I wanted to bring this to my blog, because what I'm about to say isn't going to be allowed in the forums. Remember, before proceeding, that this is my blog, and I am not obligated to respect your position or opinion on any manner. There's a good chance that I probably will, though.

I want to take this opportunity to respond to a certain number of posts in the Soap Box without starting a flame war or taking the thread off topic. You see, when the conversation starts to veer away from the original topic at hand, moderators come around and are justified in closing them. That's why there are headings for each topic.

Let's proceed.

This is a forum where people who are gay, lesbien, transgendered, bisexual, straight, black, white, hispanic, asian, middle eastern and anyone else comes. We don't come here to be labeled as "the enemy" because of our faith. There are certain radical elements of every religion, and they tend to cause the most trouble in the world. Christians have Fred Phelps and Pat Robinson. Muslims have Osama Bin Laden. it happens.

When you label someone for their beliefs, regardless of what those beliefs are, you belittle yourself. You see, the reason I don't want this posted in a thread in the soapbox is because when I read such posts, my opinion for the people who say such things is lowered. This has nothing to do with the fact that they believe in something different than I believe in, or that they might not believe in anything at all. It has to do with the fact that they are painting with a broad brush, and each and every stroke of that brush hits me and everyone else in this community that holds a belief in their heart.

If you don't understand those beliefs, read a book. Or better yet, reach out to someone and ask some questions. Because, as intellegent as you try to sound in your critism of those of us who practice with "snake oil, smoke and mirrors", you really come off as an intolerant bigot, and there's nothing intellegent or enlightened about being a bigot. If my faith is a part of a "con" then that's my cross to bear, not yours.

I understand that some people on this board have been victimized in the name of religion. I think that's awful, and my heart goes out to you. I can also understand that some people are turned off by the fact that most, if not all, of the worlds major conflicts have been driven by religion. The war we're in right now is against a group of fanatics who want to force others to be what they are, or to murder them for not conforming. I also understand that there are those who claim to be men or women of faith, but who abuse their position in the church. Catholic priests, baptist ministers and muslim clerics are all guilty of such a breach of trust.

I'm not going to get into a long debate here on how the actions of a few can have a profound effect on an entire religion. We can all figure it out for ourselves. What I am going to do, though, is tell anyone who wants to belittle muslims, christians, hindus, jews, catholics, protestants, atheists, agnostics, gays, lebians, bisexuals, heterosexuals, blondes, men, women, transgendered people, satan worshipers or anyone else who might be different from you to get a grip. You're not better than anyone else here on GA, or in the world. This community is supposed to be friendly to people who are different, so don't point your finger and put labels on people who are just being themselves.