In the middle of May this year, a friend of mine was kind enough to post a response to C.T. Belza’s to identify a letter of mine which he said had generated “24,673 rambling words” on the Source web site. Must have been a superb piece! I wanted to identify the letter so I could frame it. I also challenged Belza to write a letter to the Source editor analyzing my latest three letters, at that time, about gay rights. Funny, I haven’t seen a printed word so far. It’s a good thing I wasn’t holding my breath! Belza had described my letters as “seemingly endless elitist output.” I want to thank him for the compliment! But, if Belza checks the antonyms for “elite” (“common, low-class, lower, lower-class, ordinary, poor, worst”, ouch!), he might change his thinking. “Elite” is sounding pretty good! If Belza would respond, we’d all be enlightened I’m sure.
Bob Bates, Bend
This article appears in Jul 31 โ Aug 6, 2008.








Jesus Bates, Do us all a favor and get a life ….or better yet, learn to fish or play golf. We are not amused by your mundane ramblings.
The ‘24,673 rambling words’ were about YOUR OWN lengthy responses to those few who posted reasonable and succinct challenges to your original letter. IT WAS YOU THAT DRONED ON AND ON UNTILL THE COWS CAME HOME AND EVENTUALLY SLIT THEIR OWN BOVINE THROATS WITH A RUSTY SCYTHE OUT OF SHEER BOREDOM. So, take a picture of yourself taking a picture of yourself in the mirror and hang it on the wall. Elite is what you IMAGINE yourself to be. When boring ignorance imagines itself to be superior wisdom, that is hardly a compliment; it’s pathetic. Are you losing it, dude? Memory failing you? Get a freaking life, if it’s not too late.
Don’t let the trolls getcha down, Bob. “Elitist” is just their buzzword du jour. I bet 70% of them don’t even know what it means, other than “anybody who’s smarter than me.”
I don’t know Mr. Bates or anyone that does know him, but I have a thought about the folks that dislike his letters. If I don’t like a radio program, I turn the dial. If I don’t like a TV program, I turn the dial. If I don’t like the author of something I reading, I read something else. Quit yuour bithing and read something else!!!
HBM: If I recall, HBM, it was you that posted to a thread the comment that elitist meant rich. When the egg is already on your face over this issue does it make sense to attempt to configure the smear of yolk into an insult to the very people that previously corrected you? Not only does this point out that you are you demonstrably shallow, you are dishonest to boot. So give yourself the boot.
dodgebalz: Read Bates first sentence. If you can make ‘sense’ out of that nugatory obscurantist prattle, you are further around the the bend than Bates…now, consider that the 24,673 words of otiose prolix in question, which was laced with an entire speech by Eisenhower, were his own posted responses to his critics! He’s proud of the fact that his letter generated so much response, so proud he wants to frame it, obviously not remembering that those responses in question, were by an elitist pedagogue named Bates!
Is that hilarious, or what?