In defense of Bolle

[John A Swartz]

> > Related to both points 2 and 3 above, I've been told that we come off
> > as "elitist" at times, sort of thinking we're somehow better than other
> > BOC fans - we think we're "real" fans because we aren't afraid to say
> > something sucks when we think it does (the very thing that some of us
> > are now slamming Bolle for).  Again, this is my interpretation of what
> > others have told me -- I think it's overblown, but perhaps there are
> > some grains of truth in there.

>Don't these people have anything better to do? I categorize BOC,
Hawkwind, and BOC-L under the heading "fun". I don't lose sleep over any
of them.

Yeah, I agree with you.  But, I'm just passing info that I've gleaned
from some internet discussion I've had with some folks.  I personally
won't lose any sleep over it either.  I don't know if anyone on this
list cares how others perceive us or not.  Although I think it would be
cool if more BOC fans joined this list (although for reasons I previously
cited, I'm not sure all listmembers would necessarily agree), and if
that is desirable, well some comments I've gotten would suggest that
we might have an image problem.

>Agreed. John Schwartz seems to be saying that we can't be too hard on
Bolle for being an asshole since he's built that way. I'm not sure I buy
that argument.

Nope (BTW, that's "Swartz" - at one point I was thinking of changing my
middle-name to "no ch" ;-)  ).   You can be as hard as you want on the
guy.  But, speaking as someone who has conversed quite a bit with the
guy, I felt that one might take his comments with a bit of the proverbial
grain of salt if one knew him a bit better than just reading his
occassional rantings on the net.  Personally, I don't agree with him on
this one, and anyone who knows me knows that his style of posting on
the net is probably close to opposite of mine (recall I've been accused
in the past of being a boot-licker).  Like I said in my first post,
I'm not really trying to defend the guy ("In defense of Bolle" was
therefore a bad title for the post, I agree), just try to put his voice
in some sort of context -- and point out to those who care that there
are others who feel similarly.

>What I don't understand is why people take all of this so seriously.
Bolle has been written of in reverential (even "hushed") tones on BOC-L,
just because he's a rabid BOC fan.

Again, if my statements have led some to believe that Bolle should be
revered, then I apologize.  I owe a debt of gratitude to the guy for
all the help he gave me on the FAQ, and all the BOC info I've gotten
from him (not to mention some great live tapes).  I respect his wealth
of information on the past and present of BOC -- I never meant to imply
that his opinions are gospel.

>If there's a list for people who don't give a rat's ass what Bolle thinks
about ANYTHING, please place my name at the top.

Well, one can choose to accept or reject *anyone's* opinions -- however
I would argue that if we didn't have any opinions on this list, it would
be pretty boring.  I'm not talking necessarily about what sucks or who
sucks - I'm talking about (hopefully positive) opinions of various things
like songs and albums, and (hopefully rational) discussion of those
opinions among listmembers.  I agree that Bolle's post does neither of
those, but I think it's a bit extreme to say that opinions don't matter.

John