Radrook

Participation on my Let's Talk Poetry thread is welcomed. Thanks Chris for your contribution. ( :

chelydra

Now that the remarkable fellow who made this forum necessary has departed, we could let it fade away... Or we could use it now and then for expressing ideas and opinions some TDers might find offensive, arrogant, ignorant, or confrontational, though others might see them as offbeat, insightful, or merely harmless. In other words, this could be a place for posting anything that might have the EFFECT of an acrimonious rant, even when that isn't author's main INTENT.
Here's an example: I just came across the information that Sinead O'Connor is calling for a criminal investigation of Pope Benedict's past role in strategizing and co-ordinating the way the RC Church dealt with early allegations of child abuse, and saying that if he broke the law (which I guess in this case would be the laws of the Vatican, a sovereign nation), he should be brought to justice, even if that means he could die in prison (the Vatican could build him a nice prison if they don't have one available). That seems to me a totally reasonable idea, and I think implementing it might do wonders for the future of the Church and the faith of its members (maybe also the Pope's own inner peace). I'd really like to know how others feel, and I'd like anyone who agrees to spread the idea around among people they know. But I'm damned (probably not literally, but who knows?) if I'm going to insert a bomb like that into a TD forum where Christian members, presumably including Catholics, are quietly sharing their thoughts and feelings with each other and their God.
I have no compelling personal motive — an Episcopal Sunday School teacher who I know now found my chubby little body attractive as we chatted alone in his apartment one night had enough self-control to send me home unmolested, and my anti-Catholic upbringing was outweighed by my respect for Bishop Romero and the Maryknoll martyrs (while Protestants were aiding and abetting genocide elsewhere in Central America). So this isn't an idea I'd want to use in any particularly aggressive or offensive way (no more than I am now anyway). But this forum could be a place to open discussions of ideas like this, and see if there's any response, without contaminating or hijacking other forums that serve different purposes.
While I'm at it, here's another. A Hazer picture (called Did you know...) brought to our attention the fact (I have no reason to doubt it is a fact, though the arithmetic could be off either way) that an average of over 100,000 people are murdered worldwide every year for being Christians. I do find this spine-chilling, and I know the debating trick of putting facts in a broader context and a longer timeline can deflect an argument away from a fact that really deserves to sink in and inspire action. But still, knowing and pondering the context could help ensure that any active response to the fact is convincing and effective. How many non-Christians (and fellow Christians) have been dispatched by Christians on average every year since 1095, and how does that compare to the death toll racked up by non-Christians? (And should we include Communists and Nazis among the "Christians" if, like Stalin and perhaps Hitler, they emerged from a Christian culture and had a proper religious upbringing?) The First Crusade's triumphant conclusion (1099 I think) was the slaughter of everyone still alive inside the walls of Jerusalem. Most were Moslems. Some were Jews. There were also some Christians. None were allowed to surrender or offered any mercy, although defending their home town from foreign invaders was their only crime. For a more recent example (1994) of mayhem perpetrated by Christians on other Christians, see the Wikipedia article, Religion in Rwanda. But do Christians kill make a habit of killing others because of their different religions? Were the non-Christian indigenous faiths of black Africa, the Americas and Australia a factor in policies that depopulated four continents between the 1490s and the 1890s, starting with Columbus and concluding with King Ludwig's estimated 8 million victims in his Congo Free State? Some surviving words of men who created, implemented, or supported those policies indicate they were, but who knows. Even earlier, the Teutonic Knights led a bloody crusade against East European pagans, while in France and other crusade dealt with the heretic Albigenses. The mass witch-burnings that darkened the skies over Christiandom peaked just before the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment circa 1650. Anyway, does who's being murdered, other than a few religious martyrs, care why?
Genghiz Khan, Hirohito and Tojo, and Mao Zedong certainly weren't Christians, and plenty of the dead in Iraq since 2003 were victims of other Moslems. But still, the total "score" seems kind of lopsided. Maybe there's no point in pondering why a faith whose founder told us not only "do unto others" but also "turn the other cheek" should have ended up with such a bloody history. Let's just acknowledge it and try to move on, hopefully in a different direction..
Hazer was absolutely right in sounding the alarm about on-going massacres of innocent Christians for their faith, and action is needed. What action? Where to begin? Maybe Hazer included some suggestions on her picture, but if not, she should. And they shouldn't be quarantined under acrimonious rants.

chelydra

...which is not to say those suggestions wouldn't be welcome here.

