I see asking any member of the clergy to think as being a thankless task.

@anglophone They.ve become like politicians. Follow the money and power and forget everything else.

Such mental defectives are incapable of rational thought.

It's called "the First Amendment". It is abused just as much as the Second Amendment.

@anglophone There are also laws against hate speech and in my opinion this qualifies.

@Betty Not in the US, mainly in Europe, where they are more civilized than us, have less corrupt governments, and thus, sensible gun control laws.

@TomMcGiverin That is sad considering how many have been killed because of hate.

More like everything wrong with religion. However, I would agree that religion is more of a problem than a solution in the U.S.

Without an anaesthetic.

@anglophone And in front of his sheep followers.

@anglophone Ouch! You really want it to be painful.

@Betty Considering the way he is hurting other people ...

@anglophone I would rather see him forced to put on a drag performance.

@Betty That would not be painful enough…….Fear and pain are great motivators.

@Betty Ma'am, I love your sense of humour.

@CuddyCruiser May be not but to lower oneself to their standards is far worse.

@anglophone I thank you kind sir, as I curtsy.

@Betty I so wish you were my age, lived in my area, and were interested in dating. You are a cool lady.

@TomMcGiverin Thank you for the compliment. How old do you think I am?

@Betty No idea, hard to tell just from what someone posts, that is, unless they start sharing person ifo, which I haven't seen you do. I am 64, are you anywhere near that?

@TomMcGiverin I was born in 1958 so I guess were about the same age.

@Betty Guess so. Oh well, another possibly compatible woman I will never get to meet or date. The story of my life, since I became widowed five years ago and entered online dating hell.. It's funny you are my age and live not that far from where my wife grew up, Buffalo, NY. Not surprising that you and her are more my type, rather than these Iowa farmer's daughter types that I am so horribly mismatched with in my local dating pool. I am close to resigning myself to being undateable here, unless I get very lucky and connect with some transplanted woman to Iowa, like my late wife was, because then I might finally find compatibility again.

@TomMcGiverin I'm sorry that is happening to you. You seem like a very nice person. I wish you luck.

@Betty Thanks, but I know that and so do my local friends. It's nice to hear it, but it doesn't really do me any good in the dating game. Ends up feeling more like the usual Thoughts And Prayers after each mass shooting. I wish someone who could actually help me find a woman felt that way about me. And I am a nice person, in spite of the many women here on Agnostic who have blocked me, simply because I was honest about my dating woes and pointed out some uncomfortable truths about women in online dating, that they were unwilling to hear or admit. It gets so fucking old and frustrating to deal with all that bullshit, both in the dating game and here on Agnostic, where both men and women are usually unwilling to be honest about the faults of both genders in the battle of the sexes and the dating game.

I have never reflexively defended or refused to admit the faults of other men in the dating game, but boy, have I run across so many women here on Agnostic who refuse to admit bad behavior exists among women in the dating game, and when a man shares about that honestly on here, they are so quick and predictable in how they reflexively blame the man and defend the sisterhood to the death. So I am tired of that double standard on the Agnostic boards..

@TomMcGiverin I'm not sending thoughts and prayers, I wouldn't do that to you. Just keep putting yourself out there.

@Betty That is how I took it. It is comforting, but unfortunately, it changes nothing for me in the dating game. I will keep trying, even tho I have little hope or optimism left. But my will to not be alone the rest of my life is, for now at least, greater than my desire to give up. I was very happy in the first 16 good years with my wife, before she got dementia. I want that kind of happiness again with a partner, which I have never had, before or after I was with her. So, facing another 20-25 years left for me, I sure as hell would rather be with someone good than alone. She told me early on, that I really seemed to like being married, unlike her first two hubbies, so I guess that proves that I am just one of those rare men that is really cut out for LTR monogamy, unlike most men, so it's so very fucking frustrating to realize I may never get the chance again, with the way the dating game is playing out for me.

@TomMcGiverin Maybe you're trying too hard. It might be worth while to take a break, hang out with your friends and look into doing something different that might interest you. (Hobby, volunteering, sport, etc...)

I met the love of my life in 2003 and I wasn't even looking for a relationship. We had 18 beautiful years together. I miss him every day. In my case, love came to me when I least expected it. Who knows, maybe that can happen for you. I hope it does.

@Betty I know you mean well, Betty, but please no suggestions or advice. I have gotten so much of that on here and am sick of it. Those offering it usually have no idea what I already have or haven't tried, and they are blindly throwing it at me, with no personal knowledge of what I have been thru. I find it condescending and actually very rude, tho I am not taking it that way in your case, because I know your intentions. But with most others, it is simply virtue signaling on their part and a way to not feel guilty because their situation, relationship-wise, is better than mine.

