"The patronizing tone of the comments (save Leslie’s)"

Anja, in your opinion, the only comment that wasn't patronizing was the one that didn't challenge you? Really? I'd hoped we'd reached the point in the semester where we didn't automatically attribute a post espousing a counter-argument to closed-mindedness.

I believe Will and I both made valid points, and it's borderline offensive to see our work being reduced to "paternalism." Reading your comments (which, since I did not color-code, I may have misunderstood) I felt as though you didn't even read my post, you just skimmed it for the parts that upset you and then responded to those. As people who hope to change society using words, it's important for all of us to understand how we come across to others both verbally and in writing. I'm disappointed at the way my comments seemed to come across to you, and your comments in turn have made me upset. I would like to know what I could have done to communicate my point to you in a way that did not offend you, short of agreeing with you. I'd appreciate your insight on this.

Now, let's agree to bring the tone of mutual defensiveness down a notch. Here's a nice, and somewhat relevant, Johnny Cash song.

Walker: it's interesting to think about the income as the source of a split between friends, but I wonder if the income is symptomatic of a greater difference, or whether it's the problem in itself. Also, something to note: the push towards EIP is more than just cultural, it's actually factored in to all of our financial aid calculations and offers. I could be incorrect here, but I believe that school-sponsored grants and loans all decrease in the third year under the assumption that we will all take highly paid summer positions.

-- MolissaFarber - 08 May 2009