Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the subject is critical and could be viewed as offensive. Why not title the thread "What is there to do in Louisville?" Why specifically talk about praying and why pair it with eating (which to me means overeating)? She specifically called out "praying" in a negative way and she did it on a forum where there are religious people who pray - I can't imagine why it would be necessary to do that unless one wished to be offensive to those who pray.
The religious activity is one of things that makes the Louisville area a nice place to live. There are lots of religious people here (from many different religions) who try to live according to a moral code and attend church on a regular basis. Most religions throughout the world espouse standards of behavior similar to The Ten Commandments. That is one of the reasons people are polite, people trust one another and crime is low in many communities throughout Kentucky. When individuals feel that they have accountability for their actions and an obligation to be honest, kind and hardworking (among other desirable things), generally that is where people of like minds want to live. Many of those types of people also are religious, some are not. Prayer, faith and gratitude to God are all good for you. Seeing yourself as the center of the universe is not.
There are some of us who actually believe that we are blessed by God for our obedience and we believe God answers prayers as well. For us religious types, daily prayer is part of our lives - an important part and we hold prayer, God and our religions sacred. So, we when see subject lines similar to the one on this thread, it seems little insensitive to some, maybe even offensive.
There are many obedient, moral atheists and free-thinkers in Louisville as well, full of purpose and joy.
That is a perspective I had not considered. It puzzles me a bit, but probably because I am not that familiar with the particulars of organized types of religion.
I am a spiritual person, with deeply held beliefs that are a private matter between me and my belief system. If someone were to comment in a similar way in a subject line, regarding what they thought about the private nature of my beliefs, I can't imagine being offended, as it has nothing to do with me, rather it is just someone's opinion. As long as I can enjoy my spirituality without direct interference with it from others, I am content.
Everyone's belief system is of great importance to them. But if someone didn't care for mine, well, guess I am saying that such an opinion isn't at all capable of rocking my boat much. I actually understand where they are coming from on that - we aren't all ever going to be alike or enjoy the same things or believe the same things. But I don't think that is a bad thing at all.
ETA: I forgot to say that I didn't detect any criticism in the OP, just observations, but that is just how I read it.
I just detected frustration with being around people who live relatively simple, uninteresting lives, according to the poster. I identify.
Of course, that's not to say that I or anyone deserves to be entertained by others. Bored = boring. If you want to stop being bored, then break away and find the unboring, and do things that excite you. Louisville provides plenty of choices.
I think the subject is critical and could be viewed as offensive. Why not title the thread "What is there to do in Louisville?" Why specifically talk about praying and why pair it with eating (which to me means overeating)? She specifically called out "praying" in a negative way and she did it on a forum where there are religious people who pray - I can't imagine why it would be necessary to do that unless one wished to be offensive to those who pray.
There is also something called overanalysis. Let's give the poster a break, Christian-like, ok?
I just detected frustration with being around people who live relatively simple, uninteresting lives, according to the poster. I identify.
Of course, that's not to say that I or anyone deserves to be entertained by others. Bored = boring. If you want to stop being bored, then break away and find the unboring, and do things that excite you. Louisville provides plenty of choices.
I live in a remote area now, get my hands dirty all the time from ranch work and fence fixing, and don't do a lot of the usual things that people find interesting. It is such simple living that some people would do anything to escape living like I do.
And I've found others that would do anything to live the same way we do. How people choose to live other than me is part of their life journey, not mine. I am content with how I am experiencing life right now, and so not rattled by the fact that some people sincerely don't like what I find vital.
I know when I was much younger, it took me awhile to find out what I found interesting in life, and how not to be "bored" (read "slow learner" in that aspect. Some people are better at generating their own excitement and interests than others, but even those of us who are not can learn to get better at it.
Last edited by sugarsugar; 07-18-2010 at 11:36 AM..
I think the subject is critical and could be viewed as offensive. Why not title the thread "What is there to do in Louisville?" Why specifically talk about praying and why pair it with eating (which to me means overeating)? She specifically called out "praying" in a negative way and she did it on a forum where there are religious people who pray - I can't imagine why it would be necessary to do that unless one wished to be offensive to those who pray.
I think it is normal that we all draw the line in a different place regarding what we choose to find offensive. I can't change the fact that other people feel differently about certain things, and there will never be complete agreement amongst all people on all issues. How I let that make me feel or react is up to me, which thankfully means I have complete control over eliminating those feelings (because they usually aren't happy ones, and letting go of them is good).
Observations aren't offensive to me. Actually, I go further in that actual criticisms about things that are crucial to me are not offensive either. My line in the sand, if you will, is if someone does a personal attack on me as an individual. That is something that should be addressed, because it isn't necessary or kind.
