Jim
Nets of Wonder
@sun rise @PopeADope @siti @paarsurrey @Vinayaka @Katzpur @LuisDantas @CG Didymus @Mark Dohle
I’m having one of my moments in these forums where I’m feeling lonely and wishing for I don’t know what, but it might be for people to talk to about whatever I want to talk about. I thought some of you might be available for that sometimes.
Before I came here I was reading and posting in an atheist forum. When I first went there, it was because I had a new idea about the meanings of “God” in Christian and Baha’i scriptures, and I thought an atheist forum might be a good place to get some useful criticism. I was right about that! I ended up with a new way of thinking about it that answered a question that had puzzled me for decades.
I came to these forums because I was curious to see what a friend of mine was doing here, and I wanted to explore some possibilities for the Internet that I’ve been dreaming of for years. I’m confident now that everything I’m dreaming of will happen. In fact I’ve already seen all of it happening on a small scale.
When I first started posting in Internet discussions almost 20 years ago, it was mostly to free myself from my own prejudices and delusions, by spending time with some of the people whose ideas and interests seemed most contrary to mine. First it was with gay activists and leaders of change ministries trying to have civil dialogues about their disagreements. Then it was gay Baha’is, then Baha’is and former Baha’is feuding about Baha’i administration, then atheists feuding about feminism and social justice, then some people feuding about the Trinity.
For a few years I kept trying to put myself in the line of fire of people’s prejudices, thinking that might help break them down, but I never saw that do anything but harm, so I gave it up. One thing that kept surprising me while I was doing that was the arrows coming from behind me, from the people I thought I was defending. One reason was because sometimes they turned against me when they saw that I wasn’t trying to be a political ally.
Another of my goals has been to learn to be a friend to some of the people I’ve seen being stigmatized and marginalized the most. I’ve had some ups and downs with that.
One recurring failure has been with Baha’is. I’ve never practiced the kind of behavior with them that I want to practice, as well as I have with others. I’m assuming that has something to do with being a member, myself.
I’ve been thinking about the next dividing line I want to try erasing between myself and others. It might be with people in anti-male and anti-white counterfeit feminism and social justice, if I can find a way to spend some time with them. I’ve already spent a lot of time with some of their worst adversaries, in the Slyme Pit.
I’m having one of my moments in these forums where I’m feeling lonely and wishing for I don’t know what, but it might be for people to talk to about whatever I want to talk about. I thought some of you might be available for that sometimes.
Before I came here I was reading and posting in an atheist forum. When I first went there, it was because I had a new idea about the meanings of “God” in Christian and Baha’i scriptures, and I thought an atheist forum might be a good place to get some useful criticism. I was right about that! I ended up with a new way of thinking about it that answered a question that had puzzled me for decades.
I came to these forums because I was curious to see what a friend of mine was doing here, and I wanted to explore some possibilities for the Internet that I’ve been dreaming of for years. I’m confident now that everything I’m dreaming of will happen. In fact I’ve already seen all of it happening on a small scale.
When I first started posting in Internet discussions almost 20 years ago, it was mostly to free myself from my own prejudices and delusions, by spending time with some of the people whose ideas and interests seemed most contrary to mine. First it was with gay activists and leaders of change ministries trying to have civil dialogues about their disagreements. Then it was gay Baha’is, then Baha’is and former Baha’is feuding about Baha’i administration, then atheists feuding about feminism and social justice, then some people feuding about the Trinity.
For a few years I kept trying to put myself in the line of fire of people’s prejudices, thinking that might help break them down, but I never saw that do anything but harm, so I gave it up. One thing that kept surprising me while I was doing that was the arrows coming from behind me, from the people I thought I was defending. One reason was because sometimes they turned against me when they saw that I wasn’t trying to be a political ally.
Another of my goals has been to learn to be a friend to some of the people I’ve seen being stigmatized and marginalized the most. I’ve had some ups and downs with that.
One recurring failure has been with Baha’is. I’ve never practiced the kind of behavior with them that I want to practice, as well as I have with others. I’m assuming that has something to do with being a member, myself.
I’ve been thinking about the next dividing line I want to try erasing between myself and others. It might be with people in anti-male and anti-white counterfeit feminism and social justice, if I can find a way to spend some time with them. I’ve already spent a lot of time with some of their worst adversaries, in the Slyme Pit.