The folks who choose to engage in discussions on volatile subjects should know they may eventually feel mad and frustrated. I've done this in the past, to the point where I walked away for a while to cool off. I did not once say I was leaving forever, because I knew myself better than that. I couldn't turn my backs on the many friends I've made here because of an argument.

I believe the Mudcatter in question left because a couple of people lost their tempers. This is a human thing to do, although many of us like to think we're above it. The guest who started this mess is attempting to "demonize" Mudcat in general, but I have a hard time taking the phrase "insidious red tide of bigotry" seriously. (sorry, I've got this image of clams with tiny little protest signs stuck in my head.)

People had different opinions. People got pissed off and reacted. Once the emotional reactions started, any chance at communication was mostly gone. Of course, if you want to keep the anger at a nice, high level, keep this thread and ones like it going. The damned alien brain-suckers are back.