And yes, I definitely know what you mean about those who stir the pot against their own assumed allies. It always happens, no matter the topic, and there's no sense in it because it essentially degrades the cause and pushes back any forward efforts made by others - not to mention letting the real opposition know that the activists are divided among themselves. So be it, they've known it for some time. It's sadly been done, and continues, here in the Barnett Shale. There's even opposition among "celebrity" activists around the country and that inevitably becomes more newsworthy than the cause itself. One of the worst examples of negative "activism" is that appalling woman in the northeast whose obscenity-filled, vitriolic verbal attack of a fracking advocate was enough to make an intelligent and sensible fractivist walk away from the effort. Yoko and party should have taken away her bus pass. So whether it's an activist hatefully attacking the opposition or one of their own, it's uncalled for, and will negatively impact the cause just as much as anything the industry or governmental legislation will do; too bad some people don't understand that. I found it interesting that a couple of you commented in your emails that you've many times found that one individual seems to try and "control" other activists and thus, further muddies the waters because the others submit like some kind of dutiful soldiers. Interesting, very interesting, thanks for that take. I could not agree more, and I've encountered that in pretty much every activist endeavor, and the problem is that those who align themselves with the controller lose a degree of credibility, not just because they align with that individual, but because they will almost always be misled while believing they are getting good advice and direction, and thus, their efforts in the cause will ultimately be moot or ignored. Every adult activist or concerned citizen can - and should - make their own decisions. No one person is "in charge" - it's about individual choice, individual approaches, and sensible activism, so there's no room for pettiness or critical sniping at those on the same side just doing what they can to help. And on that note, sorry there's no public commenting, but as you each already know, comments on these kinds of blogs are absolutely unnecessary as most of us are on the same page - and this is not a debate blog. And there is no reason for any of you kind commenters to be subjected to snide remarks made by aforementioned pot stirrer types with bad attitudes. Actually, and I know some of you will fully agree, we can all thank those types for making us realize, (what we pretty much knew going in even as we were trying to be idealistic), that (unpaid) blogging & tweeting for something you have little to no chance of changing for the better, is a waste of good time that you can never get back. That realization is priceless.
At any rate, please know I'll reply as soon as possible to each of your notes to let you know the latest.
