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Soul From Down Under: The Teskey Brothers, "So Caught Up"

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uriel9/03/2019 12:14:39 am PDT

re: #39 CleverToad

I expect to get downdinged. I don’t expect to change any Lizard minds, and I’ll probably be sorry I said anything.

You’re fine. You made a reasonable observation in a measured way.

As an atheist- and, worse, a formerly fairly chatty, and, in certain circles, somewhat well known one back in the days when threaded message boards were a big thing- I’ve struggled with the seeming stridency of people I would normally view as allies, in what seemed fairly innocuous conversations. And this wasn’t just limited to religious conversions.

I think part of the problem is that, while all of us are communicating in written form here on the internet, we are usually composing those posts using a mental narration that doesn’t necessarily come across in a nonverbal form. So, while one may be using a reasoned and patient tone of voice in one’s head, simply describing the issues you have, that doesn’t necessarily come across in the acsii text we’re putting out.

When you add to this the very serious discrimination atheists encounter in real life, combined with the also very real apprehension and fear at the bizarre influence that figures like Osteen’s or Falwell’s “gospel of self interested, hyper-focused hate” have on the public at large- well, that can rub you raw enough to forget that the specific person you are replying to is not, necessarily, a part of the problem you are trying to address.

But that’s just me. I’ll admit, “tone policing” is something I’ve learned to live with.