Re: False Claim on Deb

[barbara wolf <lupa@biddeford.com>]

At 12:55 PM 3/7/96 -0500, my new daughter Deb wrote to us about two pieces
of mail that had been privately posted to her, after she specifically asked
that any mail to her on the subjct of (will it ever end???) a couple of
places of worship in the Washington aread.  I am not IN ANY WAY entering the
fray.  There has been enough said so that I am clear as to the moral
dimensions, as well as the ecclesiastical and indeed theological roots, of
the battle.  But I feel I must, as Deb's new mama, reassure her about some
implications of the posts she forwarded to us all.  (I invite those who
didn't catch Deb's original missive to glance at it before reading further.
Or else, don't, and don't bother with the following.)

Dearest Deb--
The "person" ("persons?") who posted you privately has no claim at all to
call you "sister".  He is fraudulently claiming to be a child of mine, and
no child of mine would misuse words and historical data as he did--to wit:
        >Unfortunately, this is an instance of your parinoia filling in your
ignorance
Not only is "paranoia" misspelled (I would allow for a typo here, but there
are so many misspellings throughout the essay that I'm afraid I can't be
very generous) but the word is misused.  My children know what dictionaries
are for. Paranoia cannot "fill".
        >the sort you are hypothisizing.>
He is speaking about what he has termed the "pee story".  But as I have
taught you, there is a difference between "hypothesis" and "observed datum".
I am aware that you have in hand the recollection of a witness to the event
in question.  And I am very sad that our educators in the sciences have not
made clear how the word "hypothesis" is to be used properly.
        >you warn us all about "hersay,"
A perfect example, dear Deb, of the perils of bad spelling (and in this
instance it is bad spelling, because the same mistake appears again in the
essay).  If the rest of the essay had indicated a fondness for the stylistic
joie de vivre of James Joyce, I might let this one pass--although I might
have used it as an example of poor integration of voice--but I cannot do
that here.  Is he talking about "heresy" or "hearsay"?  Now you see, dear
Deb, why spelling matters!

These are, of course, just flaws in writing and are perhaps indicative only
of inattention (although I always taught my students that it is up to the
writer rather than the reader to make sense).  But the hazy generalizations
("Reality is fixed", for instance) are more serious.  This person perhaps
needs to do some serious work in logic, or at least in 20th c.Phil.

On the whole, I don't think you need worry about this claimant to the family
fortune.  He (they?) is no kin of yourn, and you need not send him (them?)
any money.

Ever your loving mama,
Barbara Wolf

        "But we've got to be careful not to reduce people by cramming
        them in the limits of our understanding, haven't we?"

                                                Reginald Hill