In article k.net, "Dwight
Stewart" writes:

"N2EY" wrote:

(snip) So what it comes down to is that
a little serious skill-learning is required to
use Morse on the air, except for a very
few people who have learned Morse
elsewhere. I think that plain, simple fact
bothers some of the most vociferous
and abusive anti-code-test folks.

That fact, as you call it, ignores other very real facts. Few people today
(especially boys and men) have not learned code, or at least played around
with it, at some point in their lives. When we were kids, many of us sent
messages to friends using flashlights or walkie-talkies with code printed on
the side. Many other games and toys over the years have featured messages,
secret or otherwise, sent by Morse code. Others learned code in groups like
the Boy Scouts. Still others learned it in the military.

I was in the U.S. military for 8 years. Never learned any morse code,
never had to.

I used real walkie-talkies and handie-talkies (AN/PRC-8 and AN/PRC-6,
respectively). Never needed any morse code proficiency to use those.

I even transmitted on HF with many KiloWatts of RF power, never had
to use any morse code proficiency thing for that.

The only "code" I learned as a kid was deciphering "secret messages"
sent over a radio show (Captain Midnight?) which amounted to "drink
Ovaltine." :-)

In reality, most
adults today are familiar enough with code to know whether they have any
real interest in it.

Morse code manual telegraphy is 159 years old. It shows up in old-
time movies and TV shows, especially Westerns.

Clearly, those with no interest are not exactly highly
motivated to study up for a license exam.

Sloth! Abomination unto the god of ham!

Clearly such infidels have NO reason for existance!

But the fact that some have no
interest in code, and would freely choose not to learn it, really seems to
bother some of the "most vociferous and abusive" pro-code folks.

Antichrist = anticode? :-)

LHA