[WS:] I am not really into shouting matches ;). What got me in his original posting was the causal connection between the teacher union power and rapes of students and spreading aids. This is worse than union bashing in this country. But it is not surprising in the country where AIDS denialism is sanctioned by the President of the Republic Mr. Mbeki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_denialism. I understand that there is high popular demand for scapegoats for aids and I do not mind when the generalized Northerners play that role, but putting teachers unions in that role touched a raw nerve. Perhaps because my wife is a teacher in a low income school who regularly puts a 10-11 hour work day (even though she is paid for 8 ) and all she gets in return is verbal abuse from the students, their parents, the administration, the media, and politicians.
Alas, picking the battles worth fighting is a virtue and I should have followed this principle in the first place.
Wojtek