Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Daniel's parents had to flee their home in Europe.

I had indeed missed that, and it explains a lot. Sorry.
Tom Brosz — (archived)

A capital example of why knowing who you are talking to and where they're coming from is important in places like this.

There were several plausible scenarios for someone being unusually virulent about this subject, and to be honest, that one had not occurred to me since Daniel lives in Australia and that kind of connection just didn't occur to me for an Australian, although there is really no logical reason why that would be the case.

I figured it most likely that an academic environment might account for the attitude. My apologies, Daniel, for not thinking of the other options.

It might have helped to lay that on the table early, but to be fair, it's nobody else's business, and you (or anyone else) is under no obligation to do so.

But if someone is a raging anticommunist, it doesn't hurt to know that they spent time in a gulag. If someone is really bent out of shape about the Patriot Act, knowing they had a relative in a Japanese relocation camp is an important part of that.

Mary Anne has been fairly open with her background here, and that background makes a big difference in how I respond to certain things.

Facts are objective. Attitudes are not, and who somebody is can make a big difference there.

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