[Vision2020] Taking the bait

[Walter Smith]

Keely, your words as always are both eloquent and wise. I greatly appreciate
the service you have long rendered to our community, and your continued
efforts to better us all. You stand as an example of what a true Christian
is, and should you ever again seek public office, you will have my vote.

Ellen, thank you for your kind words, and for many wonderful memories of
pasta past. I'm sure that Larry's new restaurant will be excellent, but it
will never be the same.

Tony, you caught me, and have exposed me for what I am, a human. I make
mistakes, I really do. I have misspelled words, I have abused grammatical
rules, I make typos, I even use the wrong word from time to time. I would be
a failure as an English teacher, were I one; and I have even been known to
be flat-out wrong. Please accept my apologies, I will endeavor to be more
careful with my use of polysyllabic terms in the future.

Now, onto the actual reason for my failure to leave as I had intended. I
know I should not feed the troll, but as I seem to be playing the part of a
troll myself, what harm could there be? (Don't answer that.)

I came here in anger, as I have said before. The anger that brought my here
was not anger at Tony, rather it was anger directed at someone whom I would
rather not be angry with. Practically everything Tony says makes me angry,
however, and I could not resist taking digs at him every step of the way. I
threw the opening salvo, he did not. I am hiding behind technology, he is
not. I did not expect, nor did I want, a friendly response from him, and I
still don't. Indeed, were I to receive one, I would have good cause to
reevaluate my own beliefs.

Carl hit the nail on the head when he posted what I will paraphrase as
"criticism is not censorship." I find your words abhorrent Tony, but I would
not try to prevent you from saying them. Much of what you have written I see
as un-American, anti-American, and evil (loaded words, if ever there were);
but I do not believe the government or myself have any right to suppress
them. I do not understand your need to vomit upon this forum, but I do not
question your right to do so. I believe you display incredible hubris, and
will ultimately be held to account, but I will not be the one to settle such
an account, nor will any human. It seems to me that the world would be a
better place if you slithered back to the dank abyss from whence you sprung,
and you would be a better person for doing so, but I will not force you back
there. I am no supporter of enforced political correctness, far from it, but
I also despise ignorant abuse of free speech. I have no problem with the
First Amendment, I do have a problem with you using it to wipe your ass. Go
on, try to mold the language to your filthy ideals, just don't expect any
congratulations from me.

Similarly, I believe that abortion is rarely justified, and will ultimately
be punished if unjustified (not by mankind,) but I do not presume to dictate
bodily choices. I can also see that your personal jihad can never achieve
what you desire (as no jihad can,) and would only make matters worse if you
were to succeed. Do you really think that outlawing abortion will reduce
abortion rates? All that such a ban would accomplish is to drive abortions
underground, making them all the more horrific. I ask you, if a fetus is to
be killed (and they will be, regardless of your wishes, mine, or anyone
else's); would it be better done under anesthesia, by a professional, or in
a back alley with a septic coat hanger? What would be the more compassionate
choice?

The world is not black and white, Tony. I learned that nearly a lifetime
ago, when will you?

In all truth, I do not consider Tony an inhuman monster, I'm sure that he
believes what he says, and thinks he is doing good. But until he
demonstrates some basic adult understanding, and recognizes his hate for
what it actually is, I will continue to treat him disrespectfully. (Yes, I
do see the irony.)

Sincerely,
A flawed human
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