Party Loyalty Trumps Politeness – Friend Hurls Abuse, Makes No Statement

Dear Nadeem,

I was delighted to receive the string of abuse that you have thought worthy of flinging my way – I really didn't know you cared.

But first, the preliminaries: you have not made any statements. Let's go over your four sentences.

1) "Are these info the product of your deranged mind, Ifti?" This is a question: questions, as any logician will tell you, are neither true nor false, and so make no statements;
2) " Take a break;" : this is an imperative, and imperatives too make no statement, being neither true nor false;
3) "go back to your literary practices;" : another imperative
4) "stop being a paranoid conspiracy theorist!!" : yet another imperative (although this one conjoins several adjectives, so it is not clear whether you want me to continue to be a conspiracy theorist so long as I am not paranoid; or to continue to be paranoid so long as I am not a conspiracy theorist).

Therefore, you have not said anything, made no statement; forgive me if I do not return abuse for abuse: the dearth of gentlemen in Bangladesh seems to imply that we should all descend into the same cesspit – but I see no reason to follow where others lead.

You enjoin me to "go back to your literary practices": shouldn't that be "go forward to your literary practices"? Isn't literature a higher calling than blogging and reportage? I see you hold literary practices in less esteem than these more recent pastimes. De gustibus non disputandum.

So I have decided to take your advice (command is too harsh a word) and have just started to read a poem by Geoffrey Hill, who enjoins me to

"strive/To recognize the damned among your friends."

Yours truly,

Iftekhar


Are these info the product of your deranged mind, Ifti? Take a break; go back to your literary practices; stop being a paranoid conspiracy theorist!!

Nadeem


On 4/1/09, Iftekhar Sayeed wrote:
Iftekhar Sayeed has sent you a link to a blog:

The tanks arrived 32 hours too late because the prime minister would not give her assent - finally General Moeen ordered them sent anyway, and, to appease the PM, 'punished' the Savar cantonment commanding officer by sending him to a lesser post. PLEASE FORWARD

Blog: Iftekhar Sayeed
Post: Why the tanks arrived 32 hours late
Link: http://isayeed.blogspot.com/2009/03/why-tanks-arrived-32-hours-late.html