Why I like our diverse members.

I'd just like to say how much I appreciate all our members, of all creeds and religions. Despite the vast differences in beliefs, everyone here always manages to retain their manners and respect for each other in our discussions.

I was reminded of what a rarity that is on a recent visit to another (non-goth) forum where, despite the members being generlly intelligent and well mannered, within a couple of pages the discussion had sunk to the level of:

Quote :

"Also, I'm fed-up with the whole "my DNA made me do it" crap that atheist biologists spew out... Ain't no damn wonder that people don't want to take any fucking responsibility for anything they do or any shit they fuck up anymore."

and

Quote :

"Well, she brought up the Evolution monkey-bullshit first..."

(and I hasten to point out, that those making the argument for evolution were little better, if at all.)

I have also seen awful examples like that; even a website where some atheists just made threads to provoke the believers and then mock them... the other side wasn't much better though... everyone of any orientation can be a complete and insulting fanatic in my opinion, and that is the worst that there is, fanatism in any of their examples

I suppose this is the flipside of my belief that virtue and religion are unrelated: Every faith has it's a**holes!

There is a peculiar sort of awkwardness that comes when you realise that you agree with what someone is saying, but loathe the way they have chosen to espouse their opinion!

EvilHippyEmperor wrote:

There is a peculiar sort of awkwardness that comes when you realise that you agree with what someone is saying, but loathe the way they have chosen to espouse their opinion!

Indeed. Many atheists have good points (as many religious people) but when they reduced it to "I R RITH U R RONG" it's just... childish... a bunch of voices shrieking in the eternal darkness of this cave we call life... to be honest, I used to keep the Atheist on a higher level as some sort of necesary equilibrium in society... then I read about Dawkins and these lunatics speaking of Atheist pride and such... well, I learned that pretty much every group has a**holes and become hammering fanaticals who can lead to death and destruction of our world just then the squids/roaches/monkeys can rule the Earth...

Sorry if I sound half-demented deppresed dim but I am feeling really bad now...

For some reason this reminds this old cartoon called Peace On Earth. Quite a good (and a bit harsh) message

From my perspective, a lot of the conflict seems to arise from the rush of a given believer to be a "defender of the faith".

I was raised Catholic and while the Church & I have opted to stay on opposite poles on a lot of things, and I readily concede to non-Catholics some of our little "quirks", try as I might I occasionally get a little "ping!" in the soul when someone mercilessly zeroes in on some aspect I hadn't really thought was really that important to me.

Just the same I'm not going to fight over it. If decades of European religious warfare didn't settle it I highly doubt the other person & I are gonna settle it here, lol. Some people just love to provoke and do it to push your buttons, and nothing you say will make them see your view. So best to leave it.

By comparison, there are some that are so devoted to their faith that their first reaction to even a legitimate questioning of that faith is to grab their metaphorical sword (tho in some parts of the world, the sword is real) and start slashing away in righteous retaliation.

I guess one shouldn't expect the questioned to simply reply "Hey now, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition here!..." and leave it at that

^Hee hee...

*giggles at the Monty Python reference*

I like our diverse members too and our manners are absolutely impeccable

darkwave_71 wrote:

By comparison, there are some that are so devoted to their faith that their first reaction to even a legitimate questioning of that faith is to grab their metaphorical sword (tho in some parts of the world, the sword is real) and start slashing away in righteous retaliation.

Too true. Like so many other cases of people getting things wrong, the right way is so easy, but nobody does it.
"Speak the Truth with love."

You've got the one camp that speaks the truth by cramming it down everyone's throats.
You've got the other camp that refuses to share their convictions because it might offend someone.
I've got no patience with either.
Then you've got the lot here!

EHE: I was about to start a thread like this, and you beat me to it!
I think it's an amazing phenomenon that we have constant, ongoing, civil dialog between Satanists, Catholics, Wiccans, Atheists, and whatever else we've got going on. People don't listen to you if you're beating them up. It isn't rocket science, but lots of folks can't figure it out.

helen damnation wrote:

I like our diverse members too and our manners are absolutely impeccable

I don't mean this to be off-colored in any way but I was wondering if any of you might think that GWEs' site could get an honorable mention in one of GBs' issues? Just an idea. Perhaps Endless' as well just for the sake of friendly comraderie.

It's a nice idea, but I really can't see the GB staff bothering to do so after the way they just dumped the boards like they did.

It's a shame. A prominent mag like that should want to offer even a small spot to goth places of the internet.

When I think like a rational human bean which admittedly is only a tiny percentage of the time I can honestly understand why they could not afford to keep the forums going but I cannot understand why they didn't give any of the members the option of buying the space.

When I'm my normal self, I just get fucking angry at the fact that they kept everybody in the dark and then closed ahead of time. Anyhoo I think that if they suddenly started the forums again I really wouldn't bother. We have all shown that we are much more than usernames on a messageboard.

*random thought to self* Where is the bloody hug emoticon on here or has it not been added in fear that moi would overuse it?

You'll have to ask the GWE for a hug emoticon. I didn't forbid it (although I would have, had I thought to do so )

I think a lot of us are pissed off at GB not so much for shutting down the boards, but rather the manner in which they chose to do so. Were they to restart the GB boards I doubt that I would bother rejoining.

As you say, though, I think the community has proved more enduring than they expected.

I asked myself if GB were to open again, if I would go back; my answer is that I highly doubt it.

Kasmira wrote:

helen damnation wrote:

we are much more than usernames on a messageboard.

I'm not!

You're not still upset at failing the Turing test, are you?

I have never heard of that before Velvet Spider. Does the sugar skull have any special meaning???

blackorchid wrote:

I have never heard of that before Velvet Spider. Does the sugar skull have any special meaning???

For many Catholics they do.
Sugar skulls are traditional folk art from Southern Mexico used to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
They also acquaint themselves with All Soul's and All Saint's Day.
My favorite website about them is: Sugar Skulls

How cool is that!

I will have to make some of those for my birthday!

NO. Nononononononononononononono. No.

CHOCOALTE skulls. That's what you need.

Oh how wonderful!!!

I definitely have to try making those... Yee hah!!

As a point of interest, last year I was offered the opportunity to make and sell sugar skulls as a cottage industry for a New Orlean's-styled shop specializing in religious items, each skull priced at $100-$125.00 each.

To be honest, I declined.

I create each one specifically in celebration of holy days and my own loved ones who have passed over.

There's certainly nothing wrong in selling sugar skulls, it's simply that my heart wouldn't be in it.

If any of you should decide to make any of these I'd love hearing from you and how they turned out...!