In a message dated 3/27/01 1:27:54 AM Eastern Standard Time, rilliara@juno.com writes:
<< And then there's all that "Give me liberty or give me death" stuff that I couldn't help absorbing as a kid (hey, it was in the air). The feeling that those things need to be said. >>
The concept of empathy really seems to be eluding some members of this list. I don't know how I can make it any plainer than I already have. A number of people certainly didn't like it when I freely expressed *my* opinion of *their* religion... even though it is my true opinion and I meant no personal attack on them on at all. Hey, I felt it "needed to be said" because it's the way I feel. If it's okay for others to attack *my* beliefs and traditions and lifestyle openly on the list, why do they feel that they are immune from hearing my thoughts on *their* beliefs and traditions and lifestyle in return? You can say anything you darn well please and I'll stand up for your "right" to do so. But please don't act all put out and surprised when you receive an answer IN KIND. I believe in treating people the way they have asked me to treat them. And I don't believe in letting people insult my way of life with impunity. I don't have to justify my existence to anyone and I don't have to defend my way of life. But if people here are going to freely attack an entire group of people I'll be darned if I'm just going to sit back and let them do it without saying anything.
Some folks said that *they* weren't offended by Kathryn's original post because she said it all so "politely". So, I went back and reread the post (reproduced below) just to see if I was completely out of line. Nope. I'm just as offended at 2nd and 3rd readings. I don't think it's polite at all to blithely inform a large list of Blakes 7 fans that adultery (of Avon and Anna) isn't half so bothersome as gay sex because, of course, gay sex is soooo much more sinful.
Annie
Kathryn said (in 2 separate posts):
If characters I respect and like are made by the author to do something very wrong, and it is treated as something right, then I hate what the author has done to the characters. It's character assassination at the least. (*)
To refine: I find slash stories more upsetting than hetsmut because of the moral issue, even though I don't like reading either one; for me, het sex out of wedlock is, while not good, not half as sinful as gay sex. (Particularly if the het sex is monogamous; at least they're being faithful...) So it upsets me to see characters I admire suddenly having gay sex. That's where my compass is set, and if that upsets anyone, then go ahead and call me insulting names if it makes you feel better.