[titan9]

Well, Marcos(by the way, my name is Michael, but I rarely go by it on forums, lol), if you do remember, I did defend Scott a heckuva lot a few months ago. And by that, I mean, I defended him as a person. But like I believe I have said earlier in this same thread(the thread is so long, I can't remember if I said it or not!) I finally realized, who am I to defend Scott Stapp the person? I mean, really, I don't know him at all. I know and love his music. I'll defend the heck out of Scott Stapp the musician, but the person? I just can't do that.

Even in those posts in which I defended Stapp the person, I always tried to be respectful of other people's opinions but at the same time, never backed down in the heat of an argument. Eventually, the argument with me and another person(or, at times, a few different people) died down and eventually, we found something to agree on, something to make peace with. The discussions I had with non-Stapp fans always were pretty peaceful and not hateful in the slightest bit. I never felt like I was being torn down as a person, just having my opinion questioned. Which was fine by me.

I have realized that not every single thing I say will be applauded by someone, or even agreed with. I realize that it is my opinion, and by saying it, I, in a way, am opening myself up to harsh criticism or possibly a heated discussion. But if I came here to post my opinion, I need to be prepared for someone to disect it and need to be prepared to defend my opinion if necessary. And, really, I don't have to, because, afterall, it is my opinion. If people don't like it, fine by me, but I'll try to respect the fact they don't like it. I'll respect their opinion and hope they do the same for me.

I have also noticed that a lot of Stapp fans that have been here in the past, are hardly active here anymore. It could be a combination of things: PBF, lack of interest in these awesome forums or maybe even people who just think that they are un-welcome here. I honestly think that two of those things I mentioned are mostly to blame: PBF(an awesome fan site, by the way) and those people feeling un-welcome just because of the treatment that some are receiving, just because some are having their opinion questioned. People shouldn't feel that way, and I personally don't. I get my opinion of Stapp's music questioned here, but I don't mind it at all. It doesn't make me feel un-welcomed here. Because, again, it's just my opinion.

I wish that everyone here could get along and these fights would cease to exist. But, unfortunately, that probably won't happen. I guess all we can do is just try to be respectful of one another's opinion.