Can we stop the infighting now? Please?

[Ladyhawk]

:(
We've fought the gay / straight battle. We've fought the abortion rights battle. We've fought the "youth didn't help us" battle. We've fought the "moral" issues battle. We've fought the "support the soldiers" battle.

Let's not fight the Christian/atheist battle, OK?

I joined in the fray to defend the gay and lesbian contingent of the Democratic Party and DU. I don't feel guilty for doing so, but this has got to end somewhere or we're going to come apart at the seams.

Yes, I'm an atheist and I don't like the religious right. On the other hand, I have great respect for certain liberal Christians like Ray Dubuque at Liberals Like Christ. Sometimes I think Christians on DU think I am targeting them when I'm really talking about right-wing fundies.

My personal opinion is that certain sections of the Bible are indefensible. I really can't agree with someone who thinks it was OK for God to send two bears to kill forty-two children who mocked a prophet, for example.

But the message of Jesus is one of love. That's the Christian message, isn't it? Turning the other cheek? Helping the poor? That I can get down with. And I think liberal Christians mainly support that message.

I'm tired of fighting. I've done my share. I'm finished.

[LeftCoast]

1. I don't think there's actually much infighting. We're being freeped

by a small group of instigators...

[WindRavenX]

3. I second this

I refuse to believe that this site is THIS homophobic.

[realisticphish]

5. well the homophobia

came from only a few posters, but the religion thing is much more expansive, on both sides


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[WindRavenX]

13. I have been avoiding the religious topics...

So I'll take your word for it. It's a major bummer.

[realisticphish]

16. i have too, at least posting in them

id rather not get into arguments that are just mud-slinging. i dont mind philosophical discussions, as long as both sides are rational. unfortunately thats not what's happening right now


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Fatima]

22. the islamophobia is worse, though veiled, so to speak

us and gays are the most reviled people in the country.

[realisticphish]

23. do you mean

worse on DU, or the country? cause if you mean country, i definately agree. on DU, im not sure, though now that i think of it, i have heard the old "well they DID hit the WTC" thing :eyes:. its so goddamn stupid

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[donco6]

19. I've been wondering.

I haven't felt this unwelcome for being gay since I joined this site. And it seems to be swinging wildly from one position to another.

[realisticphish]

2. i agree

DU has been through a LOT of wars, the gender war, etc, and now is not the time for an issue that would completely divide DU. everyone should just back off a little bit, and think before they post


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Ladyhawk]

4. BTW, I apologize for my part in the infighting.

If I hurt anyone's feelings, consider this an apology. I'll try harder to be civil.

Thanks.

[realisticphish]

9. its ok

everyones feelings were magnified by all thats happened. all that has to happen is for people to tone it down a little,now that emotions are turning towards the real enemies, and not other DUers. thanks for helping start the return to normalcy...

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[H2O Man]

17. hmmmm ......

Now, is that a shark's tooth, or a Madison point? The little spinning picture? In these parts, from the late Hunter's Home Phase through early contac, there are plenty of shark's teeth traded up from the coast. Likely the Delaware River route. Just curious.

[Ladyhawk]

20. Megalodon tooth, H20 Man.

Carcharadon megalodon was the largest predatory shark that ever lived. I love the thought of a 50-foot-long version of the great white shark (Carcharadon carcharias) cruising through oceans as recently as 10,000 years ago.

Megalodon preyed on whales. Many whale fossils with evidence of megalodon predation have been unearthed.

Creepy, huh?

You can buy fossilized megalodon teeth on the Internet. I've always wanted one: a big one with the tooth serrations intact.

[H2O Man]

27. There is a dealer in antiques and other

objects of interest that had some huge shark teeth. If you ever read William Ritchie's "The Archaeology of New York State," on page 257 it has a photo of three shark teeth that are about two and a half inches long; there were actually five on a necklace, found at the White Site. I'm familiar with the fellow who found them, and am trying to convince him to allow them and the other grave goods & remains to be returned to the earth. But that's another story. These are much smaller than the ones I saw at the shop I mentioned. What struck me as odd was that the ones from the necklace are white. Would this indicate they are of a more recent era?


The archaeology of the northeast is of interest to me. When I had a back, I used to do a few excavations.

[Ladyhawk]

28. It's possible the white ones aren't fossilized at all.

The color of fossilized shark teeth has to do with the minerals that replace the original material. They can be brown, yellow, etc.

