Joelbear,
I think each of us has to decide who on this board has the mentality of a six-year-old and whether the discussions are non-productive or demoralizing.
On the "Usage of the Internet" thread, you say you have chosen not respond to Fred Hall, NYT, and Yadirf. Yet there were times when you did choose to respond, just as others choose to respond now. As ISP says, "Live and let live." When people grow tired of this, they will stop. Only each person who replies can decide whether the experience is non-productive or demoralizing for them.
I have been thinking about the subject of harsh disagreements since I saw Ashitaka's and Andee's comments in the "Military Tribunals" thread. Both Andee and Ashitaka hoped the "miserable thread" would die, and Ashitaka had earlier said:
Why not just drop it, so that dubs coming here don't see what they expect....division.....
In the "An Internet Apostate" thread, Yadirf asked:
Would you like for me to put together a list of posts from various apostates on this board that could have but failed to show sorrow after intentionally inflicting pain on another?
This has been discussed before. Should we create a sort of alternative "spiritual paradise" so dubs won't be offended by this site? Should we all smile and act nice to each other and repress our anger and annoyance? Is the purpose of the board to help JWs out of their old mindset, to help ex-JWs heal, to socialize, to discuss, to debate, or a mixture of all of these?
Are childish disagreements a sign that we don't have love among ourselves? I don't think so. Some of the most childish and volatile disagreements I've experienced have been between members of my own family. It is because we love each other so much and because we know each other so well that we react so strongly to each other.
I love this place because of the mix of support, humor, discussions, catfights, debates, and disagreements. I don't expect that we'll always "dwell together in unity," and I like the mixture of characters. Things aren't always pretty, but this tells me people here are honest and are displaying the full spectrum of their humanity.
And besides, I'm a Pee-Wee Herman fan, so "I know you are, but what am I?" suits me just fine.
Ginny