alex
Gold Meritorious Patron
There seems to be a new theme developing on ESMB, that differing views are simply trolling, and possibly OSA.
When ESMB started there was an atmosphere of tolerance and posters with differing views were engaged or not depending on the intelligence and interesting ideas in their posts.
There was a general sympathy for the residual fondness for the tech by the people who rejected it, as it was part of the common experience.
And the tech lovers understood those who rejected it as they also had similar invalidative experiences with the church's culture.
The arrival of the anon and its very different culture, and the more recent arrival of a substantial force of Australians, who are very self confident in their own correctness, seems to be turning ESMB from Emma's tea party, to campaign headquarters against the church.
Pro scientology views are ridiculed with little thought given to the fact that they are views once also held by most of the people here.
Threads are treated as if this is all about serious business.
What happened to this being a place where we could all talk, with out the subtext of suspicion and the implication that hidden adgendas were being run?
Diverting a thread may just be a way to keep some conversation going. Some of the best threads on this board have gone for hundreds of pages with massive diversions and then someone replies to the original posters theme and its back on course. Its all communication.
I am personally sensitive to this OSA paranoia as I have often been accused of being such. I am listed on lermanet.com as such. And I have a tendency to have thoughts sparked by what people say and post in a thread with tagential thoughts that some would think diversionary.
But there are people on this board who have access to my real name.
My whole point being that some of the feeling that this is a safe place for anyone with a scientology experience to talk is to some degree being undermined by a trend towards stonger activism and less tolerance.
For those of you who feel the need to "rescue" your fellow man from thier beliefs, perhaps you are shooting yourself in the foot when you encourage an atmosphere of looking out for the OSA and labeling differences as trolling.
I have no qualms with seeing people who left the church as people of good intent. I desire reform in the church, and think that it is currently way off track from its stated goals. But is anti-scientology really a good new religion?
alex (who expects to be relabeled an osa troll. perhaps emma will change my "status" lable to osa troll extrodinare.)
When ESMB started there was an atmosphere of tolerance and posters with differing views were engaged or not depending on the intelligence and interesting ideas in their posts.
There was a general sympathy for the residual fondness for the tech by the people who rejected it, as it was part of the common experience.
And the tech lovers understood those who rejected it as they also had similar invalidative experiences with the church's culture.
The arrival of the anon and its very different culture, and the more recent arrival of a substantial force of Australians, who are very self confident in their own correctness, seems to be turning ESMB from Emma's tea party, to campaign headquarters against the church.
Pro scientology views are ridiculed with little thought given to the fact that they are views once also held by most of the people here.
Threads are treated as if this is all about serious business.
What happened to this being a place where we could all talk, with out the subtext of suspicion and the implication that hidden adgendas were being run?
Diverting a thread may just be a way to keep some conversation going. Some of the best threads on this board have gone for hundreds of pages with massive diversions and then someone replies to the original posters theme and its back on course. Its all communication.
I am personally sensitive to this OSA paranoia as I have often been accused of being such. I am listed on lermanet.com as such. And I have a tendency to have thoughts sparked by what people say and post in a thread with tagential thoughts that some would think diversionary.
But there are people on this board who have access to my real name.
My whole point being that some of the feeling that this is a safe place for anyone with a scientology experience to talk is to some degree being undermined by a trend towards stonger activism and less tolerance.
For those of you who feel the need to "rescue" your fellow man from thier beliefs, perhaps you are shooting yourself in the foot when you encourage an atmosphere of looking out for the OSA and labeling differences as trolling.
I have no qualms with seeing people who left the church as people of good intent. I desire reform in the church, and think that it is currently way off track from its stated goals. But is anti-scientology really a good new religion?
alex (who expects to be relabeled an osa troll. perhaps emma will change my "status" lable to osa troll extrodinare.)