Excuse me for being mildly irritated, but did some of my posts get edited on some folks computers? Where the hell did I present myself as a propagandist or even a proponent for the ABS? My posts were in support of people educating themselves in an objective fashion about the group instead of forming opinions for it or against it based upon the ravings of ABS kool-aide drinkers or people with axes to grind, and I can assure you that I am neither.
Please point out anybody who has railed against the ridiculous premise of bending a blade 90 degrees, while giving factual explanations as to why, more than I have (indeed I come close to actually having a axe to grind here
). In both my religion and in my politics (neither of which I will share for the obvious reasons) I find myself in a similar situation of always educating prejudiced outsiders about the real problems as seen from the inside instead of invented, ridiculous slanders outsiders come up in lieu of doing a little research. I
like criticism of any group in order to keep them in line and moving in the right direction, but it needs to be based upon something of a little more substance than innuendo, slanderous opinion or total misrepresentation. The first is constructive, the other is merely a propaganda tool to perpetuate prejudices which cannot be based upon actual issues lest it lose its power should they ever actually be fixed.
I have felt wounded and slighted by the group myself in the past. The group had some serious growing pains when it couldn't seem to decide if it was a fan club for certain makers or some exclusive regional good old boys club, misinterpretation of the testing has done more damage than good to heat treating of blades... etc. I have been a member of the ABS for at least 16 years and if you would like to talk about some real problems and issues with the group I can do that, I am not sure what the point would be and the only ones I would care to debate it with are folks who also have a real understanding of it from the inside. I personally don't see the point in arguing the details of group with folks who have never really been involved with it, I have my own horror stories why do I need assumptions?
I have very good friends who have no qualms about saying they are "anti-ABS", I leave them to their grudges while gently reminding them that while I share many of their criticisms the last contact they had with the group was many years ago and things do change. There is this little thing called "redemption", without it there is little hope for any of us, and if we never allow people or groups the opportunity to make themselves better, our unmoving condemnation becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.
If I sound "pro-ABS" let me tell you how one of the groups most fervent critics decided to give them a chance to be a force for good in our community. In all my years spent on the soapbox slaying myths and taking hype, myth and hooey to task, I have ruffled my share of feathers. For simply pointing out facts, I have been called names and made my share of enemies, and yet even though the one group's teachings that has come into the line of fire of my diatribes the most is the ABS, the ABS is the one group that eventually responded the way they did. Instead of attacking me, trying to shut me down or silence me, they gave me a platform! They listened to what I had to say despite the fact it refuted much of what had been embraced for so long. Instead of throwing me out, they put me to work! Thats the real way to teach me to keep my mouth shut!
Just imagine if every group in America embraced the ideals of the 1st amendment to the level I just described?
I do not strive to be neutral, as it seems to be synonymous with apathetic in this instance. I do believe I am objective, and think that if you have enough emotional investment to actively criticize something at its every mention, then it should be worth your while to get involved to make some changes or simply let it go and free your life from its negative burden. For years I sat up North in Michigan and bitched about the ABS its regional politics and misinformation. I had been told that if I wasn't one of the good old boys I would never be heard, and I believed it until one day I had the novel idea of simply asking how I could help.
Join the ABS and be toady of the highest magnitude, or wash your hands of the group and hold it in contempt for the rest of your days, but either way you owe it to yourself, the group, and all those who you would share your views with, to get some current first hand knowledge of it and make up your own mind.
