This is a rumination sparked by my facebook feed. Why can't people celebrate their viewpoint without mocking the beliefs of others? I expressed a similar sentiment to this in a comment on what was a very rude post and was viciously attacked by someone I don't know: A "friend of a friend" (be careful about those privacy settings, although in this case that wasn't the issue). Then the friend deleted the thread, although she often is pissed when someone does that to her and she's allegedly a great champion of open dialogue. She even captures shots of her screen when she is mixing it up so she can post it on her own page after it is deleted, and she then calls the site owners out for not being able to handle debate, proudly stating she was respectful and polite, but they couldn't take her superior intellect. Her friends all pile on, congratulating her and dissing the censor, asserting they must only be interested in one perspective and are lying when they claim to want to listen to the views of others. Pot, meet kettle. I suppose she is like Marcuse -- all for speech as long as it is agreeable to her, but those whose opinions differ from hers should be censored. I don't care to document the behavior on facebook for mutual friends to see, though. I don't feel like being involved in a flame war. Better to let it go. (So instead I will complain here, in my little corner. LOL!)

Today she has more snark posted, this time directed at a (very) different group. I don't share the ideology of this particular group, but I am not the type of person who takes pleasure in making fun of others. I ask myself a J.S. Mill-inspired question: How does someone believing in this silly thing harm me? Not at all. But people often write blog comments and posts on facebook that they would not share FTF, I guess. However, perhaps that should be "depending on the audience," because they probably would be unkind in person if they felt the listener was on the same nasty page. I always thought anonymous posting was the enabler, but I think I was mistaken. These folks all use their full names. Her deletion had its desired effect, though. I certainly have no intention of engaging with her or her fellow travelers ever again. Maybe I will just hide what she writes. Everyday I see evidence that being educated about toleration is a necessity. It is such a misunderstood concept. Even given that it is my bread and butter, it makes me sad.