I just wanted to post this in a different thread because I wanted everyone to see it....and some may not have been following that thread.....I just want us to all step back and take a look at the people around us (virtually, of course) and appreciate them for who they are.  I know that some of you absolutely hate TnT......and I can tell you that if he could take back that one comment (we know the one) then he would.  The fact is....he can't.  As a forum, we have never let him live that down, regardless of how many homelsss people he is taking water too in the extreme heat, that one remark is always in the back of everyones mind.  Grim gets judged by a name......and the way he types.  Why are we judging them?  Even if we don't like them, they are still someone's husband/father/son/friend.....and most importantly, they are dog lovers.  I'm just making this post because I feel like these 2 are targets here......and I wish they weren't.

I enjoy the posts made by the Reaper and TnT very much.  Both have their own way of things.....one from the dark side and the other from a darker side (I mean that in a good way...lol).

I never post to either one of them because I love the mystery of the 2 just the way it is.  "Getting to know them" would just ruin it for me.  I like things the way they are and get a giddy feeling when I see that one of them has posted.

I encourage you all to see them for what they are - different people.  Neither has inflicted any harm upon us and usually post something interesting, (or worth debating) even if we don't agree with it.

The thing we must remember is that we can't hate people because they are different.  TnT has made some questionable comments in the past that I think he sincerely regrets......but he grew up in a different era than me and in a different part of the country.  Whether I like it or not, I have to respect the fact that things aren't the same everywhere and people aren't the same because of the environments in which they are raised.

Studies have proven that our environment 'creates' who we are so much more than our genes do.  Search the internet for "Nature/Nurture" and you'll find some interesting reading.

See, in our own environments we all think we are right.  GR think's he's right, TnT thinks he is right, I think I am right, and so does everyone else......and guess what?  Most of the time we are right.....for our own environments.

When someone makes a comment that really angers you stop and ask yourself.....where are they from?  how old are they?  did they grow up like me?  is their town like mine?  what values were they taught?  These are the things that make us different people.  I don't like the fact that other countries eat dogs.....but I can respect the fact that had I have been born there, I would be eating them too.  If someone came on here talking about eating BBQ Lab.....of course it would cause a hell of a debate here.....but the truth is......that person was raised with that being a normal way of life and to them it is not wrong.

In other countries, cows are considered sacred and are never eaten.  What do those people think of us?  We eat them daily.  Why?  Because it is right for our environment to eat them, and it is right for their environment not to eat them.  So we are all "right".Difference of environments doesn't have to be countries away.  With our country as the melting pot, it can be right next door.

I think we just need to accept the fact that we will have all walks of life represented here.  Instead of condemning them for what we don't agree with, why not try to learn from them?  Avoid the topics which you just cannot hold back on and join in on the ones you can.  Don't "pick on" or question someone just because they are different.  Question them becausee you want to learn.  Open yourselves up......be accepting.....and understanding........by doing so, the world becomes a much easier place to deal with.

I just want to add that this is not in response to anyone's comments on that thread per se, just an obvservation as a whole since both have been membere here.

I think its safe to say that they don't like each other, but maybe they can learn something from this as well.  I know its hard sometimes,.......but lets at least try to make them both feel welcomed here.