Do you believe in free will?

[Angrboda]

Yes, I'm projecting, it has nothing to do with this whole new line of bickering having been started by your comments about the abuse you've suffered. Or your inability to accept an apology when it was offered. FFS

You posted your apology in response to a reply which I was revising at the same time as you were posting the apology. I tried to revise my prior statement to a) graciously accept your apology, and, b) explain why I was taking the steps I was at the time. Unfortunately,, myBB doesn't support the text strikeout option which I intended to imply a rescission, and you'd already read it, so I added a reference to the revision in the next post which you hadn't already read. Unfortunately, the way that unraveled, I guess what I wanted to communicate to you, my acceptance of your apology, didn't get communicated. I'm sorry if you felt I was dissing your apology, I wasn't: I was just stuck with a multiple timeline thing going on, and, despite my best attempts, I didn't unravel it clearly enough to communicate my acceptance of your apology. I apologize. That was my fault.

And without quoting you directly, the reason I'm not directly answering your questions now is because I don't think doing so would be a good thing. As noted, emotionally I'm worn out, and further argument is only likely to aggravate already raw nerves, if not in you, in me. And I don't think that would be a useful result, as I'd like to salvage a relationship with someone who I think is smart, witty and enjoyable to talk to (and to watch rip into woo peddlers). What I see is that if we try to go forward with discussion of these points at this time, we will be more likely to destroy that relationship than prove anything definitively about EM. It's not that I am backing down from my argument, I'm backing down from what I see as a threat to both our friendship and my emotional well-being.