It is not so easy Wei just as it may look.

Stormy years 1989 and 1990 I've spend abroad in Ottawa Canada, so from my
own expierience I can tell you, that it is really not as much easy.
I remember weird feeling, that there is certain basic, fundamental
difference between me and Canadians, I couldnt call this by name, but those
were really long months before I discovered so called "northern type of
human communication" and I realized that it was pure nonsens expecting from
them my own (polish) kind of behaviour.
I remember how much were my Canadian friends surpriced when I told them that
they say daily only 10% of words, compared to "normal human being" :-) and
that even for me - the "silent silesian" it is extremely difficult to keep
quiet for all days.
But as english speaking people say "In Rome do as Romans do" I did not have
the choice. I had to learn how much it is possible to express by single word
and even gesture. Pressing them did not gave the result - I've hit only a
group of frightened people, so I am telling this because I think there was
(and still is) certain conflict on this discussion group over the past few
days and I must to add some things to my previous mail.
I know Wei that you were in a perfect agreement with your own "cultural
code" but unfortunately for many northern americans the longer letters
you've send and the more gentle you were, the more they were convinced that
you "make nuts", you simply play with them - impossible ? but Wei - nobody
here has left his home. It is perfectly opposite - everybody here is at
home, but unfortunately when we meet in this virtual space we all are
abroad, but we are not prepared for this.
I wouldn't be surpriced if within next few years on the Net we will have
discussion groups whose members will kindly ask foreigners to quit, because
those groups will be destined for a members of a single ethnic group (or
nation) and there will be simultaneously working international groups
discussing that same subjects but open for everyone.
I dont see the possibility Wei, that if on that same discussion group meet
lets say two 60 years old professors, and one of them represents "northern
type of communication" and the other "eastern type" (that can be
characterised as enourmosly open and first of all - verbal) and the first
see a discussion list as a quiet forum, where he can always from time to
time send a letter and people know him and for the second the unlimited
freedom of speech is a basic human priviledge and basic low, I dont see Wei
any other possibility for futher development of such a relations as a
SERIOUS CONFLICT.

What Mr Deporret said, that some noble proffesors feel offended and may quit
this list can be unfortunately a true.

How I succeded being member of this group - well I know how I behaved in
Canada and what kind of behaviour got a full acceptance from Canadians ( I
simply learned who was Champlain or MacDonald, who is Mulroney, Bryan Adams,
Chretien, Mazankowsky, Drabinsky, what says prime minister of New Foundland
and why it is funny ). It is after all the only one cultural code I know in
english so here I try to be "more nothern than Canadians" I mostly read this
discussion group - I like reading many people subscribed to this list. (It
is somehow strange, but in my opinion discussion groups are becoming slowly
more important medium of communication than newspapers or books - that may
be a controversial opinion). Certainly I write from time to time, but I do
not forget about LOG-s - list archives avaiable for everyone for free all
the time.


The most prefect example of crosscultural communication is for me case of
professor Norman Davies - professor of history from Cambridge and UJ. Even
todey I've heard him in the radio - he speaks polish, but whats the more
important he knows the history of this country (and history of Europe)
better than a great majority of Poles taken together.

But he never starts speech from "Poles - you antysemites & pogrom
organizers" - (really the most shameful part of our history).

I dont know if Ezra Pound writing "Cantos" today would be so much
"crosscultural", as he was 70 or 40 years ago, you see - on the net I always
can find when I need - a privacy, because polish is not an international
language, for unilingual english speaking people it is extremely difficult.

There is no "western imperialists" here Wei. If you will check the history
you would discover that I can call you "an imperialist" as well (1241 -
Battle for Liegnitz - between mongolian & chinese troops under command of
grandson of Tchyngiz- Chan and silesian and polish troops commanded by
prince Heinrich - in that battle we simply defended our land.) How does it
look, such a  "imperialists searching" in such a case?
Wei ?

It is rather important to keep focus on Pound on this discussion group and
it makes sense because there exist another 100000-s of subjects that can be
discussed.

If it would be possible to measure patience and we could make a choise of
"one wei" - as a single unit, you have to be concious that patience of
Northern Americans can be counted only in miliwei's :-)

And I am here probably the only one with patience level comparable to you,
Wei.

I think that before on the Web will be worked out a mechanisms that enable
"crosscultural communication" and everyone will know how people from
different cultures react on different kinds of behaviour one should be very
careful with that communication but it certainly doesn't has to be a true in
every case.

Regards.

Pawel Karwowski.