This is What I Get for Turning the Other Cheek

Last night, I received an e-card from someone whose email address I didn't recognize.  And when I saw what email address it was sent to, I was immediately suspicious.  It's an email address I only use on my old website that I maintained from '96 to '06.  But it was from a legitimate e-card site, so I clicked the link to pick it up.

Sure enough, my suspicions were true.  It was from a complete stranger, and it was an e-card filled with proselytizing Bible verses and whatnot.  (Part of my old website was The Atheist Attic, which holds more than 200 freethought articles.)

There was a day when I'd have replied with something snarky, perhaps.  Or with a genuine inquiry of why this person felt the need to do such a thing.  See, even at my most militant stage of atheism, I never, ever would have sent an email to a believer to tell them that they were misguided or fucked up or otherwise insult them.  Nor would I drop in on a religious forum and "challenge" the people there.  You would be appalled (maybe) by the number of vicious, insulting emails I've received from religious folks over the past decade or so.  And lots of believers feel obligated to try to "challenge" non-believers, at which point I believe they deserve whatever verbal reaming they get.

But I didn't reply.  Instead, I just deleted it, and was happy with myself for not giving in to the temptation of retaliation, even if only a polite, "please mind your own business" type of retaliation.

This morning, of course, I got up to find that this moron had sent three more of them after I logged off last night.

What an ass.