"Irritated by" might be a more appropriate term Elmore, and very irritating they must be. But they aren't blowing up the places you get together with others, or burning down your homes and killing your friends, or throwing you in jail for your beliefs. The word "persecution" should perhaps be reserved for stuff like that.

It's not a bad idea to skim through a bit of a thread first. The same as listening a few moments to how a conversation is going before chipping in.