Howyadoin,
I used to really enjoy the discourse on this board, and respected the fact that flamewars were an uncommon occurance here. The signal/noise ratio here is still among the best of any MB I’m involved with. It seems that in the past six months or so everyone is looking down the barrel of their Martyr Pistols, looking for a target to come into range.
Let it the fuck go, already…
Someone says something that could be remotely construed as taking a shot at somebody, and immediately the Offenderati swing into action. Everyone seems to have some favorite topic that sends them into the stratosphere (mine: Scientologists and their apologists). Before anyone calls me a hypocrite, I’ll cop to taking to the ramparts in a Pitting here:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=161177&highlight=scientology
I’m still not convinced that this person wasn’t trying to practice moral relativism, but either way I took an offhand remark and burned it beyond recognition. I’m trying not to be so quick on the trigger, and it’s not easy with some of the trolls and other incendiary posters that love to stir up flamewars for whatever purpose.
Either way, the hue and cry goes up that “so-and-so doesn’t know what it’s like to deal with such-and-such, how dare they make a remark that hurts me deeply.” In most cases, the comment was not personally directed, although the hearty “Fuck You” in reply almost always is. Those who rush to apply the retaliatory pummeling need to, dare I say, consider if they are jumping to conclusions about the character of people they probably will never even meet let alone truly know, and maybe count to 10 before they fire up the flamethrower.
I don’t intend to belittle the depths of suffering of people I don’t really know away from this poor simulation of reality.
Nor should people take the fall of every sparrow as a personal affront.
The people that post and lurk here take great pride in this institution of which they are a part. Pride, however, really does goeth before a fall. There is a sense of brittleness here that is becoming more prevalent. Perhaps the flaming is even becoming encouraged, as people use hot button issues to illuminate their online personae by revealing their real-life issues. In the rush to the battlements to defend one’s outrage, a lot of tolerance gets left behind.
-Rav