GDG- In Defense of Peter

[CWMHTours at aol.com]

Yes.
 
Your  Most Obedient Servant,
Peter  

 
In a message dated 1/4/2012 4:10:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
CTJoyce at spearwilderman.com writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
My only problem is that I'm frankly tired of  hearing about the
deficiencies Arlington Tour mobile program.  And the  monopolization of
discussion by a single participant.  Cannot this  insistence on reciting
the details of a 20 year old tour be done via  private email and spare
the rest of us?

-----Original  Message-----
From:  gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com
[mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com] On  Behalf Of George Connell
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 4:02 PM
To:  GDG
Cc: gettysburg at arthes.com
Subject: GDG- In Defense of  Peter

Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
I enter this particular  discussion with considerable reluctance. 

Peter's style is, at times,  not easy to defend, but I certainly welcome
his enthusiasm, good cheer,  knowledge, and generally provocative
viewpoints. 

Moreover, in this  particular discussion I think he raises the
interesting substantive  question of what should be "taught" at our
national landmarks. I don't  think any of us would be happy with an over
emphasis on one particular  aspect, but who decides that?  I accept what
Peter says about  Arlington based on his considerable personal experience
and conclude that  things may be out of whack there. 

I personally don't care for the  presentation at the new Gettysburg
Visitors Center, but accept that other  people do. At Gettysburg, I don't
want to be taught about causes; I want to  see as many as possible of the
park's vast holding and at some level I  resent anything that gets in the
way. Unrealistic? Sure. Some context is  vital, but we'll never have a VC
big enough to  provide all the  context some want and show all the stuff.
So what's the balance?

I  am also a little uncomfortable with the thought that the NPS needs  to
"educate" the American public as opposed to just tell the story  (though
I'm hard pressed to explain the difference). There's an  elitist,
Menkinist undertone here I don't like. 

Lastly, Peter has  an almost-shorthand writing style that is unique,
sometimes perplexing, and  occasionally irritating, but it's his and I
say lighten up.  

Regards,

George

On Jan 4, 2012, at 1:58 PM,  joadx1 at netscape.net wrote:

> Esteemed GDG Member  Contributes:
> While intended as a light-hearted reply to a  light-hearted attempt to
lower the temperature on this conversation, this  message is indicative
of a certain subtext in your posts to this  group.  Since you may
actually not be aware of that subtext, I'll give  you some hints.
> 
> First, in this message you write "Damn that  Bill Cosby," while
insisting that "You can't beat Patsy Cline and  Willie  Nelson when chili
grease is dribbling down your chin."
>  
> Now, the former phrase is intended jocularly and literally, but  taken
in a larger context it sends a message that you may not intend.   Here is
that context:
> 
> 1.  You insist upon misspelling  Abraham Lincoln's name, even though
Ms. Margaret Blough (who is not only a  senior member and director of
this discussion group but is also about as  good an expert as there is on
the Constitutional history relevant to the  Civil War) has asked you,
politely, twice, to stop doing that because it is  disrespectful.  It is
disrespectful.  Why do you continue doing  that?
> 
> 2. You attribute language and motivations to Abraham  Lincoln that
other senior members and experts on this site (like Mr. Al  Mackey) have
definitively refuted.
> 
> 3.  You insist  that you personally know what is most "important" about
Arlington  Cemetery.  That insistence is consistently voiced as a protest
of what  you call the disproportionate attention to black Americans by
the  NPS.  As a number of thoughtful and well-informed messages to  this
list have explained, given over a century of not only ignoring  the
slave-related part of the American story but also of persecuting  the
freed slaves and their descendants, the NPS, at the behest of  the
elected leaders of this country, has been trying to redress the  balance.
Your protest of this is part of a pattern.
> 
> Within  such a context your Bill Cosby/Patsy Cline-Willie Nelson quips
assume a  certain resonance, a resonance that is clearly apparent to a
number of the  contributors to this discussion.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To: gettysburg  <gettysburg at arthes.com>
> Sent: Wed, Jan 4, 2012 10:33 am
>  Subject: Re: GDG- Chilli in DC
> 
> 
> Esteemed GDG Member  Contributes:
> Ben's?
> 
> Ha ha!
> 
> You like  Ben's?
> 
> I think it is lousy and excessively over-rated.   It is  more of a
condiment 
> than real chili.
> 
>  I'd go to Ben's for a chili half-smoke tho.
> 
> I don't  understand the attention Ben's gets.  Damn that  Bill Cosby!
>  
> What about the Hard Times Cafe?   That's pretty damn   good.  The
Terlingua 
> any time.  I'll eat the veggie  too.  Last  time I was there some guy
came in 
> and bot up  a whole mess of corn bread.   All their juke boxes  are
good.  
> You can't beat Patsy Cline and Willie  Nelson  when chili grease is
dribbling 
> down your chin.
> 
>  Any time-  we'll go find John Grim too.
> 
> ;-)   !!!
> Your  Most Obedient Servant,
> Peter
>  
>
----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes
.com  -to unsubscribe
> http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for  Archives

----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes
.com  -to unsubscribe
http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for  Archives

----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes.com
  -to unsubscribe
http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for  Archives