Wow, I’m nominating that one for unfortunate typo of the month! :eek: 
Okay. I’m sorry. 
gobear: Having unique beliefs is one thing—if someone wants to debate or challenge a Mormon (or Catholic) that’s fine. As long as the Mormon (or Catholic) is willing to engage in a debate. IMO, simply stating that you are a member of a certain religion does not mean that you automatically are inviting any and all challenges, debates, interrogations, confrontations, etc. (I know I’m straying a bit from the original point, but since I see this happen a lot too, I thought it worth bringing up.)
It’s the nastiness, snide comments and “You really believe this!” “No I don’t! It’s my religion, I happen to know what I believe!” “NO, you believe this!” There’s no call for that kind of badgering.
Fascinating. In a medium where all the tools presented to the populus are letters and a few icons, you wish for me to use only lower case non-bold? You may call it freaking out, that’s your right. I call it using the text to express emotion. Difference in interpretation. >shrug< So be it.
Fortunately, I’m allowed to write what I wish here as long as I abide by all of the rules of the road. Your tone is rather patronizing, but that’s nothing new. It always is. Thanks for informing me that I have a lot to contribute. News flash- I already have, and will continue to do so. Again, how very patronizing of you. You’re entitled to your opinion, but rather than lunacy, I see it as expressing emotions. People do that. It’s healthier to express a range of emotions, instead of maintaining a tight-lipped narrow range of expression, IMHO.
IIRC, I have never- not once-threatened any member of this community in any way. To do so would not only immediately earn me a Banning, but would earn me- or anyone foolish enough to take a rant over the line into real life- a quick trip to legal nightmare land. You don’t know me. You might project a lot of things about me, by the words I use on the Straight Dope, and that’s just fine. We’re judged by our words. I’m well aware of that fact. I’m a devout Pacifist. The idea that you are basically telling 22,000 Dopers to make sure that they never meet me, lest they be in physical danger is an insinuation with fairly far reaching implication. I, or an Administrator, will have to get back to you on just how far reaching. Boy, talk about crossing a line here…
No doubt you find that kind of thing amusing. Child-Raping Priests get the “Cartooniverse Treatment”. You wanna be aligned with them? Go for it. Everyone needs a good laugh, and I can more than live with the fact that you have had a few at my expense.
Aside from dealing with the the Monitor Of All Things Proper And Approved Of here at the SDMB, I would like to say that I’ve not been lurking in my own thread. I was just enjoying the paths it’s taken. If people disagree with the tone of a thread I start, but find the basics of the O.P. to have validity, then I’ve done what I set out to do in a given thread.
Cartooniverse
FWIW, gobear did not appear to put words in anybody’s mouth, as is more or less suggested by yosemitebabe’s post. At the same time, it does seem to me to be Mormon-baiting to drop in with specific critiques of the factual bases of their faith when the primary question at hand is whether Mormon-bashing is given some sort of free pass on the SDMB. If you take your critiques to GD, I’ll be happy to contribute, gobear.
Disproportionate misunderstanding? That’s something I’m prepared to consider. For the reasons pointed out by gobear (and, indeed, the links provided by Cartooniverse), there are ample reasons why outsiders can reasonably view the LDS faith as rather odd in certain respects, and I suspect that more people are clueless about the grounds of the LDS faith than, say, Catholicism or Judaism.
But I see no evidence of disproportionate Mormon-bashing, which is the charge of the OP. Frankly, one would hope that any poster’s faith is well considered and strong enough to withstand basic factual inquiries and debate about Noah’s ark, the trial of Jesus, the composition of the Koran, or whatever it is that’s supposed to be bigoted in asking about “magic underwear”. Ignorance of another person’s faith is by no means the same thing as hatred of another person because of their faith.
'Toon, I just caught your latest post on preview. You’re wrong, and your apparent hostility is uncalled-for.
This is getting sad and quite frankly worrisome Cartooniverse. Whatever the merits of your point of view you really have jumped the rails with this nonsense about calling the mods down on Green Bean for his concern that you would be as volatile in real life as you have been on the boards lately. I know you’ve been through a lot lately with your terrible back injury and related stresses but stop and get a grip before accusing people of character assassination.
Once again you assume the worst.
A) I never said or implied that other Dopers should be wary of you. I was only speaking for myself.
