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From the Evidence of God thread:

A nice try, though. At least when I pointed out your racism, I provided an actual quote, rather than a hyperbolic summary.

I just wonder how anyone this far past civil discourse and simple decency actually deals with Conservatives, Libertarians, or anyone else that may disagree with him in person. Is it the case that a person like this has been so isolated from people who do not share his world view that he sees all dissent from his own politics and values as indicating sub human status?

As this person appears to believe that anyone who disagrees with him on any issue is either stupid, mentally deranged, or evil by definition, what possible point of contact can there be? Is Kent State in any way equivalent to the invasion and subjugation of Czechoslovakia and Hungary, or the massacre at Tienanmen?

Does the Church spy on members, tap their phones, and stalk them, destroy there livelihoods, and send death threats?

Disagreeing with this person on, say, Affirmative Action or reparations, brings the immediate charge of racism. Simply passing on empirical facts brings the same charge. In other words, there is no principled dissent from Scratch's positions on anything at all, in his mind. Anyone who does so does so out of malign and immoral motives.

Virtually this person's entire posting history here can be seen as a continual personal obsession with certain FARMS scholars and posters at the MAD boards, for whom he harbors what appears to be something akin to seething animosity.

Where then, where is a point of contact for civil debate?

Coggins7 wrote:From the Evidence of God thread:

A nice try, though. At least when I pointed out your racism, I provided an actual quote, rather than a hyperbolic summary.

I just wonder how anyone this far past civil discourse and simple decency actually deals with Conservatives,

What, you mean like a good percentage of my immediate family?

Libertarians, or anyone else that may disagree with him in person. Is it the case that a person like this has been so isolated from people who do not share his world view that he sees all dissent from his own politics and values as indicating sub human status?

Are you not the one living out in the sticks in the Deep South? Are you not the one who spewed out those very ugly remarks regarding the entire lot of African Americans?

As this person appears to believe that anyone who disagrees with him on any issue is either stupid, mentally deranged, or evil by definition, what possible point of contact can there be? Is Kent State in any way equivalent to the invasion and subjugation of Czechoslovakia and Hungary, or the massacre at Tienanmen?

A person who was genuinely intellectually and philosophically serious would weigh out the morality of these events, and would try very hard to understand some extremely complicated and conflicting perspectives.

Does the Church spy on members,

Yes, absolutely.

tap their phones,

I have heard anecdotal evidence that this is true.

and stalk them,

Yes, absolutely. The anti-homosexual stings at BYU provide ample evidence of this.

destroy there livelihoods,

Arguable, but I would say, yes, insofar as it creates an atmosphere/environment in which this can (and indeed has) happened. Of course, the typical TBM response is to say it is all the individual's fault. Is it really? You have demonstrated quite a capacity for seeing into the heart of various ideologies. Why is it that you seem to have a blind spot when it comes to Mormonism?

and send death threats?

Well... Some of the Brethren's sermons (such as the one sketching out Blood Atonement) would qualify, in my opinion. Does the contemporary Church issue death threats? No. There are some things which are much worse than death.

Disagreeing with this person on, say, Affirmative Action or reparations, brings the immediate charge of racism.

No, Loran. I called you a racist after you had used certain data in an obviously racist way.

Simply passing on empirical facts brings the same charge.

Sigh. See above.

In other words, there is no principled dissent from Scratch's positions on anything at all, in his mind.

That's ridiculous. Just ask Nehor, or Gaz, or Ben McGuire. I have disagreed with all sorts of people on all sorts of subjects. (Liz is another one.) Once again: you may want to ask yourself why it is that so few other posters ever come to your defense.

Anyone who does so does so out of malign and immoral motives.

No; not "anyone," mostly just you.

Virtually this person's entire posting history here can be seen as a continual personal obsession with certain FARMS scholars and posters at the MAD boards, for whom he harbors what appears to be something akin to seething animosity.

What does this have to do with anything you said above? By the way, what is your MAD posting handle?

Where then, where is a point of contact for civil debate?

I will leave that for you to discover on your own, my friend.

And on around the sugar bowl we go. I'm out.