A much needed apology to the DU Catholics
Sorry guys. You ever lashed out badly at your parents as a kid and it immediately felt quite fulfilling, but not too long later you were racked with a guilty conscience and realized it wasn't so great? That's basically what I just got. I lived through it a lot in my teens too, over this exact same issue, with my mom (yes the same one I was bragging about effectively converting earlier, that came after quite a few years that involved a lot of strife and tension), and remembered the times I made her cry. Now that is really the thing that changes your euphoria from a release of anger to the worst ever.
I think it needs to be realized there are radically different wavelengths people are thinking on here, and understanding each other is not easy. It must be realized that for many, like myself, leaving the Catholic Church IS quite trivial, and yes is just as easy as switching from Coke to Pepsi. This is something that there is no doubt a wide spectrum amongst many in how they feel about this, sort of like how many do have a deep emotional attachment to where they grew up or even their current home, and the people I know currently who often basically end up moving as soon as whenever their lease is up. Both sides need to realize WHY this is and what certain people put value on can be radically different. When you're a 20something living in a "hip" urban neighborhood where most people moved to with one idea being to flee what they dealt with growing up and what they were born into, you only meet people from one side of the spectrum, and realizing the value that other people might put on things you don't can be difficult. I think the other side though should consider that for many a subtext that even if not intended can be conveyed by talk about "change from within" and how leaving removes your voice in this. I doubt it's intended, but for me at least, it's easy to read this as implying that anyone who does leave is some sort of traitor or sellout, and anger can flare. Once again, I don't think anyone actually did mean to imply this. But when this has happened to you at some point in your life or you have ever been accused of this sort of thing, it's hard to not have it in mind.
But this doesn't excuse the narrow-minded bigotry I can fall into and espouse, and I don't want it having a negative effect on DU. It breaks my heart to see anyone saying they are leaving, or even considering leaving, even temporarily because of all of this. I felt like I needed to speak my voice about something that affected me at one point pretty passionately, but there's a fine line that in this case I have difficulty crossing and I always have. So once again I apologize. I sincerely hope that we do not lose anyone on DU over this, and thinking that I might've given some the thought of doing so even for a second is a tough thing for a conscience to bear.
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