Quote:
Originally Posted by LA Ute
Well, I seemed to detect more than a hint of schadenfreude (sp?) in your and Seattle's analyses of the unfortunate Sacramento guy who was chased from his job. Was I wrong?
And Seattle, I invite you to think about what I said. Seriously. Intimidation is wrong, and I know you well enough to know you think so too. The Sacramento guy was arguably not silenced, but the purpose of such purges is to intimidate others into silence. Anyone who has been close to the Prop 8 debate in California knows about this first-hand. Take it from me, my Ute brother, you know I don't make stuff like this up.
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I think intimidation is wrong as a general proposition; certainly that's true for any kind of physical intimidation. I also think that this issue is REALLY serious to both sides; the stakes are as high as they get outside of war. I don't live in California, but it sounds like it was trench warfare, a literal Verdun in those last days. Our political/legal system can be pretty reptilian sometimes, but it works. The bishop in the area where I used to live in Seattle is a very tough, successful litigator; he does IP work and sometimes those are fights over the life of a company. He's notoriously tough. I know lawyers I respect a lot who think he's despicable, a terrible person. The bishop even said to me once that he sometimes doesn't like himself very much in the thick of battle in his work; I think he was wondering at some things my colleagues may have said to me about him. But I've never judged him because he treated me well when I knew him, and he has a remarkable record of success in the courtroom. I have a kind of important respect for someone who knows how to do what it takes to win an important legal battle that means everything to his client even if it means pushing propriety right to the line.
I guess what I'm saying is that economic intimidation is definitely in a gray area but you guys aren't playing tiddly winks down there. You're playing for keeps and I'm not sure anything within the law is offlimits. I'm often amazed at the irony of there being so much decency in America, but our economic, legal and political systems being so hard and pitiless. I think that irony is a key to our success and prosperity. By the way, I'm not a liberal.