Dear Zev7,
Well, in this thread you have found your confirmation. The elitist Litvish world has always held steadfastly that their way is THE WAY, and there is no other.Here you have shown that there is another way, and it is no less legitimate. And there are still other legitimate ways.
One of my Roshei Yeshiva used to say “Stay away from those who think that the truth lies only with them.” Keep this in mind as you grow in yiddishkeit,as there are some chassidim who are unfortunately no less elitist than their litvish counterparts. Aleh v’hatzlach, v’sheyirbu kamocha b’yisrael.
As an aside, regurgitating the Gaon’s objections to chassidus by some here is highly distressing. For a good history of the debate,read Wilenski’s two volume work, consisting of the correspondences between the chassidim and misnagdim in the late 1700s into the 1800s. It is an absolute festival of sinas chinam, and not for the faint-hearted. Let’s be thankful we are past that, and let’s keep ourselves past it.