*Sigh* away for nearly a week and all hell breaks loose. Lost someone I consider a friend (H_T). And while I deeply disagree with the opinion he voiced I still consider him a friend.
My own humble opinion on this matter: do not ban subjects. How would we have discussed a runner up in the book club if we can't talk religion ("Biff"). And there are heaps of books written on all the subjects people want to ban. There are lots of people who can discuss all subjects without getting personal.
There is a difference between saying "You are wrong, because ...." and "You a#$%%e are wrong". And unfortunately the latter has occurred too often on too many threads lately. Just because a discussion gets heated doesn't mean the thread should be close. Rather ban or warn the people who can't stay civil.
I actually like talking / reading / commenting on all subjects here because I like the people here - well at least those that contribute often. Sure, there are some that make comments that make me cringe. Other times I want to scream at them telling them how wrong they are (in my opinion
). But whatever opinion they voice, it is theirs. I don't have a problem with people that disagree with me or my ideas only with people that cannot tell me their ideas without getting personal.
If people feel deeply about a subject - why does it have to get personal? Yes, there are forums that a specifically for politics, religion and so forth you want to ban here - but hey , have you ever visited one of those? It's full of nutters
MR appealed to me because
a) lots of books discussed
b) info about new gadgets
c) heaps of nice people
d) soooo many different subjects discussed
I have wondered before why people who are flaming, insulting are not warned / banned. And I disagree with the censorship of excluding subjects.
My family has always been involved in politics as long as I can remember and way beyond that - and not all on the same side. The discussions around the dinning tables (and anywhere else for that matter) can get rather heated. Sometimes we resort to the old tactic "I'm right if I just shout the loudest" - we know that some visitors can't handle our family dynamic but we just can't help ourselves
.
Despite the different opinions we may have and the long history of family discussions I cannot recall one incident where any of the participants got personal. Not once end a discussion by someone walking away hurt or slighted. We do not call each other names or insult in any way. And I might not agree with any of them or only some of them but I have a deep respect for anyone who has the courage to stand up and voice his / her opinion - on anything.
We should call ourselves lucky that we are able to voice our opinions. Right or wrong, whether we agree with them or not - we have the right to do so. No reason to get personal. If you don't agree with one, state so in a civil manner and move on. If you can't do so, count to 10 ( great suggestion in an earlier thread). If that still doesn't work, walk away.
If someone voices an opinion I don't agree with - that doesn't make him / her a bad person and would not evict him / her from my friends. But someone who calls me names and insults me - that are the people I don't want to deal with.
If someone wants to keep it light - why not stay away from posts with religious, political and so forth content you don't want to discuss? Having said that - I do hope that MR will predominately be a forum that discusses books, gadgets and donuts & chocolate.
I am terribly sorry about this long post. I even timed out writing it
but I do feel strongly about the subject of free discussion. Just my humble opinion.
And I feel sad that H-T is gone - he posted some real good threads, made me laugh and helped me through some stuff. Yes, he might have an opinion I don't agree with - I am still going to miss him.
So if you actually read to the end you obviously had nothing better to do. You were warned at the beginning.
