Musket sez (18 Apr 14 - 03:37 AM): So if I posted a letter in your local newspaper that all Catholics promote buggering altar boys and it is the duty of every catholic to defend their priests whilst encouraging their sexual frustration release, you'd read it and say I don't agree with it but if that's what you assess as the situation from the recent exposure, that's your view.

The example you give is a little extreme, Musket. Most probably, a U.S. newspaper publisher would quietly neglect to publish such a letter, and would remove it from the forum if posted on his Website. If he did publish it, the repercussions would take place in the marketplace, not in the courtroom. As I said, there currently are few legal controls on speech in the U.S. It's not the same as in Europe.

And comments like the ones you complain about here, are posted in U.S. newspaper letters to the editor on a frequent basis - especially in conservative areas like the place where I live. Nobody would think about filing a legal action against them. I look on it as an opportunity to publicly, rationally, and peacefully voice opposition to such thinking. And I try to use a quiet, rational tone instead of a combative one - I want to change minds and hearts, not defeat enemies. In a small community like mine, my approach has worked over time. I'm seen as a voice of wisdom in the community. The newspaper occasionally calls me and asks for a quote on an issue.

-Joe-