Wrong subject vs Wrong person / Wrong opinion

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Bootstrap
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Wrong subject vs Wrong person / Wrong opinion

Post by Bootstrap »

I wanted to respond to something Robert said without disrupting the thread.
Robert wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:This thread is not about politics, it is about our response as Christians.

I started another thread that addresses the politics of the issue. But I really would like to have a thread where we discuss our own response and understandings as Christians.
It is in the "Current Events and Politics" section.

My struggle with restricting what people say or post is that when we restrict one, we will find that later, we, ourselves, can be silenced.

I appreciate your kind reminder, but struggle with the limitations that were placed in this section of the forum. If you placed the thread in the wrong forum, feel free to ask to have it moved.
I don't think the moderators need to enforce this kind of thing (unless something really extreme happens). But here are some kinds of requests that I think are quite different:
  • The subject of this thread is X, if you want to discuss something else, please start a new thread. That's not silencing people, that's asking for space to discuss something, while leaving room for the other person to speak in another thread. A thread on a different topic does not compete with discussion of X, it makes room for it.
  • I have expressed my exalted opinion, and if you are going to challenge my facts or disagree, go away. That's not asking for space to discuss a topic, that's saying only one opinion can be expressed, and nobody should check facts. I think that's toxic. If the other person wants to discuss the same topic, they could start a competing thread. If they do, you wind up with toxic cross-chatter. If your opinion is not up for discussion, it doesn't belong on a discussion forum.
  • I don't like you, go away. That's just toxic, period. It is usually expressed in much more religious language, of course, making it clear that the person saying it is so much holier than the other person.
In this particular case, I really do want room to ask how Christians should respond to events in Charlottesville. I don't have a well-formed opinion of my own yet, I'm working that out, which is why a discussion forum is helpful. I felt like it was getting bogged down with posts that revolve around strongly worded opinions of various politicians. There's no room for openly discussing our response as Christians if everything is immediately steered back into culture wars. So if we want to make room for free expression, I think it's important to allow some threads that are not about that.
Robert wrote:I appreciate your kind reminder, but struggle with the limitations that were placed in this section of the forum.
Hmmm ... are there different rules in different sections? If so, could you put a reminder of the rules in the header for the sections?

Sounds like starting things in a different section might be helpful if I want to avoid culture wars.
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Robert
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Re: Wrong subject vs Wrong person / Wrong opinion

Post by Robert »

Bootstrap wrote:Hmmm ... are there different rules in different sections?
I just think that a logical conclusion of most would be that if something is posted int he Current Events AND Politics forum, one would summarize that one could post something with a more political tone. While the subforums are here to help a little with focus, they are not for control, but order. Some people need to compartmentalize things. Others tend to have them all blend together. Neither is the right way, wrong way, or only way. We discuss as we are. Learning to accept others ways is just as important, if not more so, then making sure our way is protected.

As I said, I appreciated your kindness in your request. I have no issue with someone making a kind request. One should also remember that it is a request and not a way to dictate and control discussion. This goes directly to my concern that voices, especially ones we do not like, are heard. DO not read into this as I am saying you were doing that. That is reading into what I posted instead of taking what I post. Most wars were fought over just that human tendency.
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