Small Communities

From my perusing of various blogs, both good, bad, and irrelevant, I've come to certain conclusions.  One is that a person's high school education combined with a lack of insight into their own failings is generally the biggest reason for a lapse in one's Jewish observance.  It is truly amazing how much damage an idiot rebbe in a yeshiva high school who doesn't have the answers to the big questions in life can do.  Combine that with the typical teenager attitude of "I'm the smartest person so if I've figured out something that must be the way it is" and you get trouble.
Another conclusion is that some folks can be so self-righteous as to ignore all sense and sensibility.  Let's face it, the old schoolyard advice about how to get rid of a bully in  the long term, by ignoring him until he decides to go elsewhere for attention, is still the best advice.  Getting all your friends together and giving him a pounding may provide some short-term satisfaction but eventually the bully gets even, either by getting his own gang together and picking off his opponents one at a time, or by using the system  that failed the victims to his advantage.
For example, I've been watching Jewish Philosopher successfully drive people crazy, but especially his new chosen victim, Righteous Rasha.  Even on one of her most recent posts, JP has once again shown why he is far more intelligent than many of his egotistical and easily enraged opponents.
Note the simple modus operandi that he uses.  He starts with an infuriatingly rude comment.  Two possible things could have in response.  RR could easily go into her dashboard and delete the statement.  In my opinion that would be the smartest thing to do.  Clearly JP craves, amongst other things, an audience.  Depriving him of that would be like starving someone of oxygen. 
Instead the other option, responding to his comment, occurs.  Each and every time one of RR's friends tries to insult, rebut or out-shout JP but every time he comes back with a comment even more outrageous.  This is turn sparks a paroxysm of further anger and hate from the other side which only manages to create... another comment from JP.  And on it goes.
Sitting out here on the outside it's almost painful to watch JP manipulating his audience into providing him the attention he craves.  And Heaven forbid I suggest that silence is the option for dealing with him and I get lumped in together with him!  There are no folks stupider than those who think they are smart.  JP unfortunately proves this repeatedly.
But the biggest conclusion I've come to is that I'm very luck that I live in a small community.  Unlike the large communities many bloggers dwell in, there are lots of things I don't have to deal with.  I don't have to worry about large groups of black hats deciding that people walking down the street aren't dressed tznius enough.  Our local community school isn't too far off to the right but the left.  The only Chabadnik in town in the shaliach and he's harmless enough once you remind him that only Lubavitchers actually believe all the stuff they claim and that their belief that everyone does is just something they were taught in yeshivah.  The peer pressure to keep up with the Jonesteins when it comes to simchas and chumros simply does not exist.  Finally, most of the frum folks in town have developed a health balance between the rational and irrational halves of Judaism to create an environment where Torah is practised in a sensible, healthy fashion.
Yes, it's amazing what trouble large masses of Jews can cause to themselves.  I'm glad that right now I don't have to worry about that.