new thread
I've been working too much to get online lately, and just read most of the stuff about jmm.
You know guys, he's scared. He's very very scared. He's scared that God is going to destroy anybody who's gay, or does something gay.
It seems sometimes when someone displays hatred & bigotry & anger, there's this big fear underneath, and underneath that is distorted beliefs about reality itself.
He obviously hasn't thought things through enough. I really wonder about people like that. I really can't understand it completely. I love to think about almost every natural thing in the world. I'm sure he's afraid to question his assumptions as well. If you're afraid to question your beliefs, then you should question your beliefs. Lol.
I mean this quite literally, Jason, I could not have said anything better than what you said. You have an amazing mind, and my already high respect for you has gone up even more.
You're not the only good guy here for that matter.
I feel sorry for jmm for having to live with his distortions and fears. I'm glad I'm not there.
I'm one of the new guys on this board and for that reason, I don't believe I have the right to come out and just lay a lot of my opinions on the line. But, reading all you have said regarding Jeff and the things he believes in makes me wonder about something.
Every person on MLHH who has communicated with me has gone out of his way to make me feel welcome. And I really would have a hard time telling you all how much that has meant to me. But, as I think about it, maybe the majority of the kindness was shown because I didn't say anything or take any stand that was against anything most of you are for.
Without going into the particulars, what I see as an outsider is a group who ganged up on a guy for making statements about his own beliefs. Period. Whether or not you agreed with him or not did NOT give you the right to use his name all over the board to each other, talking about him like he carried some sort of disease!
I get the feeling anyone here is only on good terms with most of you if they don't cross a line here or there and have the balls to express opinions that might contradict your own.
It's something to think about.
Steve
The problem is when controversial topics are brought up feelings tend to get hurt.Personally I tend to avoid threads that can get toxic and probably should have avoided this one too.But sometimes when certain things get said you feel its time to chime in.Unfortunately it can't always be peaches and cream from thread to thread.All I can say is if you are going to get into certain areas be prepared to take some heat.I hold nothing personal against Jeff but his comment did light the flame.Hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say here.
Mark
I think the same could probably be said about almost any person in any locale, not just on this board. That said, I didn't post much on the subject, just gave my opinion (which I feel fully entitled to, turnabout is still fair play, is it not?), but I sincerely hope J.M.M. will not leave the board. I certainly don't like him any less, just disagree with certain viewpoints he holds.
People die because of homophobia. It's not courage of conviction; it's a philosophy that destroys lives. Would you welcome "the balls to express opinions" that we should reinstitute Jim Crow laws, disenfranchise women or keep Jews out of the country club?
You're not suggesting that he should be able to express his opinion; he's already done that. You're suggesting that we shouldn't be able to express ours. You're suggesting that he should get a free pass on taking the consequences of saying something offensive.
Not gonna happen. We shut up for several millennia. We're done being quiet.
Exactly my view on the whole subject. If you're going to speak out for or against anything, you should be prepared to meet with disagreement and criticism of your opinions. If you're not willing to face that, stay quiet.
Okay, fair enough. But, just remember what you said about people disagreeing with your opinions, because it goes both ways, bro. And, I for one, will NOT "keep quiet" and I resent you for telling me to!
Did you actually read anything other than the last two words of my post?
I'll put it another way in the hope that you can understand what I meant. I believe that everyone's entitled to their opinions and is welcome to voice them if they wish to, but if they do, they also have to take other people's disagreement and criticism. If you don't want people to disagree with you or criticise you for your opinions, the only way to avoid that is to keep them to yourself. If you say something controversial, don't whine about people having a go at you for saying it. Simple. Need any further clarification?
No, I'm fine, thanks. In your own sarcastic way, you handled it pretty well.
Thank you. Nicely said. Nice and true, I mean. I was upset because nice people were offended and made to feel that they can't trust their own impulses or intellect, which is potentially confusing and destructive.
There's no nice way to be homophobic. There's no polite respectful way to be destructive.
I think that some of us just don't want to tolerate people who are into discrimination. I just can't think of a any valid reason why we should. There are some lines in the sand that you can't cross, and that's one we shouldn't have to apologise about. Life is too short.
Thanks John. You're too kind. I try to shoot from the hip. Sometimes it gets me into trouble but it's just who I am.
You're most welcome!! I just felt it was the truth what I said about you. That's all.
I understand and admire shooting from the hip. It's fun. Heh. I like when the truth comes out because the truth is valuable, no matter what it is.
Reguards, John.