[Groop]The Groo List

[Larry Steller]

Ramble on, Larry...

In the close to 5 years that I have been a member of
this list, there has been VERY little HEATED debate of
the type that gets someone angry. We generally manage
to keep disagreements both civil and shortlived, which
is a good thing. I'm very proud of our little forum,
and remain so despite occasional bumps.

The few times things have heated up have almost always
been centered around OFF TOPIC POSTS. It was mutually
agreed upon a long time ago that we would try to
preface these posts with the legend "OT" to mean OFF
TOPIC, so that those who ONLY want to hear about Groo
stuff would ONLY hear about Groo stuff. In one of my
favorite exchanges to date, this was followed by the
brilliantly Grooish notion that in order to be EXTRA
clear, we should also label the posts that are ON
TOPIC. Of course, ON TOPIC posts would be labeled
"OT".

*sigh*

I love this Groop! 

Anyway, I think anyone who gets upset about the
current OFF TOPIC postings and the heat being
generated, should remember that the subject lines are
almost always labeled OT (for Off Topic, snicker,
snicker, not On Topic), or else the subject line has
made it clear that we are discussing NON-GROO matters.
It's therefore very easy to stick to Groo Relted Posts
only if you kep this in mind (although this sadly
doesn't help the Groopies who get this list digest
style. Oops, sorry). 

I don't believe there should be any taboos in our
discussions, that we should censor the content, or
that we should PREVENT anyone from discussing whatever
they want to discuss. I'm much more in favor of
self-policing, responsible behavior, such as is almost
always already exhibited. We try to keep the language
PG out of respect to Groop members who read this with
young kids at the knee, but we don't FORCE compliance
(we just pleasantly urge it).

Members of this list have developed such a strong
affinity for each other, the Groop feels much like
family to me (and to many others), and we're ever
eager to extend that familial atmosphere to anyone who
pops in and says howdy. This has caused a definite
evolution of this list, and we stray ever more off
topic because WE ARE AMONGST FRIENDS. 

I think this is a good thing, especially since anyone
who doesn't want to read about OT posts can always
exercise that right little finger and reach up for the
DELETE key. Nobody likes having their mailbox junked
up with unwanted posts, but I think this is a small
price to pay, because the ON TOPIC stuff is often
brilliant and vastly helpful (especially for those of
you who have received something in the mail from Our
Mr. Grossmann or participated in M.E.'s Groo Card
Exchange).  

One of AZAMIN'S main points in discussing the way
Islam interacts with the rest of the world, is that he
just wants people to be sensitive to how they
criticize, and both understand and care about how that
criticism is received. You know what? That is VERY
much ON TOPIC, if you consider the nature of many of
GROO'S morals/messages. 

I laughed like HELL at Andrew Iyer's forwarded post
about religious laws, but also understand it is VERY
likely to insult some members of the Groop, such as
Roland. I beg Roland's tolerance, actually I beg
EVERYONE EVERYWHERE'S tolerance of each other's
feelings, beliefs and opinions, but the fact is it is
impossible to comment on any religion anywhere without
risking censure, and trebly impossible to poke fun at
someone's beliefs without offending. Hey, this IS a
comedo-centric Groop, after all.

Again, I admit I laughed, and did so sadly realizing
people were going to be offended by the biblical
quotes and the context; once again, sorry about that.
I don't usually discuss such things, but my personal
complex belief system is, frankly, often in flux; I
was raised Catholic, but became disillusioned by The
Church, as well as by the actions of some individuals
who were dear to me whom I saw as Moralistic and Pious
on the one hand and aggressively Racist and Intolerant
on the other. Because of that, I put more credence in
the spirit of the message, rather than the literal
context.

My most firmly held belief is that, whatever the true
nature of God, it is far beyond mortal comprehension;
thus any belief system can be seen as "TRUE" to our
limited mortal comprehension, and any human
observation/interpretation HAS TO miss in the details.
It is up to each one of us to take what we learn about
peace, love, compassion and tolerance TO HEART and
live by example, whether we have learned this through
an organized religion or through common decency. 

"How I Deliver Discourse Evokes No Mere Evil, So Said
A Great Emperor." -R.J. Rellets

(If anyone understands this quote, please let us
know...)


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-Larry "Mr. Grooism" Steller

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