On Wed, 4 Feb 2004, Jerry Friedman wrote: @> To me, it's probably SKZB's most moving book. _Athyra_ might @> be in the same league. However (I'm not going to give anything @> away, but the criticism I'm going to make could conceivably @> lessen your enjoyment of _Cowboy Feng_, and if anyone wants to @> argue with me, they may find spoiler space useful), @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> . @> ...I couldn't understand why the bad guys acted the way they did. @> @> This is connected to the Cool Stuff Theory: what is Uncool Stuff, @> and how much does it vitiate Cool Stuff? My answer is that I've @> reread CFSB&G several times, but if the bad guys' actions had made @> more sense to me, I would have enjoyed it more. It's a tiny stretch, but only a tiny one. Look at how lepers have been treated throughout most of history, despite the low rate of communicability of Hansen's disease. Or the way the Plague was treated in medieval times. Or the stigmatization of the GLBT community over AIDS/HIV. People are always looking for excuses to hate each other, and disease is a convenient one because it provides you with a semi-legitimate reason to avoid and/or destroy certain other people.