"Tinkerntom" wrote in message
m...
Wilko wrote in message
...
Tinkerntom wrote:

Hi, my Dutch friend Wilko, and I mean that sincerely.

Tinkerntom, to call someone my friend, I need to like someone a lot,
feel that I want to respect them, and I require them to respect me. I
don't take friendship lightly. I don't feel the need to make many
friends, IMO quality means a lot more than quantity in that respect,
although I tend to be in touch with a decent amount of people.


I again apolgize though, for overall, I find you all however
disparate, a noble band of brothers, and worthy of friendship. Do I
know you well, no, but I am sure we will get to know each other
better, given time, so I extend the hand of friendship. We all need as
many friends as we can get. There needs to be fewer, lower walls
between us. That is true Internationalism, we are all on that all to
small life boat, called Earth. That is also true environmentalism, for
if we don't know how to get along together, what difference will it
make if we save all the trees and rivers and wildplaces, if I could
only experience them alone.

Well, I'm with Wilko on this one, Tom. Justify yourself how you want to, and
extend all the metaphorical hands you want; the flavor of your posts as well
as the timbre of you online voice are patronizing and minimizing, and can
easily be felt as offensive. Even your response to Wilko's uncompromising
honesty above was met with patronization. How can you reply that he is 'your
friend' if the feeling is clearly not reciprocated? If it is truly your
voice and character, then I wonder how well you will do here. And if this is
by design, then it won't float for long. We will see; its certainly not up
to me.

Leaving the political differences aside (if that is even possible), this is
still primarily a boating forum, where people swap stories and learn from
each other. In order to be receptive to learning about boating, the same
framework has to exist that is conducive for friendship: mutual acceptance
and respect, honesty, a touch of appropriate humility, and a open, receptive
manner. If people percieve someone as an argumentative baiter, someone who
sets their own rules for their own and other's discussions, then that person
might very well find their contributions or responses to boating questions
compromised. If you come slicing into an eddy and trash several boaters,
don't be suprised if they refuse to cover your line in the next drop.

You challenged me as wanting to be a SuperGuru. I'm not a Guru, Tom. I'm a
contrubutor to rbp. Regardless of what you may feel about me because of our
political differences, Tom, the truth is that I do have very extensive
canoeing experience in many environments, a very conscientious safety
record, and have enjoyed working and paddling recreationally with many folks
over the past 3 decades, some of whom are on this newsgroup. And I am happy
to contribute my experience and insights, and which are recieved in exactly
the manner that they are intended. For you to offer several times to 'meet
me for a cup of coffee' might be a syncophatic fawning or an honest offering
of an olive branch, but in truth it seems rather hollow, with me being in
Congo.

I will continue working on understanding who you are and why you made the
type of arrival in rbp as you did, as that will certainly underscore the
nature of our online relationship. But if you truly want to be a welcome
contributor here, and more importantly, if you truly want to be a recipient
of the wealth of info, insights, knowledge and camaraderie that is available
here, you will listen to what Wilko, myself, and others are telling you.

Respectfully, and with all sincerity:
--riverman