I haven't been following the discussions much. But I wanted to say that I thought this was extremely well said, Ann:
I think it is extremely important to try to stay respectful during these discussions. It is absolutely okay - indeed, it is pretty much necessary - to discuss what people have said, and to agree or disagree with the statements of other persons. As far as possible, however, I think we should avoid discussing what other people are. After all, how can we know what they are? We can only judge them by what they have said in public, and what they do in public. Sometimes, admittedly, things are revealed about people that they didn't want to make public themselves. It is certainly okay to discuss such things too, but I think we should be careful when it comes to jumping to conclusions, certainly regarding the behaviour of individual people. What do we really know about these things that they are accused of?
Even though I haven't been following the political threads (I may start), I think they are fine in the OT folder as long as no flaming occurs. I. too, have learned more in some of the OT threads than I would have otherwise.