Some of the meg teeth I've seen have been five to six inches long and nearly as wide. Some still have serrations. Wow! :)

If the 2-and-a-half inch teeth are probably those of a great white shark. The shape would tell me for sure. Top teeth are triangular like the tooth in my avatar. The bottom teeth are a bit more pointed.

I have some 2-inch fossilized shark teeth that came from a fish-eating species. The teeth are very pointed and have no serrations. I have a 1-inch curved tooth that is probably from a bull shark. It's fossilized, too.

Hey, H20 Man, check out this site: http://www.megalodonteeth.com/

Look at the serrations on these great white teeth:

[H2O Man]

30. The ones I saw at the antique shop

were about the size of my hand. They were behind glass, and it was about 15 years ago, and obviously I'm senile .... but they were impressive.

I do not think the ones from the White Site (the biggest Hunter's Home phase site in the US) were fossilized.

I like the serrations. If I were able to post some of the projectile points I've found, I could show artifacts with similar size and shape, and even serrations. Very interesting.

[Ladyhawk]

31. The ones the size of your hand were megalodon teeth.

That must have been an impressive shark! Whenever I wish I could travel through time, I mostly wish I could see some of the extinct animals that lived on our planet. So many fascinating creatures!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. I happen to like everyone...

Here. If I disagree, I will do so respectfully. If I think someone is an instigator, I will hit alert.

Try it. Remarkably unstressful. ;-)

[flyingfysh]

7. fighting? who's fighting?

I'm not fighting.

I have my opinions on various issues (for example, I happen to be atheist), but this is not the forum for discussing those issues.

It IS appropriate if the President uses an ultra-fundamentalist version of religion to try to warp the country toward his own "values" and plunge the mideast into turmoil in hopes of hastening the return of Jesus.

But religious people of many persuasions also support values that I agree with, and I am happy to work with them.

[muchacho]

8. personally

I have no use for religion and see it as superstition and a socially acceptable unleashing and amplification of a person's character, good or bad. Unfortunately when applied to large groups that amplification increases exponentially.

[teach1st]

10. I think you hit the nail on the head...

..we're not targeting Christians. We're targeting extremists who are attempting to force their religion on others. And we're not targeting them because of their religion, but because of their attempts to change this country irrevocably into a theocracy.

Christians are cool. Dominionists are not cool. I'm fighting for my country.

[The Jacobin]

11. Liberals Like Christ

Is blatantly anti-catholic. As a catholic who fits the label of religious left, that site is not what I had in mind. :puke:

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Try these

Here are some alternatives:

http://www.catholicdemocrats.org
http://www.catholicsforkerry04.org

[Ladyhawk]

29. I'm sorry. I was not aware of that.

I would have to look into that. You can be against some of the things the Roman Catholic Church has done and not be anti-Catholic, per se.

LH

[movonne]

14. I am beginning to see a melt down of our party right here...and I

don't like it..Where has the fight gone...before this election everyone said they would keep on fighting if Kerry lost..all I see here is blaming everything from gays to Kerry...We did all we could do and did it well...who we should be furious with is this administration that stole another election..we have to keep fighting together or we will surly lose this country. Where is the revolution?where is our fight. We must take this country back.

[The Jacobin]

15. You're right

but the fight is not among ourselves. The fight needs to be brought to the enemy.

The next elections are two years away. The goal is to rexamine our ideas, and (most likely) find that they are strong. Then to determine the best way to push those ideas to strengthen our base for 2006.

[Leilani]

18. Maybe all the anger here is just displaced

People are dying to do something...

Unfortunately no leaders have stepped forward to lead & channel the anger into something constructive.

[Ladyhawk]

21. As a sign of goodwill, I will expunge my ignore list.

I don't want to fight anymore.

:grouphug:

[WilliamPitt]

24. I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!!!

or something. :)

Keep your chin up. During the primaries, I thought the infighting would never stop, and that we would never be able to unite behind a candidate. I was wrong on both counts. This, too, shall pass.

[Pepperbelly]

25. It's what we do!

Circular firing squads, finger-pointing, recriminations, distrust, and all of a sudden, all of us who were so solid in support for Kerry are now fragmented into a ba-zillion pieces. In less than a week!

Like Will Rogers said, "I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

[jmatthan]

26. If you lose this battle there will be no 2006!!

eom