I was too soft on them yesterday.
I’m really disgusted with Gush Shalom (so called “Peace Bloc”) and their threatening letters. This Jerusalem Post columnist suggests Gush Shalom activists “should not hide behind their institutional anonymity. They should identify themselves by name, so that the rest of us can show them what we really think of them.”

Well, we don’t have to wait for them to reveal themselves. This is their website and this is how to contact them. Go visit them and share your feelings with them.

I must request that you write nice, polite letters and e-mails (and make sure you’re not angry when you sit down to do this). I really mean it. I’m not being cynical. They probably get piles of hate mail already. If you start off pleasantly and positively, they might just read through the whole thing. Hate mail rarely gets read and serves to feed the recipients feelings of self-righteousness. These guys already see themselves as crusaders for justice. They don’t need our help.

Maybe we could all do what my Dad does (I hope you don’t mind my sharing your secret ploy, Dad). When he’s having a disagreement or a misunderstanding with people he’s doing business with but doesn’t necessarily know personally, he sends them an amusing little poem explaining his side of the predicament. Sometimes he writes it in the form of a limerick, which he’s especially good at. His doggerels are usually hits on the receiving end, and he often gets amusing replies. He always gets the recipient’s attention and his message through.

Using humor could be a good idea especially when dealing with earnest, ideological activists. They could probably use some loosening up.