I'm going to reopen this thread, but first, you need to read this:
This thread is supposed to be a debate about a specific topic. Debates can be heated affairs, I well understand that, but I am not going to tolerate what this thread has become.
The name calling and the put downs end NOW. If you lack the discipline or professionalism to state your views/ beliefs without resorting to mud slinging then stay out of this thread. Given the caliber of individuals participating I shouldn't even have to bring this up and that's what pisses me off the most.
If you have questions or problems, send me a PM. If you have a complaint about me, send Boon a PM.
Back to our regulary scheduled program.
I've been a little distracted by school lately and haven't been keeping up with this thread like I've meant to. Whatever happened in this thread, it was cleaned up and sorted before I got a look at it. But judging from the PMs I've received and the posting by Freefalling, there have been some shenanigans. That's disappointing. I was hoping that our little group was mature enough to have a rational discussion without it getting out of hand, it looks like I was naive.
I'm not a fan of Islam, but I didn't create this thread to bash the religion. I created it so we could rationally discuss what is perhaps one of the most important topics of our day, and certainly a topic that is relevant to those of us in the military. My intent in these types of threads is always to present accurate and complete information so individuals on the site can make up (or change) their minds based on the best available data. When things become personal or overly emotional, we lose the ability to do that.
These types of threads are also useful for exposing holes in your own arguments. For example, if you use "give me one example..." as part of your argument, someone is likely going to be able to give that one example. If you're basing your defense of Islam on attacking Christianity, how do you react if your opponent agrees with you, or refuses to engage on that topic? Threads like these are also good because they arm you with the ammunition of the "other side" of the argument, which allows you to develop counterarguments for the future. So, these threads are good because they have both educational and reinforcing attributes. They also help to alleviate biases and to clear up common misperceptions.
Think about some common misperceptions that we've cleared up on the site: how many of you think that you can't use a .50 cal against troops? Or say "roadmarch" when you mean "footmarch?" Or think that "irregardless" or "orientate" aren't real words? Pretty simple stuff right- so why do so many people keep getting it wrong?
Because they've heard it so often over the years, they believe it is true without ever questioning it or thinking to check on it themselves. If we can't get little things like that right, how many of us truly think we know all about a religion that most of us don't even practice? If you dislike Islam, fine, but understand and be able to articulate the "why." Same thing if you like or are neutral to Islam. Do you have enough information and/or experience to make an informed judgment, or are you simply believing what you've heard or been told to think, with no critical thinking on your own part?
One last thought: ad hominem attacks are the tools of the uninformed and the intellectually lazy. There are plenty of other SOF sites out there where we could go if we want to engage in that kind of behavior, we have higher expectations here. I don't know what happened here or who was involved, nor do I really care. The fact that it happened on this site at all, especially after repeated admonitions from the staff, is the issue. Very, very disappointing.
I'm glad to see that whatever happened here is over, and I hope this thread stays on track. I'd like to have more of these types of discussions in the future, but I'm not sure if we're ready for them yet.
