Mythral Soulstrom
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- Posted: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 22:53:52 +0000
This rant/discussion continues in the Extended Discussion section. To see it, click here. Thank you for your supportive words, everyone, and keep the message going - Bump for Peace!
I am writing this post because I have seen two groups marked in rather disturbing (if not revealing) light recently, right here in this forum. I'd like to speak out against angry speech in general, and I'm using two examples as a backdrop for my small rant.
(Note: Please read the rant to the end - there are many points within where a reader may gain a sudden opinion and fly off the handle, but I try and react to all viewpoints here, and I make this post seeking a deep, meaningful discussion on the topics, and not a flame fest)
First, and somewhat commonly, is the angry discussion involving those who love the same sex. Call it homosexuality, call it being gay, call it whatever. Love is something that, in my opinion, is beyond our control, and about our reproach. That being said, there is a good amount of both gay-bashing and "breeder"-bashing that runs around in here. One person yells about how the color scheme on Gaia is so "gay"; another complains that there are too many gay people as part of our community. Likewise, there is an amount of homosexual elitism, where people who love the opposite sex are marked as old-fashioned, a dying cause, and damn dirty Republican (if you're from the states, that is) morons.
This whole line of fighting needs to stop. Can't we all just agree to let others love as they want? Love isn't something that should be classified as "strange" or "wrong." It just bloody is, and making fun of those who do it differently than you isn't the way to foster a community. Because that's what Gaia is, for those of you who don't really know - a Community. People talking together, spending time together, and sharing views and opinions. If you don't like people who are gay for some reason, you can have and share that opinion...but for ******** sake, phrase it as "I am not fond of" or "I have a strong opinion about," and cut this bashing garbage. There's just too much of it around in real life for there to be time or reason for it here.
My second party of rant seems the absolute polar opposite, but I believe falls under a similar category. There have been several posts regarding the Nazi Guild, and how they need to be destroyed because of all the evil things that they have done.
Let me tell you a little about the Nazis. The National Socialist Party (the actual name of the Nazis) believed in equality of position for the people of their country, and the elimitation of power through wealth. They believed in values, such as honor and brotherhood. They were bound to each other by an amazing force of belief in a greater good (even though the Germans of the WW2 era allowed the twisted ideals of their chancellor get in the way). They even believed that mankind and nature should be closer than it currently is now, as man and earth are bound together in thought and deed.
Now, all I just said will never forgive the German Nazi regime that destroyed millions of lives of all kinds, many for no real reason at all, of what they have done. These Nazis committed many evil and terrible acts, many tossing to the wind the ideals they once honored. These are the mistakes of the people who called themselves Nazis, and those who believe in the words of hate uttered by Adolf Hitler should never be forgiven.
But the "Nazis" of Gaia are not that kind of Nazi - they are National Socialists. In fact, if they called themselves the "National Socialist Guild," I bet no one would notice for a second. But the system that embodies National Socialism has a name for its people: Nazis. They are no more evil in idenity than say, the Americans (and Americans, don't start - I'm an American too, and I've noticed that the history books show us killing as many people as the Germans did for just as foolish reasons - we just didn't do it all at once). Before you react to a word, you should look into what it means. Certainly, Nazi has a terrible and fearful meaning attached to it, and perhaps the Gaians who call themselves "Nazis" show a slight lack of wisdom. But then again, think of the Swastika, a symbol that once symbolized unity and peace, long before one man ordered the killing of millions. Perhaps they're just saying what they are, without fear of what a word means.
Please, fellow Gaians, consider what I have said. You don't need to believe what either group believes in. You don't need to say that their existance is acceptable in your eyes. But, as a member of a community, you must NEVER attack those who you may call family, no matter how they differ from you and your beliefs.
Because we are a family. We have something in common that no other group has:
We Are Gaian.
I am writing this post because I have seen two groups marked in rather disturbing (if not revealing) light recently, right here in this forum. I'd like to speak out against angry speech in general, and I'm using two examples as a backdrop for my small rant.
(Note: Please read the rant to the end - there are many points within where a reader may gain a sudden opinion and fly off the handle, but I try and react to all viewpoints here, and I make this post seeking a deep, meaningful discussion on the topics, and not a flame fest)
First, and somewhat commonly, is the angry discussion involving those who love the same sex. Call it homosexuality, call it being gay, call it whatever. Love is something that, in my opinion, is beyond our control, and about our reproach. That being said, there is a good amount of both gay-bashing and "breeder"-bashing that runs around in here. One person yells about how the color scheme on Gaia is so "gay"; another complains that there are too many gay people as part of our community. Likewise, there is an amount of homosexual elitism, where people who love the opposite sex are marked as old-fashioned, a dying cause, and damn dirty Republican (if you're from the states, that is) morons.
This whole line of fighting needs to stop. Can't we all just agree to let others love as they want? Love isn't something that should be classified as "strange" or "wrong." It just bloody is, and making fun of those who do it differently than you isn't the way to foster a community. Because that's what Gaia is, for those of you who don't really know - a Community. People talking together, spending time together, and sharing views and opinions. If you don't like people who are gay for some reason, you can have and share that opinion...but for ******** sake, phrase it as "I am not fond of" or "I have a strong opinion about," and cut this bashing garbage. There's just too much of it around in real life for there to be time or reason for it here.
My second party of rant seems the absolute polar opposite, but I believe falls under a similar category. There have been several posts regarding the Nazi Guild, and how they need to be destroyed because of all the evil things that they have done.
Let me tell you a little about the Nazis. The National Socialist Party (the actual name of the Nazis) believed in equality of position for the people of their country, and the elimitation of power through wealth. They believed in values, such as honor and brotherhood. They were bound to each other by an amazing force of belief in a greater good (even though the Germans of the WW2 era allowed the twisted ideals of their chancellor get in the way). They even believed that mankind and nature should be closer than it currently is now, as man and earth are bound together in thought and deed.
Now, all I just said will never forgive the German Nazi regime that destroyed millions of lives of all kinds, many for no real reason at all, of what they have done. These Nazis committed many evil and terrible acts, many tossing to the wind the ideals they once honored. These are the mistakes of the people who called themselves Nazis, and those who believe in the words of hate uttered by Adolf Hitler should never be forgiven.
But the "Nazis" of Gaia are not that kind of Nazi - they are National Socialists. In fact, if they called themselves the "National Socialist Guild," I bet no one would notice for a second. But the system that embodies National Socialism has a name for its people: Nazis. They are no more evil in idenity than say, the Americans (and Americans, don't start - I'm an American too, and I've noticed that the history books show us killing as many people as the Germans did for just as foolish reasons - we just didn't do it all at once). Before you react to a word, you should look into what it means. Certainly, Nazi has a terrible and fearful meaning attached to it, and perhaps the Gaians who call themselves "Nazis" show a slight lack of wisdom. But then again, think of the Swastika, a symbol that once symbolized unity and peace, long before one man ordered the killing of millions. Perhaps they're just saying what they are, without fear of what a word means.
Please, fellow Gaians, consider what I have said. You don't need to believe what either group believes in. You don't need to say that their existance is acceptable in your eyes. But, as a member of a community, you must NEVER attack those who you may call family, no matter how they differ from you and your beliefs.
Because we are a family. We have something in common that no other group has:
We Are Gaian.
