Well, I am completely in favor of unrestricted discussion in obituary threads on public figures. Some of the threads on the Catholic Church lately have bordered on bigotry, and then it gets "iffy" - shades of the Ku Klux Klan anti-Catholic crusades of the 1920's.

I do think that common sense dictates that we use a different approach when the thread is about a member of our Mudcat community or someone close to our community.

I suppose that second category also applies to pets, but I have to admit that makes me cringe. I've lost a mother, two dogs and a cat (that I hated) since I joined Mudcat, and I wouldn't dream of starting an obituary thread for them. But I suppose if people are grieving and find comfort in expressing that grief, we should respect that.

But if you're grieving the loss of a public figure, I think you are going to have to put up with comments from those who criticize that figure.

-Joe Offer-