B) I never said or implied that you would physically assault me. I’d worry that you’d yell at me.
Sheesh.
Yipes! I read the threads that Cartooniverse linked to above, and found that in one of them, the “anti-LDS” sentiment came primarily from me. Yipes again! (I’m LDS myself…) Apologies to any offended, for what it’s worth.
My rant was related to someone’s questions about a certain belief held by an LDS relative of his. One of the interesting characteristics of Mormonism is that, beyond what is in our Scriptures, we have no established written dogma. In other words, most (or all) LDS share most of the same basic beliefs and practices with regard to the Church, but there are many subsets of beliefs, ranging from well-informed opinions to widely-held urban legends.
At least a few non-LDS misconceptions are based on misunderstanding of some of these beliefs or practices, which 1) are often not “official” beliefs, and 2) are not always uniformly believed by all LDS. I think the OP referred to by Cartooniverse in this thread was responding to his perception of missionaries, who do indeed dress and act alike as per the rules of the mission they hav chosed to undertake. Granted, the tone could’ve been a bit lighter, but I don’t think he was trying to be hostile.
In any case, thanks for sticking up for ettiquette and respect, Cartooniverse. I for one applaud your sensitivity.
“hav chosed” = “have chosen”. Up too late + headache = typos. Apologies.
Cartooniverse - stop lashing out at people. I think that you meant only the best with your OP here about anti-LDS sentiment, as you did with your OP about the Catholic Church’s plans to deal with child-abusing priests.
The problem comes when people challenge some of what you’re saying. Then you lash out like a fucking nutcase! Look, the fact that people questioned some of what you’d said doesn’t align them with the people you’re pitting. For fuck’s sake, an intelligent man like yourself should realise that.
Here’s some new-age touchy-feeling bullshit for you:
I think you’ve got a lot of hurt in you, for various reasons (medical, relationship, plain old weltschmerz). Deal with it constructively, instead of throwing it around like so much monkey shit.
Will you throw this back in my face with venom and vitriol? Maybe, maybe not.
Your actions, language, and tone towards me, when all I wanted to do was help you by trying to cheer you up, were indefensible in that thread.
After we had had so many run-in’s, and had made up completely at that time, and even had a nice mail beforehand, your snide response towards me was indicative of a seriously imbalanced person.
And you categorically refused to return to it and apologize.
Maybe you should review the things you’ve said to people over the last year or so, and see if you really want to play the Admin card against Green Bean here. Or me. (here’s a hint - you do not)
You have crossed the line one too many times with the way you treat people on this Board - especially people who post only to try and make you feel better and help you (see link above). You might be the nicest, most caring person in the World IRL, and you allege that you are a “devout pacifist”. But your continued unapologetic sniping against people here is disgusting to me and many others.
I’ve got some bad news for you, sunshine. The real “devout pacifists” that I know are pacifist in their speech, their tone, and their communications. A “devout pacifist” who treats people like you do is an insult to the word “pacifism”. You are a bully. A schoolyard bully. And I will not let you, or the other bullies of this Board, push people around.
Nor will I lay back and take shit from you anymore like in the link above. I walked away from that thread, with no insults or snipes back, as I thought you were a person who just needed some time to figure things out, and that hopefully me not responding would help you to heal, as opposed to inflaming the situation. But your actions in this thread have shown, you are off the rails, and no amount of time is going to change that.
Oh, BTW - if you want to start the riding the “formal complaint tiger” about what people post on this Board, and make stupid-assed vague intimations of legal and Administrator action, then I and others are going to start building an e-paper trail today and do the same - right back at you. You can count on that.
Yeah, and whatever you do, don’t sit down, read a rant called “My Brain Hurts” by Cartooniverse, think about how you wish so much you could say something encouraging to him to cheer him up because he seems like he needs a friend, and then post it. That too would get you the “Cartooniverse treatment”.
You shit on me in that thread, and you were too spineless to admit you were wrong.
And that would be…what exactly? Show the World once again that you are an enormous fucking asshole who happens to have a good point once in a while? :rolleyes: I hope that makes you happy with your place in the World.
Uh oh. Nobody told me it was Festivus already.
