From: James Burnett
> Amen Bob!
Bob Shriner  wrote:
>  Please continue this endless argument someplace else.  It has degenerated
> into repetitious personal attacks that are unprofessional, unseemly,
> unpersuasive, and counter-productive.  It has ceased to accomplish 
> anything
> other than annoy the audience.

I've thought about this too. I do see what these gentlemen mean. And I 
certainly agree that discussions about Hemings-TJ paternity marred the forum 
in the past by degenerating into shouting matches. But on balance in this 
case, I disagree with Mr. Burnett and Mr. Shriner. This discussion isn't 
annoying me, and obviously isn't annoying several others either. The country 
is marking the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. To me it's obvious that 
one dimension of that exercise in civic improvement is the potential for 
coming to clearer understanding of the individual humanity of the enslaved. 
If people with special interest in Virginia history can't discuss these 
issues, sometimes necessarily heatedly, who can? Sometimes I think the power 
of the "delete" key is under-recognized. I mean the gentlmen no disrespect 
in reporting that I, for one, am glad that the discussion moderator, no 
doubt aware that every one of us does indeed have a delete key, has allowed 
this volatile discussion to proceed.

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