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Romy,

For what it’s worth, I do not doubt that your grievances when it comes to Mr. Weiss extend beyond not liking his products and amount to such a deep-seated abhorrence of his whole being, that it taints anything or anyone that comes close to him. I did my research and I saw enough to see in Mr. Weiss a rather unlikable fellow emerge through the postings (tauntings might be a more appropriate word) on audioasylum in 2006 when relations had already soured in the ‘Cogent loudspeaker thread.’ He baited you. You struck back in your inimitable fashion. Then it got predictable. When we wear our heart on our sleeves, people learn how to pull our stops, and they played you in order to get rid of you.

You are who you are, and there is no chance that you will change your views on this but your inclination to paint everyone with the same brush is however my point. You used Keyser Soze, as an illustration of the power of one’s convictions. Without commenting on the appropriateness of the analogy, let me mention that our recent  history of the past twenty years, starting with the Glasnost of Michael Gorbachev, the Nelson Mandela years post-1989, and the peace process of Northern Ireland, was all about ignoring the unpalatable connections of some of the key characters who sat at the negotiation tables. The result was the end of the totalitarian system in the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of apartheid in South Africa and the IRA laying down arms in Northern Ireland. The world is a better place as a result.

In this instance, the stakes are not so high. You can do as you please, but in my opinion, it is a mistake. This approach has two main consequences that I would like you to reflect on. First and foremost, it will discourage people like Frank Shroder to post on your website, even if only to defend their good name or clarify some issues that your website has somehow managed to distort or presented inaccurately. They know there is little hope they will be treated with civility. Secondly, by doing so, you will encourage a breed of hangers-on and would-be ‘copycats’ to converge on your site. I am surprised that of all the people who regularly post on your website, no-one was prepared to tell you plain and simple that your attitude is wrong-headed, belligerent and unproductive. Surely even if many by some remarkable coincidence see eye-to-eye with you on this, there must be some who don’t. But they stay quiet and lurk in the shadows. Is this the world you want to live in, given that your website seems to be one of the very few where you can post nowadays? Ponder this.

One other thing, Romy, I find despicable that you should mention my wife in this discussion, even hypothetically, and irrespective of the point you were trying to make. I know you might say that you did not even know that I was married but the odds were rather high, weren’t they? That stratagem does not advance your argument but rather robs it of its credibility. My wife is Italian, absolutely adorable and yes, I do live in daily fear that she might be kidnapped!

Frank,

I love Berlin and I am well aware of what a great place it can be for music lovers, and indeed lovers of fine food, although admittedly I have rather little fondness for German cuisine. In fact we love Germany, and hope that in the not too distant future, we will move to France, within an hour’s drive or so of the border, although still not so close to Berlin, which should give my wife a chance to practice her German and me a chance to learn the language. I am glad to see the exciting state of analog in Germany, and interestingly enough, some of these companies seem to have taken a leaf from the basic philosophy espoused by the Micro Seikis our host is very fond of. I am always amazed by how much my German friends love music, especially classical music, from a very young age. I remember one university friend especially, who when we would be organising a night out at the pub or clubbing, would be off to see a live classical music performance at the Proms in Central London, even on the little allowance that he had.

Regards
Rakesh

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