I started collecting chips because of an interest in the history of gaming and a fascination with these icons of fortunes won and lost. What I found in this hobby goes far beyond the mere chips themselves. I have met some of the nicest people I know through this hobby. I refuse to align myself in such a way that I cannot trade with or be friends with another chipper simply because they believe differently from me on this issue. Slabbing is not akin to stealing or cheating or lying. It's not immoral to buy, sell, or own slabbed chips. It's immoral to counterfeit chips. It's immoral to manipulate grades falsely. I will choose to avoid people who are dishonest in their dealings, whether it be slabbing chips with false grades, or constantly claiming their common current chips are rare and obsolete. Where is the list of people who won't deal with Dean Clark? I'll gladly sign that list.

Yes, I'm worried about what slabbing will do to my hobby. I hope it fails miserably, and I believe it will. But a list that says I'm not going to deal with someone who's only crime is not sharing my distaste for slabbing? Heck, I even have friends who are Republicans. Look what these people have done to my country <g>! They're still my friends. If slabbing does take off, the slab collectors will most likely be a whole different group from the chippers I know now. Some of them just might actually be nice people, with no malice or ill intent towards me or my hobby whatsoever. I'm supposed to hate them sight unseen?

Sheese, you'd think we were talking about abortion here. I can see the headlines now... "Pro-feelie activists shoot pro-slabber in his home, cuts all of his chips out of the slabs. 'God meant for chips to be touched. What choice did I have but to free these poor clay disks from their sterile bondage?'"

Now, I can't make choices for others. If anti-slabbers won't deal with me because I won't sign their list, so be it. If pro-slabbers won't deal with me because I don't like slabs, so be it. What happened to my friends, the chippers? If slabbing pits us against one another, then it's already destroyed our hobby!