Right then, Steve Shaw only attacks people who manifest nasty ideas, or so he says. Well, I do not believe that I have promulgated a single nasty idea in any posting I have made to this site but he has certainly attacked me. I loathe homophobia, I find creationism to be irrational nonsense and I am blessed with friends both gay and straight, believers and non-believers and various points in between. It is true that I am a practising Catholic but that is my business, no-one else's. One friend in particular is an avowed atheist and delights in trying to wind me up but we never feel the need to hurl abuse at each other. He's a good man and his humanity means more to me than any belief he holds.
According to his oft stated protestations Steve Shaw is never rattled by other posters but is successful in rattling them. How does he know? Surely he can only draw that conclusion by their responses. By the same token I have no doubt that he gets severely rattled. In fact, his last response to me was extremely offensive. Unfortunately, it was removed (I imagine because it was deemed unacceptable, but I had no hand in that decision). I fear he doth protest too much.
Joe Offer has never said that he accepts creationism or homophobia, quite the reverse, but he has said he respects the way in which certain people present their views. For the record, I have tremendous respect for Joe Offer, he demonstrates a compassion and courtesy that is in short supply on this site and I believe that his approach is far more likely to impact on others than Steve Shaw's permanent subtext of 'I'm right, I'm right and you're stupid'.
While I am at it, I regret Musket's occasional lapses into obscenity and ad hominem attacks but I respect his position on pretty much everything he addresses. He comes across to me as a well-informed, thoughtful man. I have enjoyed every one of Jack Blandiver's posts - how could you not? I suspect I would greatly enjoy meeting him.
Finally, coming back to the unlovely Shaw, I note that he has vaunted his professional credentials on more than one occasion. I came across several inspectors in my 38 year career in education, most of them were neither use nor ornament and it was generally held that they were failed teachers. This may be a vile calumny but I would never have employed one in any of my schools. Yes, I know it's a cheap shot but I just thought I would find out what it's like down in The SS sewer.