Robberies...

I don't like robberies very much. The physical stuff, fine, it's "stuff", emotional scarring aside from knowing someone else has been fondling the property. However, it is when someone is trying to "rob" another (through guilt) of their right to have an opinion that I get really frustrated.

I have a friend who had somewhat recently posted something on her blog, voicing her frustrations over something that had happened at church. It wasn't a really huge thing (looking at it superficially), but in a way, it was something big. When people go to church, they expect to have the plates passed, and they expect to hear the Word of the Lord. Besides the readings (Old, New and Gospel readings), there is also a Homily (Protestants call it a sermon) that generally relates to or expounds on things mentioned in the readings. The particular instance that she had mentioned, instead of a full Homily, she was disappointed with getting a very brief Homily, and a very long statement about the church's capital campaign.

We get it. It's something that "the company" (a contracted 3rd party that helps to raise manage the funds, I'm guessing) "requires" that the announcements be made. I do agree, though, that right after, during, or in place of part ofthe Homily is bad timing.

But the point is that she had stated her opinion on her blog. At no time did she specifically mention names, places, or any other information (like Dragnet, names had been changed to protect the innocent). In due process, a few other members of the church discovered the blog, and the posts, and "got stupid". Quite literally, actually. They took offense at someone stating their opinion, about disliking something that happened, and tried taking her to task over it. These individuals also escalated it, bringing things to the attention of one of the Priests.

She mentioned that "she was robbed"... and now she has been. She voiced her opinion on a site that is hers (not sponsored or endorsed by the church), and now she has been "strongly encouraged" to censor what she posts. She has been robbed of her opportunity to voice her opinion.

As a side note, part of the "Conversion Story" posts that I had submitted to her (specifically, those where I expressed my disappointment in a few items from this year, also, equally non-specific for names and places) were also victims. For those that want things to run a certain way,that's fine. But if your skin is so thin that you can't take someone's opinion with a grain of salt, then you need to go find as deserted island to isolate yourself on.