Chica,

Like Wolf said, you certainly have no need to apologize to us. Actually your posts certainly changed the tenor of the thread, to me it did.
I was uplifted by the Father Macías story.

However, I do owe someone an apology. Paloma, I do want to apologize to you, you did not deserve my little snide comment. I hope you will forgive me. I misunderstood your comment.

There are threads that are very sensitive to many of us. We know that the ETA topic always brings disharmony and discontent among us. I stopped asking questions about ETA when I read the agnst in some of the member's posts, and realized that for the sake of group harmony and mutual respect it was best not to enter into these discussions. I was not the only one, since there has been an absence of these in the past few months.

Likewise, the immigrants posts are very hurtful, there have been three of these types of posts. Not because of the ideas behind immigration,I think that those are as viable a topic as any other. What is hurtful is the way that immigrants are represented in some of the posts, in a very negative way. That is hurtful, and of course, some of us will respond.

Perhaps the only way that we can, as Pim suggests, "get along" is to decide what is more important continue posting hurtful posts, or build our friendships. I prefer to build our friendships.

Guess what! It's time to quit this topic. It's going downhill FAST with all this name-calling, flaming, and other things we don't allow 'round these parts. We've all stretched the boundries of the message board and it's about to snap.

Saludos, MadridMan

P.S. I read a posting on a travel message board that MadridMan's ALL SPAIN Message Board has lots of good information BUT also has a patronizing tone about it. WHO NEEDS that kind of reputation? Yes, we're here to discuss things but let's keep our heads. ¿Vale?

The title of the thread itself is patronizing, the opening of the thread is patronizing, ERT has set out to be patronizing not only in this thread but in the Vanity Fair thread and Hostel Playa, 'all South Americans are rude'. I'm wondering,...and it seems to me that it's not the nature of these threads that bothers you MadridMan but the defensive responses from myself and people like myself.

I don't wish to apologise.

I suppose my question is this, why stop this thread now when many people have given their valid arguments to show the problem with such a statement as 'Almost all the pickpockets and...'?.
Why have you waited for s... to hit the fan? Or did you not count on any Ecuadorian participants coming on this board?

I understand things a lot clearer now, about Spain and I have to thank ERT for that, I understand more about this board and the participants better now. Por lo bueno y por lo malo.
I've made a few good friends in the time I have joined this board- I can't ask or expect for more, since this board could represent a microcosm of society itself, racists, non racist, tthose who have been assaulted by Spaniards and those by non Spaniards.

Though I disagree with many of you, and that's ok, I would still go so far as to say this board represents a fair balance of people in society. But it is fmiketheman's post which I would say represents the board as a 'whole' and believes this board should represent the utopia Spain- ignoring all it's problems.

My apology would be to Taravb with regards to the gypsy thread, I didn't have much sympathy for Taravb or the Gypsies but now as a result of that discussion have started to read up about them and feel the richer for it.

Michelle.

miche wrote: I value discussion on all topics even if they're a bit controversial. It's when discussion turns to fighting and name-calling that gets my sheep.. umm... I mean 'goat'. I don't single you, miche, out at all and, in fact, I now only skim the postings in this and the "This Damn War" thread in order to get a "feel" for its "life" because, at least for me, they don't fit my personality to debate such topics. I'm one of those people who never go to demonstrations either.

But you're right miche, this thread had a bad start and it only got worse. Time to quit and go on to other things.

Saludos, MadridMan