gosh Neville, that was the saddest post I’ve read in a long time. Not this last one, the one before that.
regarding the last post, specifically:
As for the hostility, yeah, welcome to the internet. I started out here occasionally trying to get people to be more “civil,” but eventually I gave up
Exactly what I did. I gave up but am not embarrassed about doing it(nor should you be, I respected you tremendously for it). As you can see I show up on rare occasion again when I see people having those parallel arguments but, like you said, I am rarely successful. Not because people are too hostile or hateful, more because people didn’t get what I was trying to do. When I point out to someone that they are so heated that they are not hearing the other side, or when I try to point out to someone that the posts they claim are attacks are not really angry, I get accused of taking sides. Even if I don’t have an opinion on the topic! How many times has Joseph accused me of random disgusting hashkofos because I disapproved of the tone of the attacks. As if nobody would think you could possibly support someone or defend someone you disagree with.
So don’t give up! Even if only a handful of us hear you or join you, it’s not a lost cause. Just a lonely one.
Stuart – I find a lot of hostility in the CR.
I used to think so too, especially when the Zionist/anti Zionist threads were alive. I know realize that it’s not always so hateful when you try reading it again later without the “moment”. And I also realize there is more ignorance and anxiety than hate. Nobody wants you to be right because then they are wrong. And nobody wants to be wrong because then they may need to change. (my personal thoughts)