Quote:
Originally Posted by sexobon
[IMHO]I believe that Merc simply lost respect for members he had previously held in esteem when they allowed a thin skinned adult member of this community to hide behind their skirts by labeling Merc a bully. There are others who feel similarly, who expressed a similar opinion and reduced their participation. The Merc is conspicuous among them only because he ceased participation.
.[/IMHO]
|
I assume some of that is aimed at me?
If so that's a shame. I always liked Merc. I always clashed with him, and I thought he was being a bully at some points. But I still liked him.
@ Ibs: this thread was started because I miss Merc. I know, as do we all, that you don't. It doesn't need repeating every time anybody says something nice about him.
For all that I will stick up for you in the face of bigotry (as I hope you owuld do the same), there comes a point where your own hatred of intolerance can take you into an intolerant place. You say you hold a grudge? How is that not intolerance? You reduce other members to a single facet of their personality or history and can't see how dehumanising that is. People are not black and white they are every shade of grey.
All of us are prejudiced in some way. Most of us harbour some bigotry, whether we recognise it or not. It doesn't remove our essential humanity and, except in extreme cases, it doesn't define us. Grudges do you no favours in life. All they do is set or add to a deep core of negativity and anger. You can hate bigotry without hating the person behind it. Because that person is really not so different from you. May not seem like it sometimes, but they're really not.
All you are doing in your 'fight against bigotry' is perpetuating the hatred. Entrenching those whose views you despise, in those views. And frustrating those whose support is naturally yours. Someone comes for you, specifically, on the grounds of your gender and I'm there at your side. Someone posts outrageously bigotted comments and I'm in the argument. But this is just nastiness. It is no different to Merc coming into a thread about you and randomly posting how much he dislikes you. If the rest of the people in this thread were swayed by your words, then you would be engaging in a form of bullying, deliberately making the Cellar an unwelcoming place for another individual. You have not been attacked in this thread. Any attacks by Merc are in the past and are no part of this thread. You are the aggressor.