I've been around this bunch for the past four years, most of which were spent on the old H2O. It is only in the last year, in this forum, that I have seen this particular type of disagreement take place. On H2O, the only people who didn't appreciate Alan's posts and humor were the JWs he was demolishing. That includes Rick, who at the time was still defending the WTS, and thus you can understand his sniping comments to this day.
I've been reading Farkel, Kent, AlanF, and others for years, and have gotten used to their in-your-face approach. I have disagreed publicly with this approach, and gotten into arguments with them about it. Finally I chose the live-and-let-live approach, figured that their way would be helpful for some JWs, and my way would be helpful for other JWs. Together, we could all make a difference, even if our approaches varied.
This year, things have been different. Oh Farkel, Kent, and Alan are basically the same, if not writing the same amount of researched posts as they used to. But why should they? Why reinvent the wheel when you can find their excellent posts on the Web. But the personalities of these guys are the same as ever, if a bit abbreviated.
What has changed as been suddenly a contingent of exJWs who have decided to attack them for their style, their approach. OK, this is fair, I suppose. I did this too, several years ago. If you don't like their style, it's free speech to say so. And these guys have responded to these new attacks as they responded to my own: they have argued back.
Now in the old days, before so much had been said and done, they reasoned with me as they argued, explaining why they post the way they do. Now, several years later of the same-old stuff, they seem to be abbreviating their stuff the same way I do. This new contingent is leaping upon that to say, "See, these guys have no excuse for their behavior!" and the pile-on is commencing. Perhaps several old-timers who never dared to express their disagreement with these guys are suddenly now emboldened to join the pile-on.
Not me. I'm not the type to attack the person instead of the message. I don't like Alan calling people "morons," although I understand why he does it. As I said, he has a method to his madness that varies from my own.
What I don't understand is why this new contingent doesn't get the point. Vive la difference! If you don't like a style, don't use it yourself. Don't insist that everyone do things your way.
In answer to the question in the thread title, Yes, we are all equals here as human beings. We are NOT equals in the amount of work we have put forth among the exJW community. Some have done more than others. Like men digging a ditch, while some work hard and others stand around and talk, although they are all equal as humans, they are not all equal in getting credit for digging the ditch. Jan, Norm, Kent, Alan, Farkel, HillaryStep, Maximus, Hawkaw, Silentlambs, LiberalElder, and others have been far busier digging the ditch of exJW efforts, and they deserve credit for what they have done. It doesn't make them better human beings. It doesn't mean you have to like the way they argue. It doesn't mean you have to like the language they use (ever listen to ditch-diggers?). It doesn't mean they are elite.
It does mean that they deserve some credit for their past efforts. If in the present, or in the future, they make mistakes, they should be called on them. But if you just have a disagreement in style, well, that ain't gonna change, no matter how much you bark. We are who we are.
