ABEL\'S UNIVERSE (General)

by dhw, Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 14:26 (4757 days ago)

DRAGONSHEART (under Intelligent Design): Tony would DEFINITELY tell someone the truth, even if it was painful. He has always been this way, and I, for one, appreciate it. He's told me on no few occasions when I was being a butt-head (I was). I can always count on his honesty. But, he does prefer constructive criticism over cruelty. It's not a matter of telling someone the truth in a manner that hurts them, it's more about telling them in a way that helps them.

First of all, I’d like to say how much I appreciate Tony’s (b_m’s) defence of this website. I too have come to regard many of the contributors as personal friends, even though we’ve never met. There’s wonderful comradeship to be gained from shared interests and from arguing the toss, in the full awareness that although we may never know which way the coin landed, the discussions themselves will continually reveal new aspects of the astonishing world we live in, not to mention the astonishing body that enables us to experience it.

Abel’s aggression has been directed mainly at myself, although others have expressed their scepticism – most notably David, who has not minced his words. I would like to think that my own posts to Abel correspond precisely to DragonsHeart’s description of Tony’s approach, except – I must admit – I would never tell anyone to their face that they were fat, ugly or stupid, but would look for a more tactful way to approach the subject! None of my posts to Abel have been deliberately offensive, unless it’s deemed “derisive” to point out what seem to me gross inconsistencies and claims that cannot be substantiated. Abel has not responded to Tony’s criticisms, and he has not responded to many of my comments and questions either. His silence will remain open to interpretation until it’s broken.

I’m opening a new thread with this post, because we’ve left the subject of Intelligent Design far behind. I’d be grateful if everyone would put new Abel-related posts under this heading, to avoid further overcrowding. I also hope that Abel himself will take to heart the genuine attempts that are being made to establish a basis for rational discussion.