> I figured when no one blasted him for that (IMO irresponsible) post, that
> most everyone here on BEE-L had come to appreciate Andy for his
> forwarding of other peoples info, press releases, etc. but had learned to
> ignore much of what  he personally had to say (I was lucky to have been
> forewarned).
 
Good (appropriate) subject line <G>
 
One reason nobody argued with Andy was that we all know he has a sense of
humour and uses generous amounts of hyperbole in his entertaining and
informative writing to this list.  If anyone gets hurt from what Andy
writes, I think he/she is misunderstanding the tone of the post.  I doubt
Andy has a mean bone in his body.
 
Most of us recognize the humour and exaggeration in his posts and
understand he is just trying to get people to stop acting like sheep and
think a bit. That's not to say his (justified?) frustration with
government 'authority' doesn't show just a tiny bit once in a while.
 
FWIW, Andy has more actual beeyard experience than any two or three
others here put together (with a few exceptions) and he has made a living
with bees all his life.  He also reads very widely, as shown in his
contributions.  He's paid his dues.  There is a tradition in American
culture -- as many others-- of respecting elders, and I think it applies
here.
 
Most of us also know that if you follow any advice or believing what
you read  -- from any source -- without thinking first you are in for real
trouble.
 
The other reason is that most survivors on BEE-L are silent is that we
know from experience that attacking any one person will lead to endless
pushing and shoving. This list, warts and all,  is a real treat compared
to the chaos and crudeness of many discussions on the 'net.
 
Moreover, this list is not sacrosanct: the simple fact is that  --
contrary to what many BEE-L readers earnestly believe -- most of what is
posted on BEE-L is conjecture and hearsay or chatter.  Further, many
people post (mostly irrelevant) quotes longer than their own comments and
hardly anyone seems to bother to search the archives for what has been
described in detail previously.  BEE-L's a mess.  The list of sins and
inadequacies goes on...  However, I guess we all know the point is this:
our choice is to learn to love it and *live and let live* or to
unsubscribe.
 
Here on BEE-L, we read what we find useful, we delete what we don't, and
we (mostly) get along.  For a community of almost 1,000 people we are
pretty tolerant and polite.  That's really something amazing to find on
the 'net.
 
And something to treasure.
 
Allen
 
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