Yoda wrote:Kevin, you and I have been friends for a long time. And I hope you take my comments as non-provoking. That is not what I am trying to do. First of all, I agree that the statements that that nut said were awful. I don't think that anyone disputes that. (At least, I would hope not!)
Actually, I think you did Dan a favor by pointing this post out to him because he honestly has never heard of this guy, and, I believe, is in the process of de-friending him. I think it probably would have been a nicer gesture if you had contacted Dan privately about this rather than start a public thread about it, and, in a rather passive-aggressive way, accuse Dan of "letting things go" when it comes to racist comments from LDS members as opposed to non or anti-LDS members. I just don't think it was fair to assume that Dan was close friends with this guy, or supported, or, at the very least, "simply looked the other way", when it came to this guy's comments.
As an infrequent user of Facebook, I can empathize with Dan's position on this one. I often go weeks, sometimes months without checking Facebook, and I would be really upset if I was accused of having any type of racist proclivities simply because of something some idiot who commented on one of my Facebook threads had said.
Again, I'm not saying Dan is racist based on this. I know that a person on a Facebook "friends" list isn't necessary a close friend which is why I put the word in quotes. But my frustration comes from the fact that Dan goes after some and yet turns a blind eye when it it comes to worse offenses made by his fellow Latter-day Saints, and people he closely associates with. Maybe he never saw this post, and maybe he never saw any of this guy's posts. That's quite possible. But if this were the first and only example of a Dan Peterson "friend" making such remarks I never would have commented on it.
Besides, Dan's crazy defense of Will Schryver is enough to give pause to anyone wanting to give Dan the benefit of the doubt. We know for a fact he operates within a double standard.
But my main point with this thread is the ever growing racist mentality that thrives in Mormonism. Seriously, some of the worst racist remarks I have ever seen on Facebook are from friends of other Mormon friends, and rarely do I ever see anyone from the Church speak up to condemn them. This is about years of anecdotal experience, not just one remark by some weirdo who happens to be LDS.