Mr. Southmayd wrote:
> The term "paternity disbelievers" is a less than objective description
> of those that apparently offer an evaluates the facts in that matter.

I definitely agree that the paternity disbelievers Bob Turner and Cyndi Burton and others work hard to stick to facts, and although I'm not a paternity disbeliever myself, some might remember that I've criticized,for example, paternity believers who report falsely -- but I hope only unwittingly -- that the DNA evidence excluded the Carr brothers from paternity of any Hemings child.

But as a paternity agnostic who is in regular e-mail contact with Turner and Burton and other disbelievers, and who formerly used the grossly awkward terms "pro-paternityist" and "anti-paternityist," I find that those very folks have increasingly adopted these less-clumsy terms that I began using a year or two ago: paternity believer and disbeliever. Maybe Mr. Southmayd is right, but if so, the principals whom he seeks to defend haven't noticed the problem.

I'm glad, by the way, to see this thoughtfulness in Mr. Southmayd about connotation. I agree with him that connotation matters greatly. Maybe this means he'll agree with me about what I believe may be the single most offensive term in the annals of American slavery: "rightful owner." That one's right up there ahead even of "master," a term that in most other contexts connotes honorability of one sort or another -- master teacher, master craftsman, headmaster, and -- one I remember from my Navy days -- master chief petty officer.

Steve Corneliussen

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