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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Your Turn

Photos of Ernie on the grounds of the Seattle LDS temple, July 2008. Photos by her aunt BW




I got into REALLY big trouble over the weekend. An old high school classmate posted a status question on Facebook, I responded with my own question, which was then taken horribly wrong by friends of HIS, and I found myself the unhappy recipient of Hate and Vitriol- I was being flamed, and it stunk.

I sent a note to the most vehement of the posters, asking her to stop- she didn't understand my statement, and I didn't like being publicly attacked. She saw my true point, and apologized to me (and on the original comment.) It started a weekend-long back and forth about civil rights, religious beliefs, and the state of politics in our country, and I think I have a new friend now. She's a lovely, feisty, heart felt girl who was trying to stand up for the rights of others, and I admire her for that.

It brought to mind a wish I've had for a while. I don't know if we can make it work, but it would be lovely to try.

I'd like to host a series of "get to know you" guest posts- I'm a religious gal (LDS/Mormon) and I know so many of you have wonderfully strong religious beliefs as well. I'd love to know more about them- I think we can all be better about understanding others around us, and the way to understand them is to know where they're coming from. If you think this is a good idea and sounds like fun, please comment below or send me an e-mail at madebymyrnie(at)gmail(dot)com.

Guidelines:
You'll write a guest post about your religion- written works you follow (bible, talmud, koran, Book of Mormon, etc.), what the organizational structure currently looks like, history of the religion, beliefs, practices, terminology, etc.

I will post what you write, and link back to you. I will also be screening comments- anything belittling or questioning what you believe will be deleted and sent back to the original commenter asking them to please rephrase their question.

Let me know if you'd like to participate!
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8 comments:

Alexandra said...

Oh, no! That's terrible. Some subjects are so touchy, and many have a hair trigger reaction. But then again, you've gained a friend.

I'll think about this...need to find a quiet moment(ha,ha) to post something which takes some thought.

Unknown said...

I'm sorry you had to go through the hate and flaming. I think you are very brave to host the series; so often people out in the anonymous internet can be so hateful. It's great that you are trying to bring about understanding of various belief systems.

Teresa said...

Glad things got worked out.... I hate misunderstanding.... especially when people don't know the whole story and start running off at the month =(
I will see what I can come up with for your gospel related posts.

LunaMoonbeam said...

I'm probably excluded from this particular exercise...unless you'd like to know what I believe to be true about the shelf life of bread (16 hours).

Can't wait to see what people post!

Su said...

Oh, how very unpleasant... I'm just glad you got it all sorted out.
My parents are Buddhist, and in their own pacifist manner, they have always encouraged an open-mind, education and understanding when it comes to religion. I won't be able to participate as well, seeing as I'm an almost non-practicing Buddhist. However, I love the idea of this series and look forward to it.

Ticia said...

Hmmm...... I'm curious, I might give it a try. Of course, in the non-helpful way I'm also curious what you said that cause a flame war...

Samantha said...

Those are gorgeous photos! Glad something nice came out of you getting in trouble. :)

Elizabeth said...

I don't know...I think your Aunt Lo Lo should post an essay on the shelf life of bread. :)