But saying, "utterances of the insane and toothless old goofballs", was NOT being personally insulting? Tell me where in the Beatitudes I can find Jesus condoning hurtful and just plain old mean name calling? I am seeing very little evidence of Christian love.
Now now . . .
as many of us know and have observed relentlessly hereon . . .
We have to be compassionate . . .
Many of the RC’s, particularly of the rabid clique variety . . .
seem to live in an altered state—if not a different multi-verse altogether.
In THEIR construction on reality
1. THE VATICAN IS NEVER WRONG.
2. THE VATICAN CAN ALWAYS CASTIGATE OTHERS ‘OUT-GROUP’ FOLKS AS BEING BEYOND THE PALE, INSANE, UNWASHED, IDIOTS, GOOFBALLS, . . . BECAUSE, WELL, IT’S THE VATICAN.
3. Listing a list of qualities hereon which identify only one person, moi, is no biggy and a convenient way to assault. And, personally, even though it targets me—as long as it fits within the letter of the Rel Forum rules—fine with me. Actually, I wouldn’t care that much if they attached my Screen name to it and had a go at it in a free-for-all town hall sort of way.
4. It does get annoying when they are so harshly mean and then pretend to be so self-righteously holy about their meanness. That’s ABSURDLY hypocritical and I think ought to be labeled so—just in the interest of truth and some hint of integrity. However, even that is more or less grist for the mill and often amusingly so.
5. Many of them seem to have an utter INCAPACITY to treat assaults on heretical, blasphemous, idolatrous dogma and aspects of the INSTITUTION as anything other than an attack on them personally and individually. It’s like their addiction/idolatry of the INSTITUTION IS SO GREA, SO INTENSE AND SO COMPREHENSIVE that there’s no mental distinction between them and the institution. It’s beyond being joined at the navel or hip.
6. Of course, it is also likely that on an unconscious or spiritual level, part of such folks recognizes that their sacred cows have been terminally gored and are furious that their pet props supporting such hogwash have been knocked out from under them. Fury is common in such cases on the part of several different personality types.
7. Their fury is fine with me. I don’t recommend it for their sakes but in the free exchange of ideas, one should expect it, I think.
8. And, for Proddys perspectives, I think the intense, knee-jerk wailing, whining and dust throwing are yet more indications that a bull’s eye has been struck successfully.
9. Yeah, the Double Standard STATION OF THE WHITE HANKY CAN BE VERY ANNOYING—it is at least a screaming indication to thoughtful lurkers that there’s something besides limberger cheese rotten on the other side of the Tiber.
I was of course speaking generally and hypothetically. Had I said that you or any other specific Freeper were insane or a toothless old goofball I would have been making it personal. I have to thank Quix for illustrating that nuance of the rules to me.