con·spir·a·cy
[kuhn-spir-uh-see]
noun,
plural con·spir·a·cies.
1. the act of conspiring
.
2. an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot.
3. a combination of persons for a secret, unlawful, or evil purpose: He joined the conspiracy to overthrow the government.
4. Law. an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act.
5. any concurrence in action; combination in bringing about a given result.
***
Both the Moral Majority, who are recycling medieval language to explain AIDS, and those ultra-leftists who attribute AIDS to some sort of conspiracy, have a clearly political analysis of the epidemic. But even if one attributes its cause to a microorganism rather than the wrath of God, or the workings of the CIA, it is clear that the way in which AIDS has been perceived, conceptualized, imagined, researched and financed makes this the most political of diseases.
Dennis Altman (b. 1943), Australian sociologist. AIDS in the Mind of America, ch. 2 (1986).
***
***
Hello Jim Ed,
You must know that in the future, there will be clear
boundaries for making contact with Janet and me, especially Janet. This is not
to say there will be no further contacts with us, but it must be under a number
of conditions.
Janet wanted to add her word before we set the conditions
together. Here is her note to you:
Jim Ed,
I was more than a
little disturbed by your visit on Wednesday. In the spirit of neighborliness
and the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I opened our house to you, even though I
felt s bit uncomfortable doing so, especially in Bob?s absence.
We ironed
out what you perceived to be a rejection on my part.
When you wanted to
share the symbols that are meaningful to you, I was interested, although having
a hard time ?getting it? in the way you told it to me. No input from me seemed
to even get through to you, or matter at all.
I was very disturbed when
you talked of your depression, thinking about getting your gun, and when you
told me you are the ?Anti-Christ? and a ?crack-head? I began to be somewhat
afraid of you and wished I had not opened my door to you.
When I told you
I needed medications and even that didn?t stop your monologue, I said it again
and began to leave the room. At that point you did thank me for listening and
left, saying you would leave your stuff so you could come back. You either
didn?t hear me or didn?t pay attention when I said, ?No, take them with
you.?
Bob and I both feel we and our space were violated, and Bob has
drawn up some conditions under which we may all co-exist as neighbors. I concur
with what he has written below. Janet
The Conditions:
1. There
can be no further non-negotiated visits on your part with either or both of
us.
2. We are not available to participte in your theological
doctrines
which you presented to Janet for more than one hour and fifteen
minutes. You failed to leave our house until the second time Janet indicated she
needed a break for medicines. You may not know that Janet has Parkinson's and
extended stressful events activate her symptoms. Furthermore, Janet needed to
take her
medicines and tried to bring your theological discourse to a
close,
but you continued. Furthermore, you left your basket of possessions
in
our house in order that you would have assurance of returning to
our
house. That is far too presumptuous for us.
3. You do not have
permission to enter our property or phone our house
unless you can abide by
these limits.
4. We do not listen to religious talk from anyone, let alone
invite
them into our home. We do not do that with you. We share our
faith
with people who ask questions of us and our religious convictions.
You
had no questions for Janet, only pressing her to agree with
your
doctrine.
G. Robert Gary, Sr. ThD
***
I'm sorry for the pain I caused you. It
was not my intention. I do not deny having personal problems. Was actually
reaching out for some help.
Again, I apoligize for barging into your
home and upsetting Janet. I do not own a gun or plan to.
jim ed
''The physicists say that I am a mathematician, and the
mathematicians say that I am a physicist,'' he said. ''I am a completely
isolated man and though everybody knows me, there are very few people who really
know me.''
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