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...this thread's kinda remindin' me of Old Yeller...it jest ain't gonna get no better...I'm out...

...no, matrix, my question was directed towards my friend who posted immediately before me...kind of a private joke...

...have you been married before???

...I all better now...thankyberrymuch!!!

...I really resent the fact that Crossfire din't include me while describing us..."unaware old guy"...I deserved to be mentioned, too... (but, I hasten to add, I'm NOT pouting...)

...yeah, a lot of us old guys are set in our ways...AND really, really (even REALLY) dislike the president...but I'd prefer two skunks or a Commie to him anyday...at least we know where they stand...

...I don't think we have a troll...just someone who thought this a receptive group to air his displeasure...as we are...though we're not going to all agree...one question of our OP: did you copy your instructor this post, so that he might consider whether or not he wanted to change his style???

matrix wrote:

speedsix wrote:I don't think you had to sit through the class if it bothered you that the instructor(s) comments didn't line up with the way you believe...no more than you have to go to the barbershop where the barber is outspoken...the beauty of the Free Speech we enjoy is that we're exposed to all kinds of opinions...and if the conversation's no to our liking, we can leave...you may not have appreciated his expression of views, but there's nothing legally or morally wrong with him expressing them as he teaches a class...if he were to misuse his "assumed authority" to squelch the response or opinion or belittle a question that arose as a result of his comments, I would have a big problem with that...
...he wasn't very politically correct or overly sensitive(read afraid to offend someone with opposing views), but I respect that he spoke his mind in an open forum, same as is done here...a lot is posted here that others would rather wasn't...and they usually just ignore it and read something else...

Ok, several things there:

1. Whether I agreed with him or not is irrelevant (BTW, I don't). If he was sitting there praising Obama and the Democrats, I would have felt the same way. Not appropriate for the context/setting.
2. This isn't about free speech. I'm not saying the instructor is morally or legally culpable.
3. This isn't about being offended. There are many things I find inappropriate that don't offend me. I'm sure the same is true for you and most other people.
4. I'm not touchy enough to walk out of a class over something like this. It wasn't an earth-shattering disaster, just an unaware old guy making inappropriate statements every now and then.

...I hear a lot of things not appropriate for the context/setting...at church...safe driving school...insurance licensing classes...faced with keeping a class awake and somewhat listening, you get a lot of this: "...old guy making inappropriate statements every now and then."
...that you consider him "unaware" just tells us that you disagreed with him...that's why we have both salt and pepper on the table...you've come to the right place...you won't fall asleep 'round here...

...I am one of them there "esteemed" you spoke of...lowly esteemed, but still esteemed...I don't think you had to sit through the class if it bothered you that the instructor(s) comments didn't line up with the way you believe...no more than you have to go to the barbershop where the barber is outspoken...the beauty of the Free Speech we enjoy is that we're exposed to all kinds of opinions...and if the conversation's no to our liking, we can leave...you may not have appreciated his expression of views, but there's nothing legally or morally wrong with him expressing them as he teaches a class...if he were to misuse his "assumed authority" to squelch the response or opinion or belittle a question that arose as a result of his comments, I would have a big problem with that...
...he wasn't very politically correct or overly sensitive(read afraid to offend someone with opposing views), but I respect that he spoke his mind in an open forum, same as is done here...a lot is posted here that others would rather wasn't...and they usually just ignore it and read something else...