I have not experienced these problems...
on mudcat or facebook, but sympathise with
those who have been hurt or angered by this.

I am sorry to hear that some find these
so over-powering that they have gone away.

I have heard of a Celtic music festival
where the bands invited to play did not
realize til later that the event was a
rally for a political (fascist/racist/
white supremist) group which used Irish
music as a mask to draw people in to thier
cause.

I do recall that when volunteering as a
young hospital aide ("candy striper") I
was cautioned not to engage in conversations
with patients around politics or religion.

these topics often bring out the most
personal feelings about beliefs held,
and not always able to use logical and
rational to respond to "belief" or "faith"
as these ideas sometimes escape logic,
or are held despite rationality.

plus it might be dangerous to ones health
to get riled up or have your blood pressure
go up due to a reaction to an enraging topic.

i hope we can revert to healthy conversations
here and continue to allow a forum where all
can express themselves. I have been questioned
recently about my posts, and hope that we all
can just learn to get along...

Amos..thanks for the perspective by Carl Sagan
reposted by Janie from the MOAB thread, the
Pale Blue Dot, this planet we all share. It is
the only home we have, and we need to concentrate
our efforts on the continuation of Mother Earth
and ourselves in order to ensure that there is
a future where we will all hopefully co-exist.