the extremists/ be careful

[Neil Jones]

In article <v01510100b690e79482c1@[204.71.106.208]>,
  lutzrun at AVALON.NET wrote:
> Neil Jones wrote:
>
> "The most obvious case was 6 or 7 years ago when one of the
> poachers was on Leps-l posting psychotic drivel (or "historic
postings" as
> he put it) about how he had been the victim of a conspiracy.
> Despite his showing signs of  mental instability (Delusions of
grandeur,
>  paranoia etc. ) he had people supporting his position."
>
> With all due respect for Mr. Jones's intelligence, and with no
intention of
> initiating unpleasantness, I beg ALL the leps-ers to be very careful
with
> these specific clinical diagnostic titles ('psychotic,' 'paranoia').
>
> These are formal diagnoses, and are taken quite seriously as
illnesses that
> can have social consequences.  If you identify a person as having one
of
> these mental illnesses, but cannot prove that the person really is ill
> (something you could only do via access to their private medical
records),
> the person could potentially take legal action on the grounds of
slander.
 
Oh dear. I seem to have messed up. My humble and prostrate
apologies to the poor guy concerned. I never meant to say that he was
at all strange. My most profuse apologies. Everything he ever said was
completely rational and not at at all odd.
 
I completely accept that we British lepidopterists are interested in
witchcraft. We practice it most carefully and dilligently. On warm
summer evenings we may be seen in the meadows dancing naked around the
maypole, waving our butterfly nets in the air and shouting tallyho!
 
Afterwards we may be found performing strange rituals involving the
drinking of tea and warm beer and the toasting of muffins.
Anything else just wouldn't be cricket old chap!
 
Of course the US government employs Nazis as agents to persecute the
poor guy. Everybody knows that you can see these jackbooted nature
lovers goose-stepping across the praries. No reasonable person would
say otherwise.
 
I am not the only one who has erred. Hank Brodkin who founded the
original lepidoptera list was completely and utterly mistaken when
he told this guy "Take your paranoid delusions elsewhere".
Hank! You're a very naughty boy. You *must* report to nanny for a
spanking immediately.
 
Seriously folks. Despite my attempts at humour this is not a trivial
matter. I don't think you have to be medically qualified to know when
someone is divorced from reality. I have refrained from naming the
person because to a certain extent the guy deserves sympathy.
Those who were on the list at the time will remember well.
 
The real issue is however how we ensure that our hobby is nurtured and
preserved. I don't often need to take specimens but I do carry a net
often when I am abroad.  The guy concerned is one of the worst crooks
that has ever been brought to book in the history of lepidoptera study.
The indictment which lead to his felony conviction ran to EIGHTY FIVE
pages. If I recall correctly over 200 CITES protected specimens were
confiscated from him
 
The guys who have influence in deciding the regulations will simply see
this as a thinly veiled defence of a bad guy. The impression being
given is that the person concerned is supportive of the criminal
activity and that therefore there is a case for a clampdown.
They will have proof enough to know what I am saying is correct.
 
--
Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.nwjones.demon.co.uk/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve
 
 
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