For Denise...like you, I have held off making any sort of statement while the posts swirled around in an ever-escalating spiral of emotional discord and rancor... like you, I find myself appalled at some women's knee-jerk reaction to any statement that does NOT label human relations as: Men=Bad and Women=Good. unlike you, I would ask John to consider <the tone> of his writing for, although I pretty much agree with his premise, his in-your-face method of presentation is <guaranteed> to set off anyone feeling insecure or unsure about such emotional minefields. and, like you suggest may happen, I have been in the unpleasant spot of donning my asbestos suit in order to retard the effect of all the long-distant flamethrowers....especially women, when I was bold enough to present what I call a PUC (politically uncorrect) view of women's all-abiding fear and its control on their lives. the subject line above, refers to a series of posts that I did on Cinema-l about the dreaded Thelma & Louise, titled "Vengeful Feminism: The Cuckoos Collide at the Crossroads." The subject line refers to how I felt after trying extremely hard to word things in such a manner that women would not take offense. But, alas, I've come to believe that when it comes to certain topics this new-fangled mode of communication can cause more problems than solve others. so, for those apt to starting mashing that Reply key...pause a moment, take the statement you were about to write about men and women and insert, instead, the words asians vs. irish, or meateaters vs. vegies. Often by using non-emotional words in the same sentence it helps to clarify one's logic in the process. Go well, Martha *<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>* * * * Martha Day Internet: [log in to unmask] * * UVM Bailey/Howe Library Bitnet: [log in to unmask] * * Reference Dept/B104 Phone: 802-656-0895 * * Burlington, VT 05405-0036 FAX: 802-656-4038 * * * * * *<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*