Corruption in politics?

The last bit I posted was about a bit someone offered to a social networking site.  Basically, some guy blamed Las Vegas, Nevada for being a gambling, whore chasing drug addict.  The conversation on the subject got more interesting.  It evolved (devolved) into a new subject... "corruption in local government."  I felt compelled to comment.  As soon as I did, my comments were deleted and I have apparently been blocked on that particular page.  That's fine by me.....

Before the subject fell to the depths of "corruption" there were a few people commenting on the proper pronunciation of the state name, Nevada.  It got pettier when someone else professed, "a real Nevadan knows that it is "Las Vegas" and not "Vegas".  (Turns out, this person is not from Vegas but feels that since she moved there when she was 5... she's just the same as a person born in Nevada.) 

Right now, you're probably thinking that this is some pretty ridiculous shit to get worked up over.... and it is.  What bothered me in particular were the people who were trying to set precedent for whom could and could not respond on the subject.

Anyhow, back to the "corruption".  A gentleman took it upon himself to state that "unless you are a 5th generation Nevadan, you aren't allowed to comment on the subject."  Initially, I had a problem with the "5th generation" thing.  I was bothered by the notion that this guy thought only someone who had been around for 5 generations could possibly understand "corruption" or Las Vegas in general.  The more I read, the more I realized that this person wanted to be the compass of the conversation and took offense to basically anything else anyone had to say.

I decided to take this person to task.  First off, its not my fault that I was born a 2nd generation Nevadan.  You simply can't choose when and where you are born.  From there I stated that anyone is entitled to their opinion and had to explain to this turd that his opinion was just and "opinion".  Lastly, I conceded that he and I were probably a lot closer on the idea of local government corruption.
I went on to say that the valley was settled by the Mormons and the Mob and stated that both groups integrity could certainly be questioned through history.  I added that the same could be said about a lot of other people who eventually moved into the area.  That was the thing that apparently kicked off the melt down.

The man got pissed off at me because I eluded to the fact that "Mormons were less than truthful Christians" and that his people "lacked integrity".  It was obvious that the guy completely misunderstood what I was saying.  I wasn't attacking all Mormons and the entire religion but eluding to the fact that Mormons did settle the area.  There was a small "Mormon owned" bank called the "Bank of Las Vegas" that did open business with the Mob.  The Mob has "questionable" business ethics and I felt that anyone who dealt with the Mob was probably as questionable as the Mob. 

The man began to berate me, called me "knowledge-less" and said that I couldn't talk about his religion the way I was without being called out.  (Good, now we're engaged for more of a subject that he knows little about... his own religion.)  I said, "In regards to Mormons always being honorable, can you tell me anything about the Mountain Meadows Massacre?".  For those not familiar with the incident, basically a Mormon militia tried to coerce local Paiute tribe members to join them in attacking a wagon train from Arkansas.  The kicker was, this militia dressed like the Paiutes and were trying to make the attack look like some of the other attacks happening on pioneers making the trip west.  (Part of the problem was, some of the survivors realized that these were white people dressed like the Paiutes that were responsible for the attack.)

The man knew nothing of the attack.  Because he "didn't know", it didn't happen.  And I reinforced what I was trying to say... even some Mormons lack honor and integrity.  It happens everywhere, all of the time, and smaller local governments can be less than honorable.

In an attempt to clarify something, I'd like to say that I have no problems with Mormons.  I know a lot of great people who are Mormon.  I would rather conduct personal business with these people over some of the people in my own family.

That was the point in which I could no longer participate in the conversation.  I was blocked.  A few minutes later, the entire conversation was stricken from the record.  I really am okay with that.  It's not like there was anything to win in an argument with a self appointed discussion monitor.  I guess I found it interesting that this person could have the nuts to say who could participate in the discussion.

In an attempt to clarify something, I'd like to say that I have no problems with Mormons.  I know a lot of great people who are Mormon.  I would rather conduct personal business with these people over some of the people in my own family.  By the way, I am also of the opinion that Vegas (the casinos/gambling business) was better when the Mob ran the show.