let them be to get away from the aggravation.

I wish them well.

take just a little blame for taking these people too seriously.

Typical argument:

"You're a monkey."

"I am not a monkey."

"Prove you are not a monkey."

"Huh? Why?"

"Aha! I win!"

Ever since the old froups, the first one to walk away from an argument was the loser. Stupid, but it worked that way. And there was nothing nice about unmoderated newsgroups-- I was once called a rapist in one thread and that thread always popped up on a google search of my name.

Anyway, as always, consider the source.

just not answer and who to put on ignore.

keeps them guessing, and eventually they give up. Meanwhile, everyone else reading the thread sees them in not such a good light.

There are too many unreasonable people on some of these threads.
They feel the need to argue and be generally unpleasant and rude.
Some need to convince others of what they believe or don't believe, not respecting the rights and space of others.

I thank you, Justin, for your contributions to the religion room as well as the interfaith and Catholics and other Orthodox etc. rooms.

Some in there just don't want a debate so I am not going to feed into it.

I just got a post hidden, and I am sicking of having my buttons pushed by the usual offenders. Call a person a 'smart ass' when they are being one, and you get the post hidden. Call a person delusional and mentally ill, and there are apparently no consequences.

I will hopefully enjoy some discussions with you here and elsewhere.

The jury system gets it wrong too many times.

I fell for the bait. The smart-alecky dig and the 'gotcha' debating tactics push even the most calm and rational persons buttons after awhile.

Thanks though.

Also another aspect of irony -It never fails to strike me that haters and baiters of religion frequent the "religion" group.
In a way they're like trolls.

I've never tolerated incivility in my everyday life, and since DU is now part of my everyday life, I've found it easier to just ignore, both literally and figuratively.

At least this time calling a fellow DUer mentally ill did have consequences.

Not my alert but a good result.

It is just so frustrating. There is only a small group that really pushes that meme. But they are vocal as hell and then they receive tacit approval for it from another cabal that play word games.

Ah well.....

I've pretty much given up on meaningful discussions there but I can't resist jerking a certain groups chains.

They've been getting more blowback than they can handle.

There's a small core there that prefer it to be a place to post cartoons and pictures of Jesus on toast and have a mockfest.

When people don't put up with those antics, they turn ugly, personal, and stupid in rapid fashion.

Oh, and whiney.

I'll think of those names when I see their posts from now on.

I have no formal training in psychology. None. Not even a freshman intro course.

But I do know what narcissism and grandiosity look like, and that one has it BAD.

I would bet the farm that you are not.

So why let anyone else, particularly someone with absolutely no standing, to say that you are?

When people call me "crazy", that's a showstopper. I might try to point out how offensive, rude and uncivil that is, but the conversation is pretty much over.

Engaging with some people, particularly bullies, is exactly what they want. They will also be able to kick up the nastiness another notch and certainly higher than you are willing to go.

So, take a break. Choose your battles when you return.

Don't feed the trolls.

You were right that feeding into them was the wrong choice.

Will just practice some self control and stay away and when I come back I will choose my battles.

We can certainly have productive discussions here. I know we're a pretty diverse lot who can bring a variety of perspectives to a subject.

and use ignore.

But if MellowDem tries to argue that "mentally ill" and "insane" are not synonyms, I shall respond.

Still need to stay away because it was unhealthy for me.

I do miss posting in there and hope to come back soon.