It could have something to do with the fact that I was told in response to my (deleted) post that I shouldn't use this thread as my personal rant. Yet then, it became just that with the bombardment of posts pushing compassion and Christmas cheer. Not that I have anything against Christmas cheer, it's just that one or two posts on it would have been enough and then time to move on. Otherwise, it does come across to me (and apparently some others) as preachy (or worse, bullying). It's all in perception and not necessarily intent. The difference between a rant versus getting a point across seems to depend on which side of the discussion you are on.
I can only speak for myself when I saw this thread bumped up again this morning. The first thought that went through my mind was "great, here we go again with the not-so-subtle bashing". Following so closely on the heels of 2 locked and 1 deleted thread, I'm sure how you could understand why I might think that.
What one considers encouragement, another considers preaching. If I tell my kids the same thing over and over and over again (even if I have good intentions and am convinced I am completely right on something) sooner or later they are going to tune me out, and may even lash out just to get me to shut up (did I mention I have teenagers?
) Again, it's all in our individual perceptions and biases- just like all those other threads.
Maybe now would be a good time for all of us to step away from this thread for awhile, until cooler heads prevail on everyone's part. I, for one, am going to try to find the Christmas Cheer thread to help keep me awake while I am waiting up to see the eclipse.