@ETpro – The conversation thus far has been about the conduct of people engaged in these discussions *on Fluther*… your mentioning of the religious wars and persecution throughout history and evident today are not really relevant. Are you proposing that because the Crusades were done in the name of “Christianity” then all Christians therefore have no reason to complain about being disrespected when trying to discuss their position and beliefs in an online forum?
Also, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a corner of the internet, at least, where we can behave as in a civilized society, and be able to freely express our feelings, opinions and beliefs without being disrespectful of others and without others disrespecting us? I’ve only just begun moderating on this site and have never been a moderator anywhere before, and the way people interpret what other say when flagging comments and questions has been an eye-opener into how human nature works and people project their feelings and thus “hear what they want to hear.”
The fact of the matter is that everyone is more alike than we are different. We all bleed and all will die, and we all wonder about the meaning and purpose of existence, and how society should best manage itself. If some people are wired in a way that they have a confident faith in a higher power, that’s fine. If some people are wired in such a way that they only believe things that they have sensory or empirical proof off, that’s cool. Why do people take these conversations so personally and get so defensive that they feel compelled to resort to childish insults or passive-aggressive sarcastic flame-bait that flies just below the moderation radar? Why can’t we agree to disagree?