[Tango-L] Response to everything (Part I)

[TangoDC.com]

I tried posting this last night, but when I got up today I saw my 
message had been too large to make it through. So I've divided it into 
two parts, in the tango way, and removed the stuff that was dangling at 
the bottom, in the veterinarian way.

Part II follows.

Spatz
DC

***

Dear everyone,

Let me address the recent slew of comments I've received as best I can. 
I'll start with Ramiro's allegations.

To begin with, I called Sergio a pedant, because he was behaving 
pedantically. And "pedant" is perhaps the one thing people engaged in a 
debate are allowed to call each other, without making it personal. But 
otherwise, nothing I've said can be remotely construed as an ad hominem 
remark. I have dealt critically with the content, not with the man. 
Sergio has a wealth of experience to contribute here, and for some 
reason he refrains. (He has stated, publicly, that he is afraid of being 
misinterpreted.) Instead of making valuable remarks, he dispenses 
tautology and platitude. Those words refer to things in real life: I am 
using them correctly.

The remainder of Ramiro's boo-boo list (except for the propaganda item) 
concerns actual things Sergio wrote, and my remarks may be compared to 
his posts by anyone here. The mention of propaganda wasn't aimed at 
anyone in particular. "Propaganda" is my colorful term for 
"exaggerations of tango history and/or reality." If this was over the 
head of anyone not in possession of a bullshit detector, I apologize.

As for gentlemanly behavior: What gentleman would tolerate the 
pigeonholing of a serious discussion concerning a topic he's genuinely 
interested in? Sergio asked for everyone's opinion, then declared his 
own to be correct. I'm sorry, but if the guy *pretends* to be a 
moderator (hence the term "pretense": check a dictionary if you must), 
that's a hogwash job, and I won't sit here and watch these other, 
worthwhile opinions get elbowed out of the way, on the grounds that he 
speaks in the name of an entire country.

Ramiro's final charge is that I wouldn't say these things to Sergio (or 
Ed, etc.) in person. Truth be told, I have debates of exactly this 
character with my closest friends all the time. So do most intellectual 
people with a weakness for rhetoric and an intense dislike of 
authoritative posturing. That said, I'm probably much more obnoxious in 
print than I am in person, so Ramiro is probably onto Something.

What remains to be said about this mess is that Sergio has not defended 
any of the points I critiqued, with one exception, in which he 
completely reversed his position, and provided us all with some actual 
background information. That I applauded openly, and I have asked for 
more of it. Shame on me indeed.

As for his closing remarks: I appreciate your thoroughness, Ramiro. 
You're among the fairer people writing on this list. I don't know how 
any of this compares to Communist leaders (nb: scroll all the way down), 
but you're fair.

Next topic.

Chris (UK)-- thanks for noticing that I barely got started wading 
through the fog.

Moving along...

Marisa-- thank you ever so much for trying to get the discussion moving 
forward again. I'm eager to see what contributions can be made, and 
happy to see that I'm not the only one curious about how we all can 
expand our artistry. (On that note, thanks to Scott for the follow-up.)

Next: Derik.

FYI, most of the teachers in DC, if I've got my numbers right, are not 
Argentine. The ones who are, are not relentlessly nationalistic. They 
are actually exceptionally nice people, and I'm friendly with the ones I 
know of. I'm also friendly with several Argentines who aren't teachers, 
and they're nice people too. Unlike some American tango enthusiasts, 
they don't look at Argentina through sky-blue spectacles, and not a one 
of them lacks a sense of humor.

Furthermore, no one is telling anyone how they Must dance except for 
people like you, who get their opinions second-hand, and wear this 
hearsay like a medal of honor. And my whole point is that your testimony 
is useless if it is not Yours.

Speaking of authenticity, on to Sergio...

Sergio has charged me with having a website-- two, actually. The first 
one from which he quotes text is at http://jakespatz.com, and is largely 
humorous, except for a preliminary essay on "fluid perspective" (i.e., 
drawing 3D landscapes without a single, fixed vanishing point), which is 
(I hope) both humorous and serious.

(cont. in Part II)