I wish to make a point here.
I'm not at all concerned that the day after Easter the staff elected to close the Easter thread I created. That is understandable and fine.
What I want to address is the public discontent a few members went out of their way to put on public display. If a Muslim SOH member wished to post a purely celebratory thread regarding Ramadan, or a Jewish SOH member wished to post a purely celebratory thread on Passover, then I would take one of two responses.
I would either choose to respectfully abstain from participation, or I would choose to post a reply showing total respect for their core cultural and religious beliefs, and do so out of genuine respect for the aspects of their humanity that give them focus and balance. Personally, I would choose the second course because I would want to embrace the member's values as a pure act of friendship.
I am sure there are many agnostic and athiestic SOH members, and nearly all of them chose to respectfully follow one of the two courses of action I advocated myself above.
Why then a few chose to do otherwise simply is something that cannot be ignored. Why would SOH members go out of their way to be needlessly disrespectful is simply beyond me. Frankly, my parents did not raise me to be that way. Yes, we can debate objective issues. But, religious holidays are not up for debate, especially one that billions of humans consider important to them worldwide! Nor should the recognition be relegated to a quiet, dark, private closet at home!
In other words, we here at SOH should welcome members who positively share the important issues of their lives. Whether that includes births in the family, marriage, employment actions, or religious holidays of vital importance in their lives -- those should be celebrated by the membership at large. And frankly, if they cannot be, then what's the point of Newshawks in SOH?
At the same time, posting threads about family illnesses, tragedies, or other sad news is likewise to be respected. We should be in a position to provide each other moral support during hard times. If someone in such an hour of need ask for prayers, are they supposed to put SOH on a "not welcome here" list? And, again, if we cannot do this, then what's the point of Newshawks in SOH?
Finally, newsworthy events in virtual and real aviation have always been a core part of this Newhawks forums, and again, if not, then what's the pont?
Ultimately, those who cannot respectfully celebrate the variations in culture and values among humanity, and genunely rejoice that in our world such freedoms are cherished and celebrated, are frankly ill suited to make any arguments that they should enjoy such respect for their own personal beliefs and freedoms!
That Easter thread was in no way a debate point. Frankly, I seriously doubt anyone needed a history lesson on the origins of the holiday. There are only 365 days on the calendar (plus leap year day). It is virtually impossible to pick any day that enjoys an entirely unique role in history or celebration. After millenia of human history, the odds just don't add up.
And please, to turn such a thread into a referendum on what every staff member chooses as a personal belief system was really shocking to me! That reaction I never anticipated. I mean for next Christmas do the members need to poll in with parental status before posting about opening gifts on Christmas morning!
I guess what I'm really saying is there should be room and respect more than enough to allow pious people to celebrate their holidays without having to worry about stepping on someone's toes! And frankly, if there are members out there who's toes stick out that far, then I would frankly suggest they curl them in a bit to avoid the pain!
Sincerely expressed,
Ken Stallings
