Wow, okay, nice of you to prejudge. What an open mind you have. (Though I certainly get it; no one likes to be shown they're wrong so consistently.
Of course I'm going to judge you by what I know about you which is whatever I've seen online. How else am I supposed to judge you? What other information about you do I have?
Well, if you're talking about "real life" meetings, you judge based on that. For what it's worth, I'm the same person, I put on no airs, but in person? I rarely if ever talk politics, and rarely if ever "lead" the conversation. I'm a curious person, and am interested in the people I meet. If you think a conversation with me in real life is a bunch of economics statistics and a lecture about how to post and how not to post, you'd be mistaken. Not because I'm two-faced, or a p****, but because the mediums are different.
I know people hate this word (because it's sticky and complicated and grey) but because the CONTEXT is different.
What about Trump? I don't want to know him at all "behind the scenes" because of the way he acts and treats others.
Open mind? How can I have an open mind when all the info I have is what I know? If you can give me *all* the evidence, you seem to think there's so much behind the scenes that nobody knows, then I can "choose sides". But we don't have that information, do we? All we have is what MP shows us and he shows us that he treats friends/family like dirt if you don't do what he commands.
Here's where you're wrong: we have THREE (at least) people that know Mike, have dealt with him, and talked with him personally about these issues, and have said, repeatedly, that they KNOW there is more to the story, and that we don't know everything, and what is not known is material and would likely change at least some people's views. Yet... some of you continue to plead ignorance about those things and stick to your world view.
So, just like all I know about you is what you write on DT forums, that's all the info I have to go on and based on that I don't want to know you at all and if that hurts you, so what, maybe if you really are "cool" or "nice" or "whatever" then why represent yourself otherwise and expect any other result?
Well, one, "nice" and "cool" are subjective; what I think about myself is immaterial, because I can't judge objectively. Some people think Beiber and Kardashian are "cool". And two, because I present who I am. None of us are one-dimensional robots. Part of me is analytical and serious, and part of me is fun and carefree. I've learned long ago that you can't please everyone. So I choose to be around people that are interesting, open-minded, don't pre-judge, and are curious and willing to experience new things. I'm not at all "hurt", per se, because it does say far more about you than it does me. I'm not at all scared or intimidated by people that are smarter than me or that think differently than me. I learn from them. They have the same facts and yet draw different conclusions, and that FASCINATES me, because I'm not delusional that I'm right about everything. I NEED to incorporate other people's world views into mine, otherwise I'm living under a rock, and may even be delusional. Even the people I think are dicks here (and I'm being honest: there's really only one, as far as I am concerned) I want to meet out of sheer curiosity.
Which is what I'm doing here with Derek and Mike, et al. I DON'T know everything, I KNOW there's more info out there, so I withhold judgment and see where it goes. Whether Derek is "childish" or not is in the eye of the beholder, and is therefore meaningless. The best we can do is say "I don't like it when he does that".