Re: Political debate

[Robert Zatorre <robert.zatorre@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think I have to agree with Al here.

There are many appropiate forums for discussion of political issues, but
this isn't one of them. I think many people tend to judge the
appropiateness of this sort of thing by how much we agree with the
content.

Consider, for example, your reaction were someone to send a message to
the list indicating that they were forming a new organization entitled
"Scientists for concerted action against terrorism" and they
circulated a letter suggesting that strong military action was now of the
essence in light of the mass murder perpetrated last week. Would y'all be
so keen on having a back-and-forth on this? And even if you are, do you
think the auditory list is a good place to do it?


Robert


At 15:48 18/09/01 -0400, Al Bregman wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I think I agree with recent postings that have argued against the
> use of the AUDITORY list for political organizing.  The names
> of
> all members and their e-mail addresses are available (I believe)
> on the list's web page.  So concerned parties could contact
> their
> colleagues privately through individual or group mailings.
>
> The list is not moderated, so anybody can, in principle, post a
> message about anything, and I certainly understand the intense
> feelings that the New York tragedy has evoked, and the concerns
> about the US administration's possible response to it (I have
> taken some political action myself).
>
> However, given that we are not uniform in our political opinions,
> and the list was set up to discuss the perception of sound, my
> feeling is that this topic, and certain related professional
> issues, such as ads for jobs in this area, should remain the
> topic of discussion.
>
> Best wishes to all,
>
> Al
>
> -------------------------------------------------
> Albert S. Bregman, Emeritus Professor
> Dept of Psychology, McGill University
> 1205 Docteur Penfield Avenue
> Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1
>
> Office:
>      Phone:  +1 (514) 398-6103
>      Fax: +1 (514) 398-4896
> Home phone & Fax: +1 (514) 484-2592
> Email:   al.bregman@mcgill.ca
> -------------------------------------------------

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Robert J. Zatorre, Ph.D.

Montreal Neurological Institute

3801 University St.

Montreal, QC Canada H3A 2B4

phone: 1-514-398-8903

fax: 1-514-398-1338

e-mail: robert.zatorre@mcgill.ca

web site: www.zlab.mcgill.ca