Since I was one of the individuals whose posts jojo_da_crow had objected to, I have been hesitant to respond. But I have decided to do so.
First of all, I am sorry that I made my original post without getting all of the facts first. I am still not sure what precisely happened at that meeting and suspect I will never know. I hope the reported snub never occurred; I would rather have egg on my face than have the original story proved to be true.
I am also sorry that my original post caused offense. Having said that, however, I hasten to add that I agree 100% with Terry's post.
In RL, I am very circumspect about with whom I discuss controversial topics. And before I started a topic that touched on religion in the LnC folder, I even ran it past LabRat for permission precisely because I feared that it might cause offense. I am thrilled to say that the thread proved to be both civil and quite lively. I was impressed at how people of many different beliefs were able to have a polite and fascinating discussion, and how the FoLCs here were able to disagree without being disagreeable, and I said as much more than once within that thread.
Which brings me to the posts in this current thread. This section of the MB is specifically labeled "Off Topic - For almost anything not related to Lois & Clark or fanfiction." I saw nothing in either the description of this folder or the MB FAQ indicating that the posts in this thread would not be appropriate. If I saw a thread or a post whose subject I found to be highly offensive, I would either stop reading it as soon as I realized what was being said or, if I felt compelled to do so, I would try to write a polite response refuting the points in the post. In neither case would I desire or expect the poster to stop posting. (That is, of course, assuming that the post I found offensive did not have anything like an incitement to riot, threats against an individual, or something equally questionable; those would, of course, be an entirely different story.)
As the old saying goes, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I am very grateful that I live in a place where freedom of speech is constitutionally protected.
I'll admit that I am a newcomer to this MB; but at least from what I have seen, the discussions outside of the "Off Topic" folder have all been LnC related and the few discussions I have read anywhere on the MB which have been on controversial topics may sometimes have been passionate, but they have always been polite. I have yet, for example, to see anyone reduced to calling anyone else names or flaming them.
It is my hope that it continues to stay that way.
- Lynn
