a reply to:
semperfortis
Not too surprised at that . . . Perhaps we could tease this out a bit.
1. I wonder if you ever say any of the Pentecostal perspective sorts of things that rile so many up in a flash?
2. I suspect your LEO training bleeds over into your posting by tweaking up an extremely gracious, civil demeanor.
3. I don't recall you noticeably emphasizing your faith or even characterizing your values or casting your values in ways that some automatically
find outrageous.
4. The Gut doesn't tend to be offensive to most either. There's a couple of well known overtly Christian mods who tend to be inoffensive--though one
is a little bit plain spoken more typically.
5. Nevertheless, Christ said that the world would revile and hate us. If none do . . . what's that about?
6. I came to ATS with a fiercely combative 3,000 hours of intense group process experience plus similar posting experiences on
www.FREEREPUBLIC.COM...
where intense opinions were the common order of the day as long as the insults were not personal. It took me a long time to refine my ATS posting
toward a more issues only and greatly more civil style.
7. Nevertheless, my personality and style tend to generate a number of interesting responses--face to face and on the net. Some of those responses are
opposite. I can automatically bring out the worst in people--seemingly, sometimes--just by breathing or walking in the room or being in the room with
some types, personalities, value orientations walk into the room. Most folks who know me closely face to face characterize me as the opposite--kind,
gentle, loving etc. It's a very interesting combination of very different responses.
8. I suspect I'm known hereon for having a list of values and perspectives which some folks are bone marrow hostile to. I seriously believe that
there are 10-25 posters on ATS who would do me bodily and/or property damage if they knew my location. Their hostility is typically instant,
personally assaultive, fierce, automatic almost regardless of what I say or how I say it. Sticking strictly to the issues is no guarantee of a civil
dialogue in terms of the responses to me.
9. I highly value all individuals. I try to post accordingly. Nevertheless, I'm frequently accused of condescension. I don't think that way nor feel
it in my heart except very rarely. However, I do tend to call a spade a spade and describe reality as I perceive it and experience it--letting the
chips fall where they may. Many of those most fiercely aggressively hostile to me--who I'd feel the most danger from face to face--are FAR WORSE at
written condemnation and worse. Somehow, that's much more OK hereon. That's always been mystifying, to me.
10. Seemingly the most infuriating thing to many posters about my posting is that I dare to operate obviouisly from the perspective that
SOME THINGS ARE RIGHT AND SOME THINGS ARE WRONG.
That's absolutely intolerable to a sizable majority on ATS. And some of those seem to be STORM TROOPER FIERCELY DETERMINED to stamp out that
perspective in every way possible at every opportunity.
Of course, they fiercely operate out of the perspective that THEY ARE RIGHT about there being NO RIGHT OR WRONG. LOL.
11. There is a topic that was demonstrated in Biblical times to include fiercely assaultive behaviors on the part of adherents. That spirit is still
alive in the world and operative in a percentage of such folks by their own admission. Any hint of anyone even postulating the possibility that such
folks might be less than equally saintly can bring out the fiercest of hostilities. I'd not want to be caught alone on a dark road by such posters on
ATS. Given that they seem to be strongly of the perspective that there is no right or wrong, they'd likely feel quite comfortable doing me as much
bodily harm as possible.
12. I prefer, as much as possible, to live at peace with all mankind. I recognize that's not possible totally. And, I believe that on ATS, so far, my
perspective has as much right to be OVERTLY expressed as anyone else's. And I'm not willing to hide it under a bushel nor to insure that every word
and phrase is wrapped in 12 layers of rabbit fur. The double standard folks on the other side insist on their right to fiercely and even repeatedly
personally assaultively attack not only my perspective but my person. I still avoid the overt personal assaults regardless. And, I persistently try
and refine my wording to be as hearable as I can, in good conscience do.