One of the reasons I blog is to work things through and process things for myself. I also do it to share information. This post is for both.
A couple of weeks ago I participated in a discussion on JCecil’s In Today’s News Blog. I had not been visiting that blog as much since the exchange with the host there last November. However, a friend let me know that a visiting priest in the comment section was fending off ad hominem attacks from an anonymous commenter like this.
I participated here, my most substantive comment was here, here, and here The attention of the anonymous commenter soon turned towards me.
I will let you the reader make your own assessment on the thread and how it proceeded.
(A note – those comments have since been deleted. Basically Anon was threatening to contact Social Services to report… well I’m not exactly sure what, but she intended to use my children as pawns and Jcecil did nothing to stop it. )
What concerns me is the response of Joe Cecil to the comments on this thread. After several days he finally responds to the anonymous commenter:
You do have some valid points, but did come across as directing a personal attack against Fr. Michael that was uncalled for. I don’t like personal attacks on my blog, and this time, you started it and extended it not only to Fr. Michael, but David and Elena. Please refrain from this sort of thing.
Fair enough. However, another commenter named David B, and I received a quite different response.
David and Elena,
Anon crossed the line while I was not paying attention. I openly admit that. Had I been paying attention, I would have tried to stop it – maybe even amending or deleting her comments, as you know I am willing to do.
The bad behavior of Anon does not justify your own retaliation on MY blog. I don’t know why the two of you seem to act as though this is your blog. It’s not.
As my rules state in the sidebar, I am the only one authorized to enforce my own rules around here, and you are not to direct personal attacks at me or anyone else – EVEN IF THEY STARTED IT!!!
I take that to mean that regardless of how mean spirited, vicious and personal an attack is, we were to remain in effect, impotent.
He continues:
Please grow up, you two. Your behavior is exhausting, and you are coming very close to being banned – an action I loathe taking, as demonstrated by the fact that I have yet to do it no matter how exasperating you can be with your childish behavior.
(I actually e-mailed Joe and expressed my dismay with his comment. I also asked him to ban me and to remove the link to my blog from his side bar. To date, I have not received a reply. )
Let me be very explicitly clear, I consider it to be extremely childish and mean and simply not permitted on my blog for you to make mean comments about anyone actually reading, no matter what that other person has said about you.
I consider it immature and mean on your part to criticize me for having a life outside of blogdom where I may not enforce the rules as quickly as you would like. My failure to enforce my own rules does not EVER, under any circumstances, give you the right to even hint mean things about another reader or me – period.
Be more like Fr. Michael and look to take the high road next time.
I want to make three points:
1. If you are not of the same mind as JCecil, do not expect any help or support from him in any way, shape or form, even if the comments become off topic, rude and even threatening. For conservative orthodox Catholics, particularly if you are a woman and a mother (ironic since a big focus of his blog is women’s rights)this is NOT a safe blog to be participating on.
2. Likewise, if you are a conservative orthodox Catholic, expect a double standard to exist. You will be treated as an unwanted step-child or worse.
3. Lastly, I have long suspected that when JCecil reads something it is with a twist. I first suspected it when he used Humanae Vitae as the church document that may support contraception and same-sex unions! After reading his reaction to the thread on his blog I am absolutely convinced that his interpretation is filled with more zig zags than my sewing machine. It is absolutely impossible, in my opinion, to ever be able to reach any type of reasonable understanding with him.
The top of In Today’s News says it’s purpose is to “advance progressive Catholic views.” A friend of mine said it best: If this is, “representative of progressive Catholicism, count me out!”
Related Tags: Progressive Catholics, debate, ad hominems, blogging, Catholicism
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