Judge Not Lest Ye Get Involved In A Flame War


On an otherwise very peaceful mailing list to which I belong a certain amount of disagreement has broken out regarding judging others. In most other lists this would not even be recognized as a disagreement; but for us it's a flame war and has resulted in a couple of "retirements" from the list.

The issue that triggered it doesn't really matter (but if you're interested, it was the degree of blame that rests on Terri Schiavo's husband). But what strikes me as astonishing is how much more upset some folks can get that X is judging Y than about the subject matter of the evil itself. It seems there is a built-in exception to the "judge not" rule. Apparently if you are judging a judg-er (rather than, say, a car thief) it's permissible to let loose with both barrels.