[meteorite-list] we are all idiots!

From: MexicoDoug_at_aol.com <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Feb 16 15:20:17 2005
Message-ID: <1104CC14.769C466E.0BFED528_at_aol.com>

In a message dated 2/16/2005 12:54:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, peregrineflier_at_npgcable.com writes:

>He said "your an f#&#ing idiot

Tom, pardon his Greek to all of us - since you have brought the inexcusable behavior of your friend to the list's attention and extrapolated for your reasons to cover us all, and then asked basically whether you are the only one being insulted, in a way that cries for remedy to the problem created, now I'll add my two centavos,

Experienced meteorite hunters and educators learn to be credible ambassadors. It has everything to do with how you present yourself as a credible source. For example if the "National Inquirer" tabloid says "Martian Rock is Alive" vs. a joint research team of NASA and other scientists from the Johnson Space Center and Stanford University, announcing "Meteorite yields evidence of primitive life on early Mars", it makes a big difference. Extrapolation can be dangerous in these circumstances and counterproductive to science and rational enthusiasts. And some of us don't like receiving unsolicited email calling us, with the click of your enter key, and whether sarcastically, or not, all idiots.

So if you really want to help your 'friend', as opposed to just create an attention or pick a fight, you could try the tact of supporting your claims in an unbiased manner in conversation rather than expecting someone to believe whatever you say. Give him the IMCA.cc website, refer him to the Nortons' books, tell him o look up "Holbrook Arizona" on the internet, or the NASA pages on Mars rocks, an online link to the Smithsonian meteorite collection description, British Museum's, TCU's, ASU's etc. etc.

The "Grasshopper, we have much work to do." strategy probably will make more progress here vs. the "Your mama wears army boots and it's because I said so." strategy. If you prefer the latter I would recommend you consider taking up boxing.

The perfect school qualifications of your friend from some undisclosed educational institution might reconcile when viewing some real doubts he has which you may not recognize ... regarding the novel "I can own a meteorite" idea and the source of it to his virgin ears. We are all meteoritical ambassadors on opportunity to the meteoritically challenged, and if it doesn't work, you can always cuss him out in private if that makes you feel good. Your 'friend' is walking in the footsteps of Aristotle, who also had a '4.0 gpa' plus receiving extra credit ...

Saludos, Doug
Received on Wed 16 Feb 2005 03:20:12 PM PST