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RE: AZTLAN list: fear of the new?



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Subject: RE: AZTLAN list: fear of the new?
Distribution:world

In article <5e4k3v$q0k$1@trends.ca>, 
yuku@mail.trends.ca (Yuri Kuchinsky) wrote:

> Thanks for your reply, Will.
 .....stuff omitted.......
>Well, you see, you don't have to guess. I can forward you the
>file with all of my few posts to Aztlan. So you can see for
>yourself if I said anything inappropriate. I certainly didn't. In
>fact I'll probably post that file right here soon, so everyone can
>judge for themselves... 
> 
> : If the rest of the subscribers to the list are still there, it seems
> : like you're on your own, regardless of what they may say.
> 
>You see, Will, many of them also read s.a.m. They've seen
>my recent posts about Aztlan. Why no replies or comments? 
>Don't you think this speaks volumes about the fear that 
>pervades that list? Or perhaps about some guilty consciences?

You are getting paranoid my friend.  If you are going to start making
unsupported claims about fear and loathing on AZTLAN List, that
will definitely get you classified as a crank, in the killfiles of
many serious people, and ignored.

The reason many people do not respond is that they have better
things to do with their time, e.g. grant proposals, actually digging
dirt and doing science,then respond to the innumerable complaints
from people with hurt feelings because their grand "discoveries"
fail to generate any interest.  They likely fail to respond because
they simply could care less about what you have say.

>Now, just to clarify, I'm not about to judge people in a blanket
>way because they don't want to get involved in this discussion. 
>As I say, I have a lot of respect for quite a number of scholars
>on Aztlan. Some of them already told me privately about their
>thoughts. They do their best to work in these difficult conditions 
>because this is the field they dedicated many years of their life to.

Could you name some names and give some quotes?  Are these real 
scholars (both professional and avocational) or other people with 
axes to grind, like Ed Conrad, with conventional archaeologists 
because they refuse to recognize their "brillant discoveries"
and "contributions".

>They can't just pack their bags and leave. They want to continue
>to work in the field, so they have to watch what they say... So
>how can I judge the people who are unwilling to speak up
>because of the very real danger of compromising their career? 

You are getting paranoid, very paranoid.  If you want to prove me
wrong, give some hard evidence demonstrating that there are professional
archaeologists who this way instead of the usual talk about the the
International Archaeological Conspiracy (tm) that terrorizing this
profession.  Just because people don't take your pet theories 
seriously fails to demonstrate a conspiracy.  Just means you have
failed to provide any new evidence to prove your point.

Do you have any proof that professional archaeologists actually
feel any such danger?  To me this sounds like a very overactive
imagination.  

>The danger is no doubt real, as the group-think on Aztlan, and 
>more generally in this field as a whole, is obvious to all. Step 
>out of line -- and see the sky fall on you... 

......material omitted....

I an not a professional archaeologist.  I just do avocational, volunteer
type work with archaeologists and hang around with them and drink
beer.  They have their rivalies, their hangups, their prejudicess, and
other similar problems just like any other human beings.  However,
from my experience, your claims of "The danger is no doubt real"
and groupthink sound like you or someone else has sold you some
real estate in the twilight zones.

> The reason why I'm writing this post is because I'm concerned about the
> discipline as a whole, about the ruling dogmas so many of them genuflect
> to. 

There is a dogma.  It is called "where's the evidence / proof".

> The sacred cows are all over the place in this field. The intolerance and
> a lack of objectivity are obvious. I guess my expulsion made all this very
> clear to me now, although I was never naive about this to start with. 
The 
> public at large should get informed about what's going on.

Your getting as bad as Ed Conrad here.  Just because people find your
theories uninteresting and boring fails to be proof of any intolerance
on the part of archaeologists.  It sounds like that you are intolerance 
of anybody who disagrees with you.  Maybe that is the reason why
you got thrown off the list.  :-)   Anyway, if you go public with this,
you need to supply some proof of your complaints.  Given that you have
so far provided absolutley no evidence of your claims, I can only conclude
that you are another unhappy crank like Mr. Conrad.

Cheers,
Keith Littleton
New Orleans, LA
littlejo@comm.net