[ Yes, this is a reply, because the content was something relatively
  new.  And yes, to those who want this discussion to go away, i'm
  doing my level best to not respond to everything.  However, I
  _would_ like the parties involved, and maybe even interested third
  parties to at least understand where they're coming from. ]

> 	Always remain optimistic.  Always hope that someday it will be 
> different.  And NEVER
> 			NEVER
> 				NEVER make it worse.  Just assuming that
> things will always be the same and that you will always get the shaft,
> and then SAYING so in public, pointing the finger at the other guy and
> saying "he will again, you can't trust him!" is NEVER the way to go.

There's a (fraction of a) line from "Chess" that rings very true to
me, and which applies here:

"Never let a friend fool you twice."


When I meet somebody or encounter a group, by default I try to be
relatively optimistic about their intentions and to be trusting about
them.  However, once that person or group has proved my trust to be
ill-founded, I will be less trusting.  If they continue to demonstrate
that trust would be ill-founded, then that's the reputation they get.
To redeem themselves, they've gotta demonstrate over time that they're
doing the right thing.

In my opinion, there's no such thing as an overnight personality
change, of either a person or an organization, except in the case of
some Major Change (such as a life threatening injury or half the
people in a company getting laid off).  Even then, there aren't often
such changes.

I'm a realist, and I think Jason is too, at least in some ways.  8-)



chris