Thousands of Southern Baptists overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to advance a formal ban on women pastors in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, sending a clear message that men alone should preach to these conservative evangelical congregations.
Yes I know I’ve been an asshole in the past and I fully admit to that, I’ve mentioned it several times and it’s in my profile as well. I am trying to be more hopeful, positive, and have better interactions, as such, I’m trying to avoid negative interactions. I am sorry if I was a jerk to you. I’m working on it.
I’m not the person you were originally conversing with, but I appreciate this comment. I really relate to what you describe. If someone was to look over my profile now, they’d see someone who is broadly quite helpful and wholesome in their interactions. However, my default mode used to be “abrasive arsehole”, both online and in-person. Even besides the impact that had on other people, it made my head an unpleasant place to be, and so I put a lot of work into changing that.
It took a while (and I still sometimes slip into my old ways), but it gradually got easier, and I’ve found that I’m way more likely to have productive and meaningful discussion with folks online, as well as having the wisdom and restraint to step back from negative stuff. I think it’s especially tricky online, because it’s so easy to end up getting pulled into negative stuff, and it can feel like it’s impossible to have good faith discussions online. I don’t think that’s true — however, online communication does demand we put extra effort in if we want to avoid slipping into those harmful patterns.
I’m glad to see that you’re working on it, and I wish you luck in your quest.
Thank you for acknowledging it and for sharing your experience, I really am. We’re all flawed humans of course. I’m glad that you have been able to work on yourself in that regard as well, I think overall we’re all a bit guilty of it at some point, sometimes people just want to get into a fight to prove something to themselves or someone or the world and it has nothing to do with what they are saying. I’ve found I have a very low confidence in myself and as such I was always trying to prove something. Now I am much happier with the person I am and I have nothing to prove to anyone. I just need to work on letting go of some past tensions and old habits. But again, don’t we all.