If you cannot admit that history can be objectively known, then you cannot believe that history bears any certainty of knowledge. JDS In a message dated 5/16/2008 8:23:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: As I was pondering all of these goings on today.... I thought about how it seems to be "kosher" to come down hard on someone like, say, Jefferson....and let's face it, he gets pretty badly beaten up on this List, occasionally having been called everything from a rapist to whoremongering dirty, old man...but when one unkind word is written against Sally Heming some of us flip out completely! I wish that this awful judging of both the quick and the dead would just stop and we would try to stick to facts and ideas and try to do so with a bit of civility. Please. And I am speaking to myself here, as well. Your friend, Deane Ferguson Mills York County, VA ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Kiracofe" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 7:23 PM Subject: Re: Language I think what is upsetting here for some folks is that while Sally Hemings may loom larger in the imagination -- even to the point of being "semi-fictional" as you say -- than the hard historical record warrants, there was, in fact, such a living person: she lived as a slave at Monticello, a woman, and apparently had a number of children, she was a mother. We know little about her beyond that that everyone on the list could agree on, but I for one consider it uncharitable and ill-mannered to describe someone who I don't know with such perjorative and even cruel terminology. David Kiracofe David Kiracofe History Tidewater Community College Chesapeake Campus 1428 Cedar Road Chesapeake, Virginia 23322 757-822-5136 >>> "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> 05/15/08 >>> 10:49 PM >>> What I find intriguing is how anyone can get upset over an opinion about a semi-fictional character such as Sally Hemings. We have those who can no longer bear to risk further shocking language and they abandon the list. We have other self-appointed censors who secretly call the ListManager and encourage him to bounce the offender. If this list had a rule that everyone had to know what they were talking about before they contributed a post, that could cause serious deletion. Richard E. Dixon Editor, Jefferson Notes Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society 4122 Leonard Drive Fairfax, Va 22030 703-691-0770 fax 703-691-0978 ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html **************Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family favorites at AOL Food. (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001) ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html