Re: Almost missed the train!

Hi Ray. Welcome to the forum. I have been busy all day and didn't come in until now, 1:42 a.m. my time. You haven't been disrespectful to anyone and in fact you make some make very good points. What happened is you walked in on some little spats that have been ocurring for quite some time now, and you you got sided by one of the firecrackers. It's no big deal though, just helps to keep adrenaline levels active sometimes.
I have in the past taken exactly the same position as you, in terms of our rights to all have forums were we are able to express whatever we like within the context of the particular forum. That's an ideal situation, but we must understand it doesn't always work that way. In the past individuals who have no particular fondness for what should be disussed on this forum, have come in to "challenge our positions", sometimes in not so nice a manner, as if that would make any of us reflect on our stupidity and change our minds.
By the same token, we have had others, regulars to this forum, who have shaken fingers and snarled at the non-partakers of our faith, expecting them to behave, think and act in the same way as us, and then putting them under heavy condemnation for not. And yeah, I know, this sound very much like 'us vs. them', but
then, that's how it is at times.
Still there are others, who want to see everybody getting along, in spite of differences, and to see opposing views discussed in a loving and respectful manner. I will now take the liberty of speaking for rudenski, and tell you that he was probably trying to do some of the latter. I came in rather awkwardly, trying to affirm that.
Although at this point it may seem rather hard to believe, I assure you that appearances can be misleading. The reality is that there is a lot of love going on here, and if you stick around you will see lots of meowing and hissing, but also a lot of heart felt apologies and gladly extended forgiveness going on. The sort of things you might expect out of works in progress. :-)
I hope in spite of this somewhat dubious beginning, that you will be encouraged to come back often. I am sure there is one thing we can all agre on, you bring a clear and fresh approach that we'd enjoy having around.
Many Blessings to you,
Ali Tweet