Adieu to BHG

Ten years ago now, when Jeff and I first bought our "luxury lakeside condo" (heh), we were faced with a lot of unforeseen and undisclosed problems... and a few we knew about and took the plunge anyway. In my quest to figure out what we might be able to fix on our own and what we needed to hire professionals to tackle, I found my way to the message boards at Better Homes and Gardens online. There I posted my queries on the renovation board and the kitchen and bath board--I received some good advice, too. And from those boards I wandered over to the Family Issue board, where I became hooked.

It was a glimpse into a world I don't actually inhabit: a world of moms and housekeepers, mostly. But in that mix were a few kindred spirits. I started posting there and on the Mind, Body, and Spirit (MBS) board, where the topic was mostly religion. In those early days, there was a nice mix of folks posting at MBS. Sadly, it was eventually overrun with fundamentalist Christians of a single sect who pretty much told everyone they were going to hell--even their fellow fundamentalists on the board who had the audacity to be *gasp* Baptists instead of their particular cult. Given that, you can just imagine how this small band addressed those of us who were NOT Christians. Sigh. The board devolved to "them or us" type of arguments and a single troll who c&p'd some evangelist's daily online essay but never bothered to discuss her posts. Eventually, the troll was the last poster standing on that board.

Meanwhile, over at Family Issues (FI), some cyberfriendships were getting strained by the 2000 election. Bush supporters were aghast that anyone would call him on his blatant lack of intelligence... and so, to maintain good feelings, the powers that be began a new board called "General Debate" to attract the type of folks who like a good dust up away from the more sedate FI board.

It was a place for fairly hot and heavy discussions, especially in the run-ups to the disastrous Iraq war and the Bush-Kerry election. Come the primaries in 2008, though, things got really, really nasty. That's when the wingnuts started showing their true colors. And once Obama won the election, those same wingnuts now started singing the teabaggers' chorus... and throughout all this, the wingnuts (several of whom were the same religious cult members who killed the MBS board, interestingly enough) began reporting posts of liberal posters that they deemed to be violations to the board's Terms of Service. In other words--posts where they got their hats handed to them again and again... posts that showed their utter lack of logic and their absolute love of straw men arguments... basically, any post that disagreed with them. In turn, the board's liberal posters began reporting some of the more trollish and truly nasty posts of the wingnuts, several of whom were banned from the site for good... but who came back again and again under new names anyway. Sigh. General Debate was getting, well, tiresome. But who wants to just pack up and leave the board to the yahoos?

Which brings us to the past few days, since the horrific event at Fort Hood. As you might imagine, the wingnuts were and are all up in arms about Islam. Of course, the investigation is ongoing. The perpetrator has yet to offer a motive. But to the wingnuts, there's one and only one thing behind Hasan's actions: It was an Islamic Terrorist attack and proof that no Muslim can be trusted. You should see the posts. Or maybe they are best left unseen. I'm sure you can all imagine. What it boils down to for these benighted, terrified souls is that in their minds--because their own versions of mullahs have assured them it is true--all Muslims are terrorists. All Muslims are to be feared... and that's because Allah (no realization that Allah is Yahweh is God, of course) insists that all Muslims must kill those who are not Muslim. Sigh.

Anyway, religious bigotry is something that really chaps my hide. And so, I call the wingnuts on it. Particularly one wingnut who, after posting about how Allah insists all Muslims should kill all infidels, claims on another thread that she would never, EVER tar all Muslims with the terrorist brush. So I posted one of her screeds from another thread, which sets her off. And what do I get for my gentle rebuke?

I get a "time-out" from the BHG boards for violating the Terms of Service (although how showing a liar to be a liar violates any rules escapes me). But does SHE get a "time-out" for spewing her hatred and bigotry? No, of course not.

And so, after a decade of posting, I have decided to willingly extend my "time-out" into infinity. I figure it will give me back some precious free time I've been devoting to trying to debate idiots, in hopes that some lurker may see the light of day. And I'll bet it will bring my blood pressure down a few points too. I may even be more inclined to spend time here, updating more frequently.

And so, to my BHG friends who may find their way here, I say thanks for the decade. It was mostly fun. It was certainly a learning experience. I now leave the battle to those who still care to fight it.

Namaste.