A little rant for desdamona

I agree completely, Ned. I posted similar thoughts last night here.I don't see how there can still be any question whether this woman has any desire to learn something or to make any postitive contribution. When cornered, she will utter something about how she's trying to learn, but never more than two or three posts later she's right back to spouting her uninformed, bigoted and self-rightous nonsense. She's a fundamentalist drama queen. She has nothing of substance to contribute here.

RAZD writes:

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I am reminded of the definition of fanatic as someone who will not change their mind and cannot change the subject.

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I agree with the sentiment, but desdamona certainly IS capable of changing the subject. She does it all the time. In fact, she refuses to stick to any subject. I hope she will be gone soon.

She seems to genuinely want to open her mind to new ideas. If that's true I think we should all back off on the criticism for a while and give her a bit of breathing space. For a day or two, assuming she continues to visit us, can we simply encourage her without judging her?I hope everyone will congratulate her on the apparent change that's taking place in her thinking. She needs as much gentle encouragement as we can give her. Remember, it's not just her - she has children of her own, children she's homeschool teaching. If we can succeed in getting des to see things in a new way, the benefits to her will devolve to those kids. That can only be a good thing.I still expect a bit of back-sliding by her, but as she herself says it's difficult to embrace what to her are radically different and new ideas without some resistance. If she is genuine and she does indeed begin to study these new ideas, she is likely to encounter quite a bit of resistance and argument from her friends and family. I think it would be great if evc could be a sort of refuge for her, a place where she will be encouraged and not ridiculed.Does anyone else agree with me, or am I being too optimistic?

Sylas writes:

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PS. berberry -- optimistism is good; but I have no optimism any more in this case.

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Nor do I. I'm back to where I was a couple nights ago when I more or less requested her suspension. I later thought there was a potential for some learning in des's case, but that thought has passed.If I may say so, what you call her worse-than-ever behavior should be more than enough to warrant suspension. Rocket was suspended for what seems like far less. He was a bit more offensive toward the administrators directly, but I think des has been just as bad if not worse toward most everyone else. It's time for her to go.

Aw, gee. Like Rocky & Bullwinkle, eh? I don't know if I should feel honored or embarrased.Seriously though, thanks for the thought.

Lam errs:

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I do not believe desdamona will ever be able to be cured. She is just too brainwashed by organized religion to be any better.

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I disagree. I've seen people like des change far too often. In rural areas of the Deep South fundamentalist Christianity goes virtually unchallenged. Everyone believes as des believes. When people from these areas move to the larger towns and cities, they encounter other ideas that don't jibe with their fundie world view. Sometimes they're changed by this experience. Des is quite possibly being seriously exposed to the idea of evolution for the first time in her life. Whether she has mental problems or not, she is going to have a very difficult time dealing with the conflicts between what she's always been taught and what she (may) want to investigate for herself.Someone commented earlier that des seemed to warm up a bit when she realized that she was being taken seriously, at least on some level, in spite of the fact that she's a woman. That could be more telling than anyone here knows. If she has been completed shielded from any ideas about women's rights for her entire life, I wonder if any discussion about the concepts of evolution and the big bang might be a case of putting the cart before the horse.In any case, des must not only agree to be civil she must practice civility if she is to get anything out of her participation here. Her record is not good and I'm in no way convinced that it's going to get better. I wonder if perhaps her journey to the truth, assuming she's embarked, might be best served by a temporary detour elsewhere.

For what it's worth, WT, I've never thought of you as a "stain". You're admission shows character. I admire you for it.

Next time they need a new moderator here they oughta look at you, Preach. You're very fair minded.

If she is gone I hope you're right that she left for shame. I'm worried a bit, though, that perhaps someone discovered what she's been up to on her computer. If that someone disapproves of allowing her to expose herself to the dangerous ideas we discuss on this forum, her computer might have been taken away from her.