How can we have our say if we cant be honest about what we think? There is a huge difference between ridicule and blasphemy and "flaming". And there is also a huge difference between a person, and what a person claims. People are never one claim and hold positions on all sorts of issues.
What I hate when attacking someone's claim is when they go "you hate me".
There is not one person here who hasn't at a point in their life, had a family member, co worker or friend, say something they thought was stupid or not credible. You still love that person, even though you might hate what they are claiming.
I don't think all conversations have to be library. And I don't think we should always walk on eggshells and assume the person we are debating has a glass jaw.
When I go after a claim I make it clear to the person that it is not personal and if they cannot handle it, then they should not step into the ring. But I also make it clear that whatever I say to them is about their claim and the logic, not them the person.
I like to give credit to theists that they know the difference and can handle the heat and that even after a heated debate that we can still like each other as individuals outside that particular issue. Otherwise no atheist could fucntion in society and we would have to live on an Island.
All of us here have to some degree, family and friends and co workers who hold some degree of belief. I am not a fan of censorship and I don't think taboos do anything but to cause more division and missunderstanding.
Now I do agree that context of situation matters, like if you are at a funeral or wedding you keep your mouth shut. But if someone comes here when they chose to, and no one forced them to, then I don't see how they have a right to complain. It would be like jumping into a boxing ring by choice and then complaining when you get hit.
What is the point of having a website full of people who question if all we do is sing kumbia? Getting along is fine, and humans should learn to get along. But part of that is knowing as a collective species we are sometimes going to hear things that might offend us, but us and them.
What I hate when attacking someone's claim is when they go "you hate me".
There is not one person here who hasn't at a point in their life, had a family member, co worker or friend, say something they thought was stupid or not credible. You still love that person, even though you might hate what they are claiming.
I don't think all conversations have to be library. And I don't think we should always walk on eggshells and assume the person we are debating has a glass jaw.
When I go after a claim I make it clear to the person that it is not personal and if they cannot handle it, then they should not step into the ring. But I also make it clear that whatever I say to them is about their claim and the logic, not them the person.
I like to give credit to theists that they know the difference and can handle the heat and that even after a heated debate that we can still like each other as individuals outside that particular issue. Otherwise no atheist could fucntion in society and we would have to live on an Island.
All of us here have to some degree, family and friends and co workers who hold some degree of belief. I am not a fan of censorship and I don't think taboos do anything but to cause more division and missunderstanding.
Now I do agree that context of situation matters, like if you are at a funeral or wedding you keep your mouth shut. But if someone comes here when they chose to, and no one forced them to, then I don't see how they have a right to complain. It would be like jumping into a boxing ring by choice and then complaining when you get hit.
What is the point of having a website full of people who question if all we do is sing kumbia? Getting along is fine, and humans should learn to get along. But part of that is knowing as a collective species we are sometimes going to hear things that might offend us, but us and them.