How would you have any idea if I am trying too hard or not? Have you ever read my Match profile or any of my messaging to women? You haven't, so you are making a wild guess. I have discussed this subject ad nauseum with my close friends, who know me way better than anyone on this site, and they agree with me that, since I am such an outlier for my local dating pool, that taking a break, as you put it, from online dating, would be foolish, because it would then be quite possible that I would miss out on connecting with that rare unicorn, someone compatible with me, that only rarely joins my local online dating pool. It is a numbers game, Betty, and I can't afford to miss any rare chances that might come up. Also, as a fellow non-believer, you should realize that the whole " they show up right after you stop looking" thing, is magical thinking and a cliche, something we should all be too smart to fall for or believe. Maybe there are other factors in my situation, which you are not aware of, such as a high ratio of men to women in my local online dating pool, or the fact that very few new women have joined my local pool in the last couple months.

So, always take a look at the objective, obvious facts, before making assumptions about me and my dating behavior. I am not trying to be insulting, Betty, but whenever someone ignores the objective facts and instead makes a reflexive and uninformed assumption about me, putting the blame on me for my dating woes, it frustrates me. Here's an empathy exercise you might find interesting. How would you, as as woman, feel for example, if you talked about how you are not able to lose the amount of weight you wanted to lose, and I, meaning well, started giving you a whole bunch of advice and suggestions about how I managed to do it, without having any idea of your medical history, eating habits, etc.? I think you, and every other woman here who read it, would feel insulted or offended, and I would be quickly attacked as an insensitive, misogynistic male. So think about that a bit, and then you might understand how the constant, blaming advice and suggestions, make me feel here.

@TomMcGiverin If I spent time complaining about my weight then I would be inviting the comments and suggestions your speak of.

All I know of you is what you have shared. Based on that I tried to be encouraging. If you are insulted then I apologize.

If you think you're going to give me a mental spanking then think again. You were the one complaining not I.

@Betty I was not trying to mentally spank you, but my point stands that, based on my experiences with these boards, everything I said about how it would all play out, with a woman complaining about her weight, a man weighing in with advice and suggestions, etc., would then result in him being attacked, accused of mainsplaining or worse, and then her feeling insulted. Just because someone complains here, does not mean they want or need advice and suggestions. None of us know each other well enough, compared to our close, offline friends to be qualified to offer it. If the person complaining clearly has no offline friends in their life, or says that is the case, then the Agnostic community might feel qualified, or at least justified, to offer their advice and suggestions unsolicited. You may not have followed me for very long on Agnostic, but if you had, you would notice that, unlike most people here, I do not offer unsolicited advice or suggestions to other members that I don't know from anywhere but here, at least not with any seriousness, rather than jokingly.

What I do offer, which I am qualified for, as an empathetic human being, is my honest feelings on what they have shared, and what my personal experiences are, if any, related to the situation they are sharing about. I do not tell them what to do to change their situation or even to change their feelings about it. I am not their therapist or life coach. I try to simply exercise as much humility and empathy as I can, about what I would want from others here when I or they, put themselves out here for judgement or comment on ourselves and our lives. And I notice these days that very few people are still willing to do that on Agnostic. It makes one ask the obvious ?, of wondering why that is these days? And I think the answer is obviously clear, it's about how they feel treated by most other members here, which is either being ignored, as I usually am, or being judged negatively, blamed, and attacked by others, and then blocked for defending myself after being attacked.

We should all be humble enough to not offer advice and suggestions unsolicited to strangers on a website, unless they openly ask for it. And anyone who actually knows me or follows me on here, knows that I am quite capable of asking for what I want from others, and that I do so openly.

@rainmanjr I’ve just finished reading a book on the US ambassador to Germany, 1932 to 1934. Much of the book is describing the early part of Hitler’s take over of the German government. The similarities between Hitler’s actions and Trump’s are truly remarkable and scary. The only thing saving us so far is we are a much larger country and Liberals are still a majority if they show up to vote. But we are teetering on the edge and a large swath the the South and Midwest are already in the hands of one Party rule, just looking for a leader with no morals to unite them against the Constitutional rule of law. Trump just wasn’t smart enough to pull it off. A DeSatan presidency just might overcome the barriers.

@Barnie2years He might overcome them but I'm of less mind to care. I'm thankful the people showed up this year to vote and hope they keep doing it. If not then democracy is like other forms of govt; impermanent. Whatever one lives through is what defines their life and conscience. 250 years is not a bad run, as it turns out.

@rainmanjr absolutely, in the rhythm of history.

Most of the evangelicals are just like this. I saw some woman saying people "should be talking about" the victims being in hell.

It for the most starts at home.

@CuddyCruiser It's from home that kids get sent to Church. Between that and school those kids had very little chance to not be ground up into packaged conformists. Add to those a boss who tells you we owe any success to god, and holidays which implore us to prey...pray, and it's amazing we still see an opposition to it.

@rainmanjr Totally!! Went to Catholic mass myself for 18 years, attended Catholic school until 7th grade. Them nuns were vicious. Ear-grabbing, hand and ass slapping and with a pointer at times…..and for nothing more than in saying a word like ‘ass’ or even ‘dummy’ or ‘stupid’. They would have made great NAZIS for sure!!