Michael K, you deserve a lot of respect for that brave posting at the top. And as you may have anticipated, it could be that it will be the devout souls who preach forgiveness who turn out to be least forgiving.

And that first posting from Homeless was another brave one. The afterthought explanation it brought from Bert, about why we are all harmed ny Michael K's antics, was just frankly ridiculous. When I see an anonymous posting, I just assume it's from someone outside the Cat. And if the rest of you want to think it's from me, I couldn't care less. If you're going to label your postings "personal opinion" (I mean what the hell else is it going to be?) don't take on to speak for me as well as yourself.

Like Jed Marum, I never see the flamers, just the endless, navel-contemplating discussions about them. I have certainly been tempted to post a flame or two myself however, and am differentiated from MK in this respect only to the extent that in the end I usually couldn't be bothered. And curiously enough, I have to say that it is probably Kat who has tempted me most, not least in this thread, where having proudly paraded her loathing, she then sanctimoniously counsels us to "let it go." Kat, if you gain from Mudcat on the music side, settle for that and ignore the rest. If you want us all to think you're wonderful because you wallow in some kid learning to ride a bike, you're here for the wrong reason and you may get hurt some more. (No offence to the kid, but is this really the place?)

Lastly a question. What does Praise mean by "essentially blasmphemous" postings, and why feel compelled to "rebuke" them? Would it not be more constructive to challenge the various religious beliefs in the name of which so much suffering has been caused, and some of which linger on, to this day?