The problem is, the last image is indeed correct. I have no interest in making this forum responsible for someone committing suicide.
Given that declared homosexuals and transgender have higher suicide rates than the rest of us, it pays to not casually throw words around where they are concerned. Your sense of humor is not welcome on this. I do note, however, that you seem to have recognized this and largely dropped it, and for that I commend you.
But I should note, that such reckless use of language and comedy in general can give off the impression “you don’t deserve real communication from me, you’re stupid” and make people feel alone. And feeling alone, like no one understands you, you are not worthy of being understood, no one cares - that is the thought process that leads people to the bridge.
Not to mention the fact that you’ve just insulted the hard work and time that the person put into writing their post and said that it was worthless, which also isn’t helpful. A debate license is not a reckless comedy license.
As for the rest, I will get to you over in everyone’s favorite topic in a few minutes.
You have some very good points, and so does @Levi_Orangeburst.
While I understand that some of you are emotionally mature beyond your years, and some of us are emotionally mature because of the extra years we have, I have been informed by the peacemaking counsel that we are in somewhat of an emotional china shop. So if you are in emotional distress reading this, you are not alone here. Really.
I interviewed all the alpacas in response to this situation, and all of them were willing to help. Ratgur offered ice cream while Violet was more inclined to want to blast whatever was causing you pain, but they were all on board. Sometimes emotions are just the worst and all you want to do is hug an alpaca (or the IRL equivalent) and cry. And that is totally okay.
One thing I have learned is that I have to make space for me to feel things and not beat myself up for having them. So if you ever want to private message me about what you are going through, I am willing to listen. I really am, especially if I’m the cause of the distress.
Unfortunately, however, I may not be the best person to tell because emotional distress tends to send me into intellectual problem solving mode right away. That’s how I deal with my own emotional distress - I analyze my emotions and solve the intellectual problem that is causing me emotional pain. I also, as you have seen above, reserve the right to protect my own emotions by not feeling along with you. I am so terrible on this, guys and gals. rubs forehead I have gotten really good at using my intellect to protect my emotions, and that is how I go through life. What I can promise is that I will never judge you for your pain or what you have suffered from. I’ve lived through plenty of emotional distressing situations and endured many judgmental responses for all the pain I was experiencing.
In addition, I and the others here are limited in what we can do for you. I can give you counsel toward whatever it is and sympathy so you know you aren’t alone, but I can’t actually give you a hug and cry with you or buy you ice cream. I would if I could though.
I do need to make some plushies, too, but still. It is wise to seek out the support of IRL friends as well or instead of coming here.
Yes, I see you, and I am willing to listen. But there is a difference between a college classroom and a therapy office. And Law and Order, believe it or not, is actually more of a college classroom than a therapy office. That doesn't mean that college classrooms don't deserve to exist, nor that Christians cannot witness for Christ in them, nor that seeing debate and proper debate conduct on an online forum isn't a witness to the world. College-classroom style debates belong on Law and Order and on the forum in general. And they are largely safe for kids.
But as for therapy office stuff, do you really want your emotional distress and personal problems on the front page of the New York Times? Moreover, do we have the right to subject a bunch of little kids to our emotional distress and pain? Is it fair to expect a random person on Google to understand your emotional pain?
Not really.
A few years back, I had a public mental breakdown on the Internet, and while it was under an anonymous name with less consequences, I still regret it. I am now able to talk about the information inside the breakdown articulately and understand it because it is now behind me, but in the intensity of pain your writing skills can break down and you can stop making much good sense. It's hard to get people to accept emotional distress language when you don't even understand the pain you are going through yourself and the revelations come in waves. So you have to wait for the pain to stop and the understanding to come before you type. At least, publicly, on the forum. If you are going through something and babbling inarticulately in caps lock, that is NOT a good witness for Christ.
It really isn't. If you can't understand your own emotions enough to control yourself, how can you understand anything else?
So in terms of emotional distress inadvertently caused by our fellow forumers, the empaths and peacemakers do indeed have wise counsel: take it to private message. It is the emotional distress that should not be here in raw form inside a debate topic. That doesn't belong in Law and Order, it belongs in Prayer Requests.
My point (should Mr. Fox actually read this) is that while we have a responsibility to be gentle with hurting souls, we also need to realize that Law and Order is a bad place to discuss personal agony. We can discuss intellectual topics that may just happen to be related to and affecting your personal agony, but it's a bad place for the expression of the agony itself. Personal experiences dragged in Law and Order are intellectual data to be examined by others about how well it supports your argument - it's not a venue to get sympathy and emotional support. Private message is far better for that. Therapy works better on the internet underground, away from the cold eyes of Google, judgmental parents, and sensitive children. Yes?
Meanwhile, if it is merely an intellectual objection, there are ways to mitigate that "if your parents don't want you on this discussion, don't view it or post in it, I'll let you know when that topic is safe for you again," that type of thing. Encouraging parents to be on this forum with their kids might help too if they are worried. But I think the point about emotional distress and subjecting people to it or recklessly assuming that emotional distress and human communication is invalid is the trunk of the poisonous tree.
It's not the debate that has to go private to protect the kids, it's the teenage/adult emotional distress that may have been caused by the debate, largely. There's a difference.
And that's where I'm at in my thinking here. To Law and Order, here we go.