While there might be a way for her to re-state her query that would not cause you to take offense, I'm not sure there is any way to say something that is guaranteed to not cause offense to someone, somewhere, if they wish to take offense. In other words, if she changed her query in order not to offend you, should she then change it back in order not to offend someone else who holds a different view than you? Under the right circumstances, there could be no end to it. I always try to clear up what I meant if someone felt that it was a personal attack, for sure, because I don't like to see someone hurt by a misunderstanding of what I said or meant. But beyond a clarification, I let people decide for themselves where they choose to take offense.
My thought is live and let live in all cases, other than negative personal attacks. But that is only what I try to do, and sometimes I still manage to misjudge what people are getting at in their posts, too. The internet makes it hard to read intentions and clarity is sometimes foggy, and I'll probably never get it right all the time.
Last edited by sugarsugar; 07-18-2010 at 11:30 AM..
Reason: spelling, must be tired and old today.
I'm from Louisville and this board is the most religious activity I've ever seen from the city. Honestly, I don't know where you all are getting that Louisville is any more religion based than Boston or Providence. I somewhat wonder if your view is tainted by stereotypes and you view the city through that lens, when it very well may not be the case.
I'm from Louisville and this board is the most religious activity I've ever seen from the city. Honestly, I don't know where you all are getting that Louisville is any more religion based than Boston or Providence. I somewhat wonder if your view is tainted by stereotypes and you view the city through that lens, when it very well may not be the case.
Your logic is called the all or nothing scenario and it doesn't work with me - sorry. I find it interesting that in all of your posts you have to repeatedly point out how reasonable and unoffended you are - how nice for you. The post could have easily been retitled to something benign that would have not been offensive to anyone or called out any particular group of people (i.e., those who like to eat and those who pray).
I hear what you are saying, and it was part of my intial impression of Louisville when I visited there. I don't think there is a thing wrong with eating at the bland places or praying, but coming from up North, the religious activity level in every day life was unusual to me. You've run into a situation within that city where that is all you are getting exposed to, so you do need to seek out the kind of things you could enjoy doing, as you are trying to do.
There wouldn't have been adverse reaction, I bet, if you'd said that all you find are people who are obsessed with outdoor recreation and eat family style bland chinese food all the time, and that you were looking for something different. There shouldn't be any offense taken because organized religion was in the mix, imho. It isn't a knock on that activity at all. Another thing other should realize is that if one hasn't experienced living where organized religion is so pervasive, it can feel overpowering at first to an outsider. This is true about lots of things that might be ordinary to me living where I do, but not to a newcomer.
I was there several times on horse related business - wild shot in the dark here, but you could take riding lessons at a stable for a fun thing to do. Don't know how horsey it is now, compared to when I was there, but there were a ton of people having serious fun and challenges on horseback. I will say that the barn owners I knew were more involved in a public way about their religious preferences than I was used to from living in the NW. But it wasn't too heavy duty, and the people had a cool sense of humor, and an easy way of taking life as it comes.
As for eating - I never ate in a bland place there because I discovered bbq joints, there and later when I went to TN, and became a boring person myself who wouldn't eat anything else (because we don't have such marvels up North where I live Yummmmmmm.
The people in Kentucky, even though some of their interests weren't mine, were overall some of the sweetest and kindest people I've met, and same was true in Tennessee. Once you hook up with people of similar interests, I think you are going to have a great time living there!
BBQ? Bland food? Pervasive Organized religion? Louisville has good food but terrible BBQ. Good BBQ is found in western KY.This may describe small towns in western KY but not Louisville. I take it you never actually lived in Louisville?
Your logic is called the all or nothing scenario and it doesn't work with me - sorry. I find it interesting that in all of your posts you have to repeatedly point out how reasonable and unoffended you are - how nice for you. The post could have easily been retitled to something benign that would have not been offensive to anyone or called out any particular group of people (i.e., those who like to eat and those who pray).
I didn't make the thread brah. I merely state my opinions as I see them. I was somewhat offended by the title of the thread because I don't see Louisville is Bible-Thumper territory at all. I'd say that begins south of Nashville. As far as 'all or nothing' logic, I don't even know what that means.
Now, you are welcome to point out where religion has an overwhelming impact on Louisville, but I don't see it here more than any other American city. The bars are open to 4 AM, beer is sold on Sunday, and the city leans blue politically. Compare that to a town in the heart of the Bible Belt and it's night and day.
Louisville certainly has adequate communities for most people's desires, if they seek them. I am not bashing religion. However, I simply do not believe it's the case that Louisville is overwhelmingly religious -- any more so than Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Some people are better at generating their own excitement and interests than others, but even those of us who are not can learn to get better at it.
