Martin shows up on, I plan to stay and fight.

Martin is a feeble opponent. As I said earlier, when he slips into gutter mode, he's only ridiculing himself. There are many non- vulgar responses. When he reverts to vulgarisms, I just ask him if he's quite comfortable in the gutter, what we can do to make his stay there more pleasant, tell him his postings will be treated with all the respect they deserve---any number of ways you can respond without getting into a name-calling contest. And based on his apoplectic reponse, it seems to send HIS blood pressure through the roof. What did Patton say about dying for your country?

Interestingly, Martin doesn't seem to be the only guy around here whose second language is "gutter". There must be an amazing number of guys nostalgic for the high school locker room (mostly, it seems, GUESTS)


Obviously, shunning is a great approach (though Martin is not really a troll) but it ain't easy, especially when Martin wears such a big KICK ME sign. As I said earlier, I will not
desert a topic just because Martin is on it. I have no objection to destroying a foulmouthed pathetic debate opponent, and what Martin says can't even be described as debate. It is too bad sometimes when he pollutes music threads with his mindless drivel--but just consider the source and go on.

And then, sometimes, just to throw you off, he actually makes sense---now that's really unfair.

I still do think there's an opening for Martin as Mr. Bush's press secretary. He would be perfect for the job.