Thanks for your nice reply. That was extremely well said. Respect!

I hope that my harsh comments haven't been considered personal attacks. I certainly don't intend to be mean or spiteful, that is definitely not my aim, but, like many others, I have very strong views on these subjects!
In actual fact, you have nothing whatsoever to apologize for, and I am really sorry if you have been hurt by any of my comments. We should all have taken more notice of your original post, where you made it quite clear that you would delete it if things got nasty.

I agree with smokey the elder, a lot of these problems arise due to the format that we communicate in. I was already unsure with emails - are they a letter or a memo? How polite/precise should I be? And "sms'ing" is a format I'll never learn to communicate in!
In this case we are discussing serious topics with people we think we know and understand, but we may in actual fact be worlds apart. The sad thing is that I'm sure such problems wouldn't appear if we were talking face to face, it usually only takes a wink or a smile and the problem is solved.

I am used to discussions or debates where no holds are barred, and don't usually have any problems with people being hurt or feeling themselves attacked or taking offense. That some people will have differing opinions than my own is just something I have learnt to accept as the norm. But they are usually discussions with people who know what I stand for already, or come from a similar background, so hostility and animosity are very rare.

Anyway, as I said, I hope that you can accept that these were in no way personal attacks, and I'm sorry if they distressed you.


john