Something I have noted here on the FML really disturbs me.
 
It is the practice of many to 'name-call' a very unpopular organization,
namely the California Department of Fish and Game, or what ever its official
departmental title is.
 
It is increasingly referred to as "CaCa Fish and Game" or variations
thereof.
 
Gentle folk, Whenever I hear someone stoop to name-calling in the course of
a discussion about a very two sided issue, I just sorta always gravitate to
the side that does not use this easy and cheap way of trying to humiliate
the other side.  It has been my observation that the side doing the
name-calling, is usually the side with the weaker position.
 
To me, it shows ignorance and lack of an adult thought process.  Yes, yes, I
understand the emotion that drives the practice here on the FML and I DO
feel the same way about many of the ignorances that generate the
name-calling, but name-calling simply removes any legitimacy from the person
doing the name-calling.
 
Think about it for a minute.  Jeanne Carley spends a tremendous amount of
time and energy contacting officials in California, trying to get them to
see our way and vote to legalize our fuzzies.  She recommends we all send
letters to each of our representatives, or in my case, to the Governor of
California, to show our individual support for any legislation that promotes
the ferret.  Understand that government officials get tons of mail and
contacts from crackpots and kooks..it is very obvious from the usually
rambling nonsense presented.  All of a sudden, these same officials start to
get all kinds of well-meaning, but emotionally written pleas to legalize the
ferret.  Many of these letters/calls/e-mails refer to the CaCa Fish and
Game.  Ooh boy...there goes our legitimacy!  Into the round file they go and
the battle for respectability and acceptance just gets harder and harder.
 
Or...here is another scenario...So a State legislator gets on the FML, just
to 'check us ferret folk out'.  The 'guest' reader starts to read about our
fuzzies and then suddenly comes across one of the many referrences to 'CaCa
this and that'.  I really doubt that individual will read too much
further...after all, it IS a slur against the state he or she represents.
He/she thinks, "Maybe Fish and Game has a point, or maybe the Audubon
Society has a point, after all, THEY are a fine upstanding organization,
having been around for hundreds of years.  Or the Sierra Club, fine
upstanding citizens all.......
 
FML'ers, we do nothing more than cheapen ourselves when we don't treat the
opposition with a little respect..even if they don't deserve it, WE do, and
we won't get it when we lower ourselves to name-calling.
 
Your turn.
 
MC (Joe, the rude one)
[Posted in FML issue 2130]