[titan9]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Ann Allusion)

and that is your choice..it is what you have chosen to do...and no one should hold it as a fault against you...by the same token...there are many of us that have chosen to support both the music and the man.

Might help if we look at it this way...

There's this guy playing music on the street corner and you pass by on your way to work every morning...drop a few coins into the guitar case..sometimes even stop to listen if you're not running late...you really like his music and how he communicates his songs/lyrics...they say something to you...yet, you do not know this guy, you've only said hello in passing or maybe not have even spoken at all... All you know of him is he speaks to you thru his music...and since the music/lyrics are part of him...you feel you can relate.

One day while you are listening to him a local gang begins verbally harrassing him...and the verbal harrassment escalates until it becomes down right ridiculous and degrading...

again, you know nothing about this person on a one to one basis yet, would you not step forward and say something reguarding the attitude of this group that is harrassing him?...he may be ignoring the taunts and harrassment, yet, isn't it quite possible that he is feeling the sting of each of those words being thrown at him?

This gang, btw, doesn't know this street corner musician on a personal level either...seems one of them asked him to play a song and he said later...and that just set 'em off...for some people that's all it takes...not getting what they want when they want it.

We are our brother's keeper, whether we know them on a one to one basis or not...it is about compassion and love...not only for them...but for ourselves as well...turn your back on one human being, when you could have shown support....what will happen when it's your turn? It's all connected.

the above, though a story, was meant to give an example of supporting another person, even if you don't know them on a personal level....and it doesn't matter WHO that person is...it is a common courtsey that we would show to one another, i would hope, because we are all on this Earth Ship together.

You've made a good point and I have to applaud you on that. I do hate to see the negativeness surrounding Stapp, the person, and have even defended him in the past, as a person. However, I realized that I really couldn't defend him as a person, because I don't know him as a person. I only know him as a musician. Of course, everyone has a differing opinion about judging Stapp the person, and my opinion isn't the same as yours. That I can accept, and that you have clearly accepted.

I hate to see anyone on here getting jumped on for voicing their opinion. It has happened to you, Ann, and has happened to other people(even myself in the past). It does seem like the pro-Stapp people get this treatment a whole lot more than the pro-Alter Bridge people, which is even more disheartening to see. It's really terrible the division that has occurred since the Creed break-up. You've got the pro-Stapp, non-Alter Bridge fans; the pro-Alter Bridge, non-Stapp fans; the pro-Stapp, pro-Alter Bridge fans. I've seen a lot of fighting between those first two groups, which really sucks. Many people from those two groups were once united, together, as Creed fans. Now that the break-up has happened, they are divided, arguing with each other.

The arguments are almost always about the guys(Stapp, Tremonti, Phillips, Marshall) as people, not as musicians. Stapp people jump all over Alter Bridge people for saying less than kind things about Stapp the person, while Alter Bridge people jump all over Stapp people for saying less than kind things about the guys as people. And if you defend Stapp and don't back down, you're called a Stapp worshipper. Likewise, if you do that with Alter Bridge, you're called an Alter Bridge worshipper. It seems to me that Stapp fights are most common around here. Any new Stapp thread is poluted with arguments about how Stapp is as a person. People who clearly don't like Stapp as a person, come in here and talk about him as a person. The Stapp supporters who are sick of the beating that Scott has taken in recent years, come in and defend Stapp. And it escalates from there.

These forums are a wonderful place to hang out. The only thing I don't like are the arguments about the people behind the music. If there were a few less arguments about the people behind the music, this board, in my opinion, would be a better place. Yes, I have ranted a bit with this post(and perhaps other posts in this thread), but I felt that I had to get my point across. Popular or not, everyone has an opinion. Let's respect each other's opinions, and, hopefully, there will be less arguments and these forums will be a better place for everyone, Stapp and non-Stapp supporters alike.