I read yesterday's FML (2/16/01) and saw it coming before I saw it today.
Dr. Williams has left the FML.  Thanks to some of the individuals on this
list-you know who you are, I don't, and trust me, I don't want to, he has
left us.  A very vital member, a person who is so for the ferrets that he
is respected world wide.  And now he's gone.  Do you know what it's like
to speak to a veterinarian about your ferret and be able to say that you
have discussed this with Dr. Bruce Williams of the AFIP, and have that
vet respect you for this?  I have-and I will say right now if not for Dr.
Williams I wouldn't have had Socks' adrenal surgery.  I was afraid to,
after having lost my Bailey to exploratory, but at his urgings I did so and
have no regrets.  My Fang has adrenal, and without hesitation she's having
surgery next month.  I, along with many others, got to listen to and meet
Dr. Williams at the Ferrets 2000 in Toronto.  No one could ever doubt this
man's dedication to the ferrets.  And now, because of hate mail, because of
people trying to embroil him into this mess here, he's off the list.  I'm
sick over this, and sick of all this crap that you people are doing.  I
will personally continue to correspond to Dr Williams and hope that he
will take the time to answer.  I know that he did ask me to keep him
informed on Socks' case, and I will do that, but it will no longer be for
the information on this list, because obviously there are some here who
don't give a damn whether helpful information is here or not.
 
I read the remarks about Sam-come on, get off it.  Who the hell do you
think you are?  She stated immediately that she notified the people who had
her ferrets that there was ADV.  Do you think anyone would knowingly send
this disease anywhere?  Are you sick?  The New Zealand Government cleared
these ferrets for shipment.  Do you really think someone would deliberately
breed and ship out ADV ferrets?  She's getting married and you knock her
for going on with this?  Tell me, if you were having a baby and you found
out your ferrets had passed ADV on, would you stop your labor?  That's
about how stupid that remark seems to me.  And if you, Anonymous poster are
a man, well, stop and think of how assinine your remark was, that is, if
you can think.
 
And then I read the hate mail Danielle has recieved.  You know, what do you
see when you look in the mirror?  Do you see someone you really like?  If
you do, you must kiss that mirror every morning.
 
I've been a member of this list for a little over three years.  I've seen
arguments, I've seen it literally bleed when in comes across my screen, but
I've not seen anything like has been happening.  There are people who are
using this to voice things that should be done in court-not here, not to
us.  It's not that we don't care, it's there are a lot of us here who are
NOT going to take sides.  We don't know the parties involved.  I have
personally received many e-mails asking me to take one person's side, then
the other person's.  I will not, emphatically, step into something I know
nothing about.  And by the way-don't email me anything about this.  I just
told you I will not join in on one side or the other.
 
There are over 3,000 members of this list and it seems that lately the
vituperitiveness, the pettiness, the cruelty to each other has escalated
to the point where you can almost sue another member for slander.  I
have several folks on this list that we're friends, we email each other
privately.  One person and I discussed the fact that you can almost be
afraid to say anything anymore-God only knows whose going to jump your ass.
There were some of us posting funny posts, trying to lighten it up, and for
a while other members joined in, but you know, to quote a song "you have to
know when to fold 'em".  We all wondered when someone would come down on us
for our silliness.  Thank God none did, because I was waiting for it, I
really was.
 
Am I furious-can't you tell by my wording?  It has gotten to the point that
I just try to skim the posts daily, except for when Dr. William's posts
came through, or when I recognize a legitimate post.  I've tried to skip
over the fights, but they've lately seemed to take up more and more of the
FML.  I wouldn't have Bill Gruber's job for this in the world.  There'd be
more posts that wouldn't make it here than you could shake a stick at.
 
This used to be a forum for the ferrets, by people who love them.  Yes,
disagreements take place, but the hate that has been running is ridiculous.
And when members write and say they've received hate mail-even Dr. Williams
has received that-come on people.  I've begun to think some members of the
list subscribe to Margaret Truman's quote "If you don't have something nice
to say to someone, come sit by me".  You're going to be very lonely because
a lot of people here are fed up.  I've always wondered, people like the
ones doing this-if something venomous bites itself, does it die, or is it
immune to it's own poison?  Have you bitten yourself lately?
 
I'm getting off my soap box now, because if I go on, I'm going to get
angrier and this posting will deteriorate.  I'm going into a lurk mode-I
doubt I'll post much.  Some may cheer at that, good for you.  I will, as
I have done in the past, try to write someone personally asking for help,
someone who's lost a fur child and needs consoling.  I think, for many of
us, this is the best way.  Why say something that will be ripped to shreds,
taken totally off the correct view and skewed to another point.
 
For people who have just joined this list, stay with it.  Hopefully the
light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train.  In closing, I will
say this final thing to all who write the hate mail, to all who helped run
Dr. Williams and others off, and to those who are trying to embroil people
in litigation.  Have a beer, no have two or more.  It might improve your
mind, if you have one.
 
Rebecca & the totally disgusted Crew of Merry Mayhem
"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and
 taste good with ketchup"
[Posted in FML issue 3332]