Slowly chipping away at me

[realisticphish]

Is it just me, or has there been an anti-christian resurgance on DU? Now, i'm not talking about open hostility, but there are constant joking and picking and poking at us, which are then defended as "hey, its just a joke, learn to laugh." it's really starting to turn me away from the lounge. there is nothing outright, but it just... well, chips away at my serenity. anyone else experiencing something similar?

[kwassa]

1. The one thing that it took me a while to learn about DU is ...

Some DUers are just plain ignorant, some are bigoted about different issues, like religion, some are not entirely sane .... kind of a cross-section of humanity. The left has people that can be as crazy as people on the far right.

I find my skin is getting thicker rather than thinner.

[RevCheesehead]

2. I think I know the threads you're talking about.

So many of the recent lounge posts are an inside joke. The Jesus posts were their childish mocking of another poster on the board. The fat jokes were their childish attacks on other DU people. The copycat posts are for the creatively-challenged. And the Bees posts were just plain silly.

Several months ago, the lounge was a decent place to go and let off steam. But lately, it's become hopelessly immature.

The thing which bothers me is how they pointedly make fun of other people. There was one DUer who was upset that her post was copycatted, because nobody bothered to read her original post. She felt they were making fun of her pain (when in reality, they were being 7th-graders).

The General Discussion attacks on Christianity come and go. Some are disruptors, looking to stir up trouble.

I recommend asbestos.

[realisticphish]

3. o, i have a pretty thick skin

i've been a lounge lizard for a while. it's not so much i get offended, as i get tired of not getting offended, and stop reading. the lounge really has become cliqish. and mocking Jesus Saves (when he was just stating his opinion, he wasnt being a freeper) as well as all the fat jokes (which really hurt me, as i am overweight), its just all getting to be too much. i shock myself, but i'm almost more willing to go into GD than the lounge any more

[RevCheesehead]

5. Hey, phish -

Looks like you and I joined at about the same time. (OK, I peeked at your profile!)

I agree that some of the posts are just downright cruel. I don't care how much you disagree with someone else. Mockery and derision is not a Democratic ideal - and we, overall, should be better than that. When someone mocks Jesus, or religion, they are mocking me. When someone mocks fat people, they are mocking me.

But Jesus would quickly point out "that whenever you do it to the least of them, you do it to me." So when they mock other people that AREN'T like me, they are still doing it to Jesus - and all of us. :(

Someone once said "common/ignorant people talk about other people, educated people talk about ideas, and brilliant people talk about dreams..." (that's a rotten paraphrase, but you get the meaning). I guess I'm just looking for something which rises above the common.


You hit the key right here: "it's not so much i get offended, as i get tired of not getting offended, and stop reading."

Keep listening to your inner voice - and peace.

[Maru Kitteh]

4. I am feeling the same way too, but I would describe it as very open

hostility. I've seen just downright venomous hostility for any faith at all with the most bilious attacks reserved for any Christian. It's really starting to turn me off of DU and leaving me feeling rather apathetic about the party and quite frankly afraid for the future. Religion shouldn't be crammed down anyones throat but neither should it be reviled in a party or among those who claim to fly the flag of tolerance.

Between the open hostility towards vegetarianism and the open hostility towards faith I've witnessed here I have to wonder about where my place really is. It's sure as hell not with the Republicans, the Democrats are becoming a major disappointment, I guess I'll just become and Indie again.

[RevCheesehead]

6. Please do not let some of the people on this board drive you away.

I can absolutely guarantee that we're not the only people feeling this way. Read some of the posts in other groups. Read ATA. There's a lot of hurting people. True, some may bring it upon themselves. But I have never once told anyone "you have to believe in everything that I do." That's just silly.

I think I need to post a heart-felt message to Mr. Skinner in ATA. There's a lot more I'd like to say (here), but I don't want this thread to get locked.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Vegan. And welcome to our group! :hi:

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Thanks Rev! Thanks for the welcome and encouragement

Maybe I'm just having a cloudy day but it's very frustrating to come to a forum supposedly for progressives and have the greatest parts of your belief system and personal ethics attacked bitterly. I find it personally insulting to see so MANY people so insensitive to others feelings, littering their posts with references to "gawd" and saying things like anyone who has faith is mentally ill and other (often worse) purely hateful things. I've seen people wish that all believers would just die. All of this bitter hatred for faith seems to be modus operandi here and it's very uncomfortable. It's also a perfect example of 1.) Just the kind of ammunition the right wing wackos need to paint us as elitist debauched heathens and 2.) the kind of "evidence" right wing wackos need to convince the majority of the country that Democrats have totally lost touch with average people.

I've had just as bad a time as a vegetarian. I won't bore everyone here with a long accounting of that but suffice it to say it's left me pretty sad.

I am a Democrat in part because I am a Christian. I am a vegetarian in part because I am a Christian. For me they are both about the compassionate message of Christ. Compassion for me means respect and care for all of God's creation, the Earth, my fellow persons, the animals and myself. The poor, the vulnerable and the defenseless were held in special love by Jesus and we are told to be their voice. For me that means trying to stop the destruction of wild places, fighting for the migrant indentured slave worker in Nebraska and crying out for the billions of farm animals being "produced" in disgusting factory farms who often glimpse their first and only view of the sun on the way to a brutal and filthy slaughterhouse. All of these things are connected for me.

I will probably hang around some more and see which direction all of this goes.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

8. Your post was remarkable ...

It really made me think about a lot of things . Although I am not a Christian ( I am still learning you know ... but I won't shut out anything ) I agree with everything you said . I hope you stay around , please stay around , we need more people like you .

[Maru Kitteh]

11. Good luck on your journey of discovery Carolina

My daughter spent much of her childhood in Willow Spring, NC.. Her birthday is August 10 making her birthstone peridot.



All religions and belief systems are subject to the perversions of black hearts and mass displays of violence or hysteria, but for me the central message of Christ's life is love and mercy. Every day I try to remind myself of this fact. Some days I am MUCH better at reflecting that love than others. Some days, I really stink at it.:blush: But I am grateful for every day I have to try harder tomorrow, and at the end of the day........ I have peace.

Thanks so much for your kind words. I wish you well, and I hope you will stay in our little group here. I think this is my favorite part of DU. Notice the group is also titled "progressive people of faith". To me that means anyone who is open to a force of greater good in the world - Christian or otherwise.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

9. Thanks for this thread, all of you.

[Maat]

10. Hey, I support my liberal/progressive Christian brothers and sisters.

I love posting here.

I'm a Religious Scientist (no, not Scientology - that's John Travolta's thing). Technically speaking, as your fellow Christian and Episcopalian (and my friend) Elshiva says, I'm a panentheist, believing that Spirit (God) is within. To us, Jesus was a Master Teacher, as Buddha, and an Enlightened One.

But the point is ... I'm both a progressive and a person of faith, and I do not like disrespectful posts one bit. And, again, I support my fellow faithful progressives.

RevCheesehead knows me (so-to-speak).

In SoCal, I'm actually organizaing a "progressive people of faith" meetup. I think we have to fight the good fight.

Take care!

www.rsintl.org (for those who want to check it out - no, we're not a cult - 'cause then someone would be telling me what to think or do - and no one does that - generally - maybe the husband - I might listen to him on occasion).