[Dysphagia] "Familiarity breeds contempt"

[HAL9600 at aol.com (HAL9600@aol.com)]

It is an old saying that my Mother was (and still is) fond of.  It refers to 
the fact that as individuals become better acquainted they sometimes say or do 
things they would never have said or done when the relationship was on a more 
formal basis.  They may begin to expect things of the other, to make 
assumptions, and come to feel contemptuous of the other because they do not meet 
expectations or share assumptions they now feel entitled to, now that this 
individual has become a "friend."

We are not friends on this listserve.  We are professionals separated by a 
great deal of time and space not to mention generational, cultural, and 
political differences.  The sense of familiarity is comforting but not real. 

It seems to me that exchanges recently have become disturbingly personal 
lately.  I, for one, am interested in maintaining the high rate and quality of 
interactions.  To do so, I believe we must maintain a certain formal etiquette 
and exercise greater effort to raise issues without attacking or offending any 
individual.

Gerry Brooks