I think that there is something of an Esperanto people beginning to emerge. Indeed, a smallish movement called ‘Esperanta Civito’ is based on that premise.

Esperanto has its heroes and great statesmen (Privat, Lapenna…), its enemies (the name Blinkenberg comes to mind), and it’s not an exaggeration to say that some Esperanto speakers have died because of their involvement with the language, whether in Stalinist purges (Drezen and Varankian) or because of Nazi brutality (including Zamenhof’s daughter). Then there’s the terrible Ido conspiracy of about a century ago.; I remember being warned not to get involved with those terrible Idists … The Zamenhof saga itself is a story of self-sacrificeand endeavour and success against all the odds. You may remember that Zamenhof’s early drafts of his language were burned by his father. These sort of things constitute the story whose existence you were doubting.

Anyway, I wish you well, and I’ve enjoyed your comments.

Esperanto is deserving of more attention, from a wider public!

A good indicator can be seen at http://www.lernu.net