Jaeger, you seem to have no problem talking about a person when they are not there to defend themselves or to at least give a balanced response to some rather unbalanced statements. So, having been informed of your rash comments, I thought I would register here and address that issue.
Do we know each other, Jaeger? You see, I have always posted online with my actual name. I have never chosen to use a psuedo name, so I do not know who you are. But from what I can tell, we have never met, and neither you, nor I have any personal experience with one another. So how, pray tell, can you make such personal attacks and comments about me? It seems to be pure ad hominem, and nothing more, and it seems to all be about issues you have with a fictional novel I wrote.
You ask Raj.Devan to not reduce the discussion here to "Jeff Head," levels? Just what level is that? We have never had a discussion. I have never posted here (until this very post) and so never had a discussion here with you or anyone else. Yet, without so much as knowing me, you immediately reduce the discussion here to an ad hominem attack level yourself.
I will say this, poster Raj.Devan did post a small review of my book in the Military Scenario Thread here on BR and at least he was open-minded enough, had enough integrity, and used some critical thinking skills to be able to see that the book was written from several perspectives, some he agreed with and some he did not. And he was able to articulate that in his review. For that, I commend him for his rational and reasoned thinking, and for his integrity.
You, on the other hand, appear to have great difficulty in seeing anything past your own ideological disagreement with a fictional novel, and so you choose to attack, not only the novel, but also to extend it to me personally, making all sorts of assumptions and pronouncements about me which have absolutely no basis in fact.
The wording in you post is acidic, and unbecoming. I am really sorry that you would leave such an impression of yourself.
As to your claims, I will answer them, on these topics you attempted to attack me over, most of which were spelled out in the novel with opposing views equally represented therein, as Raj.Devan pointed out in his review.
1) I am not anti-immigration in the least. My father's family came to America in the 1600s from England and France. My mother's parents came from Austria and the Slovak region of Europe in the late 1800s. I am a child of immigrants on my mother's side, and of many generations removed on my father's and have nothing but pride in that background. I am however opposed to illegal immigration. It is, quite simply, a violation of the law, and should not be allowed. Either the law should be changed through normal constitutional means, or the law should be enforced. That is NOT anti-immigration in the least.
2) I am against the abortion of unborn children. They are humans in the womb, they can be nothing else. A tragic Supreme Court decision here in the U.S. was made in the 1970s that has led to the slaughter of tens of millions of innocent babies. Thankfully, after many years of hard work, the perception is swinging to the obvious conclusion that life should be protected in the womb, and I pray in a few years that we once again, as a nation, respect and defend a baby's right to life...while providing ample means for adoption for the child if the mother does not want it once she is pregrnant, or solid education so she does not become preganat in the first place...and that first and foremost by living a chaste and moral life and avoiding the out of wedlock acts that cause pregnancy. But that is just my opinion...and it is decidedly not a radical one.
3) Your playing the "race" card is so typical of people who simply want to silence others with whom they do not agree. I have worked in the US market place for 37 years, in the defense industry, the power industry and elsewhere. I challenge you to find anyone, white, black, brown, red, yellow...you pick the race or color...who knows me personally and who would ever say that I have an ounce of bigotry in me. You will not find such a person, because I do not. I have hired numerous people of all races and colors to very critical and responsible positions and I did so without for an instant caring about the color of their skin or their race. I cared about three things. a) Were they competent enough to do the job? b) Did they have a strong work ethic?, and c) Were they honest and trustworthy and have a commitment to a strong moral value system so the could be trusted with the responsibilities they were being given? Color/race was not a consideration then...and is not one for me to this day. As to the book, if I am such a racist or bigot as you claim, then why did those two black boys from Chicago figure so prominently into my books? Why did one of them, Alan Campbell, win the US Congressional Medal of Honor for conduct beyond the call of duty in a fight at Diego Garcia...which I might add the US lost to India at the time? Why did Bhupendra Gavankar become such a hero for India when all was said and done? The reason is because there was no bigotry or racismin in the book either, and there is none in me. Shame on you for making such crass and gross misrepresentations about someone you do not even know.
4) The second amendment to the US Constitution plainly states that American citizens have the right to keep and bear arms. In the fictional novel you take issue with, Americans are attacked by terrorists on their own soil in large numbers, in many places, from Malls, to Forests, to City and National Parks, to Rivers and Streams, etc. Some of those American citizens defend themselves with their own firearms. Some of them band together and are recognized by their local Sheriff's departments who, in the crisis, are overwhelmed themselves, and deputize those people (which they are legally empowered to do) to help protect local and regional infrastructure and towns. Nothing wild-eyed or radical about that.
Anyhow, you get the point. Understand, this is not an effort to have some kind of debate with you. Quite frankly, because of the nature of your post, I do not believe that would either be possible, nor is it deserving. It is simply to place both sides out here on BR so other posters can make a judgment for themselves.
Finally, my advise to you Jaeger (Hunter), and it is freely and sincerely given, would be to simply try and get to know people personally, at least a little, before you attack them personally. You will probably find that they are not the wild-eyed radicals you make them out to be, and will find that you do not need to attack them at all.
But that is entirely your decision.
Again, I just wanted to present both sides here on BR in an environment where it was not happening.
Tschüss
Jeff Head
