"Go South young man!" Maybe it was just my upbringing. The only disses I heard with regard to Christianity where I grew up were from one Christian to or about another Christian that had slightly different beliefs. It all worked out in the end because they had different churches to go to on Sunday.

Chicago aint no small town in the South though. Talk to your head dude about the way a healthy dose of self-respect can combine with faith into a fairly impervious armour. You won't even feel bad for a strangers transgressions, much less feel bad about or because of what they've said or implied. I gaurantee your head dude doesn't feel bad over those comments cause it comes with the job but it's a practical skill that's taught rather than an innate ability born of faith alone.

For instance (also to turn the topic back to forum type stuff, bikes and whatnot) I get all sorts of guff because I'm a bike messenger. I get regular scorn, some hate, a fair bit of green eyed acrimonious spite from hell, and my favourite of all, sad faced pity At least a few times a day, not so much on the weekends

None of it means a damn thing to me and I no longer have any compulsion to defend or needlessly explain it to them no matter who they are. If they express an actual interest, well that's different.I'm down with discussion, no one loses with that. I'll tell em what they want to know if I can and nicely. The rest of the time it's not even an issue because I know who I am and why and it's enough. It's not a "screw them!" sort of reaction either, that'll eat out from the inside eventually though it may feel like venting. It's not that they don't matter cause they do matter as much as any stranger, everyone is people. They just don't have anything to do with it, what ever it is they're conveying.

Now if someone close started browbeating me...you fix that.