Nice veiled threat. Care to articulate it fully? You know something we don’t know? By all means, fight ignorance and share, share. Gee, do I smell the fetid rank of Clique shit in here or what? :rolleyes: As a Member, I am entitled to email any Moderator or Administrator with any concerns. I know, I know, you’d much prefer that no emails ever be sent unless they are vetted by you first. Sorry !
More threats. How tiresome. I’m sorry you see my presentation as bullying, but then it’s not my responsibility to make you happy ( thank god ). It’s my responsibility to abide by the rules of the road. You wanna be a jerk and say, " Here’s a hint, you do NOT" want to do this thing or the other, go for it. I always enjoy a good show.
This is the Pit. Rants are permitted here. Why, I do believe that you’ve forgotten that you’re not posting to your own private Domain right now, and so do not get to make threats towards members of SDMB regarding warns or bans. Save it for your own little fiefedom.
And, again, exactly what does this have to do with the O.P., which proved with ample cite that there is indeed an undercurrent of Anti-LDS sentiment on the SDMB?
Like hell you did. Your OP, and your subsequent collection of links, demonstrate nothing more than ignorance of the LDS faith and/or willingness to debate those beliefs.
Look at your “magic underwear” thread again, 'Toon. Where the heck is the “Anti-LDS sentiment” in that thread? Be specific.
Questioning of rants is permitted here. It is permitted to point out factual inaccuracy, to express an opinion that the rant is unwarranted, or even to agree with the main thrust of the rant while disagreeing with some minor points, or with the way it is expressed.
I’d like to think that posters be allowed to make such comments without being lambasted and told that they are siding with child-rapists or bigots for daring to disagree with Cartooniverse. The fact that one is the OP does not give one the right to behave like as asshole or a jerk to people who respond to one’s thread.
But that’s my opinion. Maybe I’m living in laa-laa land. Maybe there are only two sides, Cartooniverse’s side and the wrong side.
You’ve saved me the trouble, I have to thank you for the economy of your post.
Magic Underwear??? I guess you don’t find that insulting. Magic Underwear. There’s the insult right there. You’ve done well.
I’d like to think that a rant that attacks the systematic protection of pedophiles and child rapists wouldn’t have turned into , " Forgiveness is a virtue". I’ve no truck with people who are apologists for child rapists. I made that pretty clear over in those threads.
Daring to disagree? The Pit is the place for vigorous disagreement. Why does it upset you so much that I defended my point of view so vigorously? How interesting.
So if I’m watching a 49ers game and the announcers start talking about Steve Young’s magic underwear, and I only know of Mormons through the Tabernacle Choir, and want to learn more, what do I do? I apparently can’t go to GQ and ask “What’s the deal with Mormons and their magic underwear?”
How does that help eradicate ignorance?
And, by the way, do pacifists hope with all their being that 12-year olds get beaten up by bullies, or “wish nothing but relentless painful days and sleepless nights, wasting disease and agonozing injuries that are badly tended and become necrotic upon this wretched excuse for a penis-toting homo sapien. Let the Furies be unleashed, let [someone] writhe in torment?” Was that from Gandhi, or MLK Jr.?
Please, give generously to defeat Irony Impairment Syndrome.
Cartooniverse has a very valid point. As one who both grew up in Virginia and then later converted to LDS as an adult, I can honestly say that the only actual information I got about the LDS church was “the Mormons migrated to Utah and built Salt Lake City.” Zilch about the state and federal governments pissing on their constitutions, zilch about the murders of LDS, in short zilch. There was the bit about the LDS being forced to cease & desist one religious practice in order to become a state in the union, but that was quickly run through. Apparently, at that tender age (grade school history), the powers that were decided we were too young to understand stuff like plural marriage.
Actually, there was one 15 minute session in which we did get more than zilch. There was exactly one LDS member in my year at Weyanoke Elementary School. She explained the migration from an LDS point of view.
Now consider the percentage of LDS members in most places outside of Utah and the immediately surrounding areas in bordering states. Very few people, percentagewise, get to meet “Joe or Jane Mormon,” the average LDS members. What they do get to meet is (a) a very few missionaries who are required to meet a certain dress code and, of course, follow a certain set of rules, and (b) a lot of preaching about how bad ol’ Wrestlin’ Joe was.
Contrast that to the 15 minutes of the opposing view.