Doctor Scratch wrote:Yes, Simon--we get it. You don't understand why people get upset over the LDS Church.
Well, getting upset is one thing. Getting upset is a normal, valid emotion. I can understand specific cases where someone might feel offended at something someone at church said, for example.
Hate is inexcusable.
You're baffled that anyone might be irked at the apologists in general or Dr. Peterson in particular. None of it makes any sense to you.
Look, I understand that some apologists have taken cues from some critics about tactics and behaviors. We must not forget, however, that critics and anti-Mormons defined these tactics and behaviors.
So yes, I understand why someone might be irked by some of these behaviors. I certainly am each time I attend an LDS pageant or conference. You don't see me relentlessly stalking a particular critic, for years, both on and offline, attempting to smear and damage his professional and personal reputation. No one deserves that.
Yes, it's true that Dr. Peterson messed up Eric's relationship with his family, but that's all hunky-dory, right? He doesn't deserve a dressing down for that, does he?
Eric had nothing to do with the nature of his relationship with his family?
I do not deny that the aftermath of Dr. Peterson telling Eric's father that Eric had been posting anti-Mormon propaganda online was unfortunate. Did DCP deserve a "dressing down?" I don't know, but I do know he got one, and continues to get one. How long does this dressing down need to go on? It's been what... 3 or 4 years at least for just the Eric episode.
Yes, he was enmeshed in online smear campaigns directed at Robert Ritner, Tal Bachman, Steve Benson, Mike Quinn, and dozens of other people--but that's just cornflakes and poppycock, right?
For the sake of this discussion, I will agree with you on these (though Benson and Bachman are, or were, some of the most viscous anti-Mormons around).
So how much "punishment" does one man deserve? A decade of slander and libel, virtual tarring a feathering, Internet stalking? How long until Infymus and you feel that your vendetta is over?
What you are saying is akin to someone telling you that you've got no business feeling upset about the General Conference protestor(s) that got up in your face that time. In fact, I bet, Simon, that you're painting a caricature of that person. Whoever that was doesn't deserve your vicious attacks.
Feeling upset is a normal, human emotion. Internet stalking, slander and libel is not. Feel upset, it's okay. How long do you think someone should let this emotion consume them? A decade?
And, by the way, I
was upset at that conference protester, but I have never named him by name. I have never sought to do harm to him.