I don't see as many typos as usual above, but it would still be nice to go back and make corrections. How complicated would it be to have a five minutes or so for minor edits before a message is set in stone? (The late Radrook's legacy includes his reopening the issue of editability, but he got enough grudging credit for that already.)

Baldur

Is that person officially gone?

chelydra

So it seems. It looked like that was his decision, with his last few hours of spewing the ugliest idiocy he could offer.

Hazer

I thought maybe he was just taking a day off. At any rate, I asked our hosts to remove my remarks from the time this ruckus began and poof, they disappeared. All that is left is my profile pic and the announcement that my remarks have removed due to the request of the users. I was hoping my pic would disappear, too. I don't know if that was the right thing to do, or not. Now it is left up to future readers imagination what instigated the ensuing dialogue and the need for an acrimonious rant thread. I guess it's too late to change my mind now.
Thank you chelydra for standing your ground. Narcissism and paranoia are difficult to reason with, if not impossible.

bluemoon

There are still some comments Radrook made that should be removed He left quite a few obscene ones on sandm's pictures. And I believe there are more on some of his threads.

Hazer

One can email our TD hosts by clicking Feedback and requesting the comments to be removed.

chelydra

Hi Hazer... I'll miss those remarks you made. There's an acute shortage of quiet wisdom these days. Make some new remarks soon please.

Hazer

Common sense is not so common, and knowledge and wisdom do not necessarily go hand in hand, I've found.
I look forward to commenting on some of the issues that have been raised as time allows. Thank you, chelydra.

mdawrcn

I was wondering if "he who shall not be named" can come back with another name, or if he has been banned, is his computer banned from signing in again? He didn't target me, but I know they were an unpleasant few weeks for several people. I think all those targeted handled the unpleasantness with grace and character. Kudos to you and to Think Draw for stepping in when asked.

trying

I did not keep up with all of what was going on, I was drawing pictures, but I could feel the tension and I read enough comments to know something was up. I did not understand a great deal of what was said. This made me sad and damaged what has become my happy place. You have all brought me so much comfort in the last year or so. Every comment is like a letter from a friend, a message, a wink. Every picture is a small connection between friends that have never met. I am sorry there was something from outside that seemed ugly that distracted us from the beauty that is usually here.

bluemoon

Hello trying, That is so very well put..beautifully said.

Normal

Yes, thanks to you, trying. Sometimes the best way to "just say no" is a resounding silence, I find. (Not the easiest response for me, considering my own tendency to verbosity!)

Login

mdawrcn, I had a similar thought ... not 'could he come back' but 'had he been here before in a different guise'. It followed the pattern of similar carryings on a couple of years ago. I regretted my remark as soon as I'd made it ... 'would have been far better to make a joke and (hopefully) take some of the anger out of the situation.

trying, sorry the fracas spoilt this place for you, but the beauty is still here and the comraderie has never gone away. Sadly, a few folk get upset by such disturbances and leave this site but, on the whole, things return to normal very quickly.

mdawrcn

Login, I am glad you said what you said, when you said it. I, like trying wasn't really following everything that was being said, and wasn't sure I was interpreting the situation correctly. Your brief, succinct comment confirmed it and summed it up brilliantly for me, because you are always so level headed it seems, I didn't think you would be mistaken. Thanks.

And yes, trying you are a wonderful addition here, and I hope you will continue to contribute. It is usually a "happy place". I just love that.

Login

Thanks for making me feel a little less contrite ... but "always level headed" ... oh, if only!

Lolla

In real life I can't even draw a straight line - then I found a place where I, in my mind, PAINT like a pro! and I enjoy every moment of it!! Thankx for the compliments and if I add something to the galleries "My cup runneth over!"
Ref. to these last few weeks I always remind myself of this quote "I don't want to be difficult - my reality is just different from yours". Hope to learn a lot more from the experts!!!!

AFSOUTH

TD is such a wonderful, peaceful and creative site of growing friendships and art that it is so sad the unnamed & unstable could not see the real beauty here and approach in a proper manner!

pollyesther

As usual I missed the whole thing=)
Oh well...
Simon and Garfunkel 59th st bridge song always makes me feel better

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da...Feelin' Groovy.

Hello lamp-post,
What cha knowin'?
I've come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.

I've got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.