Congratulations to Michelle and the Masketeers on the opportunity to make a
point, and good luck on your presentation!
 
>From your description of the situation, particularly where the invitation came
from, I'd be very suspicious, too.  Why would the "in"-Humane Society person
bother with a level playing field?
 
As far as level playing fields go, find out if the format is going to be
moderated (see we have a good moderator right here on the FML 8D... ).  Listen
to the moderator's other shows to judge the extent to which the moderator al-
lows complete expression of each point of view, the extent to which the modera-
tor gives focus to objective info versus ad hominem arguments or baseless sar-
castic humor, etc., and the extent to which the moderator's goal is to clarify
why people feel one way or the other or if the goal is to create controversy.
I think we need a good moderator on this one, and a good moderator is going to
go a long way towards leveling the playing field, i.e. bring out objective as-
pects of opposing positions, leaving to the audience to decide what is happen-
ing.  Examples of extreme cases of moderators are Morton Downey and at the
other end of the scale, Charlayne Hunter-Gault.
 
When you are in a moderated discussion, there are a number of things to keep in
mind.  One is that you are arguing, that is, presenting premises for your own
argument (ferrets have been cited as being in domestic situations for 2,000
years, there are hundreds of thousands of ferret owners today) and a logical
reason (lots of people enjoy having them) to reach your conclusion (ferrets
make good pets!); also in arguing, you want to point out that your opponents'
premises are invalid("ferrets are wild animals" - make them document that!), or
show that their logic is invalid ("ferrets are wild animals and therefore
assault people" must imply that "baby harp seals are wild animals and therefore
assault people"), and that their conclusion doesn't necessarily follow. Of
course when you deal with the type of person your may be dealing with, their
big gun strategy is going to be simply lying, which scuttles any meaningful
discussion anyway, and ought to lead to a good shootin' fight.
 
A second thing to keep in mind is that you are not in a fight (at least I hope
not).  There is a delightfully easy-to-read book entitled "NONSENSE" (I forget
the authors name) which will make it easy to distinguish between when the dis-
cussion ends and the fight begins.  In any case, try to stay in normal dialogue
and don't fight (unless you let your words and reasons be your dagger!), and so
be yourself, be dispassionate but not stiff or cold... or nervous.
 
Of course, avoiding "nerves" is something we can all relate to... do you
already have a favorite relaxation technique?  I like self-hypnosis and
visualization (see "Stop Studying and Start Learning, or How to Jump Start Your
Brain" - a book in print, at least in 1987 - again I forget the authors name).
Would it help any to think about going on the air as being something fun?
 
I hope going on the air is fun for you... I apologize to all for being so wordy
here, but Chris, you know how I feel about dialectic... and moderators.
 
Michelle, E-mail me if I should track down authors for the books.
 
Al Horne
 
[Posted in FML issue 0817]