Day 260 - 11 Jun 96 - Page 33


     
     1        A.  It was a peculiarity of the meetings that I experienced
     2        that by virtue of being at the meetings it was assumed that
     3        you had an interest in that which everybody had an interest
     4        in.
     5
     6   Q.   And that was not actually the case?
     7        A.  Well, individuals are individuals; not everyone can be
     8        interested in everything that everyone else is interested
     9        in.
    10
    11   Q.   When you say that it was assumed, that was because people
    12        were not all standing up -- when one person started talking
    13        about something, people were not all standing up
    14        saying, "I am interested in that as well, I am interested
    15        in that as well", so the person who was talking about it
    16        would just carry on talking about it, regardless of whether
    17        or not anybody else had indicated by a verbal indication
    18        that they were interested in what the person was talking
    19        about?
    20        A.  The assumption would be seem to be on the part of the
    21        speaker, yes.
    22
    23   Q.   So, would you say that it is fair to say that what you are
    24        describing there is just that somebody would stand up at a
    25        meeting -- or not even necessarily stand up -- but somebody
    26        would speak at a meeting about something that they were
    27        concerned about, without finding out whether or not anybody
    28        else in the group was interested in hearing about it?
    29        A.  This comment was not made specifically to the
    30        meetings.  It was a comment about the general attitude of
    31        the individuals within the group.
    32
    33   Q.   How did you gain that impression?
    34        A.  People would talk to me about things they were
    35        interested in and assume that because I was part of the
    36        group I would also be interested in that subject.
    37
    38   Q.   So, what this comment is based on is the fact that people,
    39        individuals within the group, would speak to you or maybe
    40        other people in the group as well ---
    41        A.  Yes.
    42
    43   Q.   -- and tell you about something that they were interested
    44        in, without trying to find out first whether or not you
    45        were interested in it or whether or not other people were
    46        interested in it?
    47        A.  Well, I can illustrate it by saying that it was assumed
    48        that within the group everyone was a vegetarian, for
    49        example, because this would be the "required" attitude to
    50        have to belong to the group. 
    51 
    52   Q.   What actual assumption are you referring to?  That is, 
    53        presumably, another reference to something that you have
    54        given a report on, something that has been said?
    55        A.  No.  It was assumed that if -- my impression was that
    56        it was assumed by members of the group that if an
    57        individual wanted to belong to the group, that they had
    58        common aims and common values; it was not questioned.
    59
    60   Q.   The reality was that that was not necessarily the case?

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