Many times.
I have a theory that I have adopted as a guide for dealing with people.
We are all A-Holes.
Before you jump on me, this is an example of how I look at it:
Most people think they are pretty good drivers. And maybe, most of them really are. But all of us, even the best drivers, occasionally make mistakes or misjudge which evokes the ire of another driver.
We might misjudge their speed and pull out in front of them causing them to have to slow down dramatically. Or we might forget to use our turn signal. Or we might blow through a crosswalk with a pedestrian standing there waiting. And so on.
Even if the best drivers out there only make one mistake a week...the fact that there are millions and millions of us on the road means that in our drives to and from work every day, the odds are we are going to either do something that is going to piss off or endanger someone else, or they are going to do the same to us. Even if they are good drivers 99% of the time, that one percent is significant.
This analogy can be applied to doctors who injure patients, pilots who botch landings and teachers who hurt the feelings of kids.
And it can also be applied to Free Republic. There are people who may be reasonable the vast majority of the time, but they have a bad day and end up posting something that shouldn’t get posted. I know I have done it, and I think most Freepers have. I think it is important to view someone’s posting history, but...often that is too much work to gain the correct context in a society that sometimes has the attention span of a gnat on amphetamines.
Bottom line: When someone crosses me, I always try to keep in mind that it just might be out of character for them to do so. It helps me get along, and probably them too...:)
Of course...some people ARE just A-Holes.