OK, I am about to offer my two cents, and do so with trepidation,because I have learned a lesson here in recent weeks – there is an incredible lack of tolerance and derech eretz for a view which might differ (even GREATLY) with some folks’ personal hashkafas.
I think the view that castigates someone for trying to help older singles to reach out to each other rather than have the guys looking for younger shidduchim, is very rude and unhelpful. I do not personally know Az or AZOI.IS or any other poster in the CR (at least, not to my knowledge). But I do know that unless I have seriously misunderstood his intent and misjudged his meaning (which I grant is a possibility, none of us is perfect), he has not said anything to raise the uproar that I have read here.
We HAVE a terrible shidduch crisis with our older children – it is a crisis that reaches throughout the frum world. I personally believe we made this crisis ourselves by refusing to acknowledge that it is unnatural for the genders to be separated early on in life, not be allowed to talk to each other while growing up, and then suddenly at ther magic age of whatever, be thrust into a shidduch process for which they are neither equipped, nor sufficiently mature. Our older singles are not being redt enough shidduchim. Yes, there may be some older people who do not want to get married, there is such a thing as that, and they have issues, clearly. But the majority of older singles want VERY much to be married and start their families, and it is excruciatingly painful to them when they see their younger siblings getting married, or see younger girls redt to older boys. That is not to say that the older boy is not the right husband for the younger girl, but it still is painful that there is no sensitivity to this fact.
Whether or not one agrees with AZ’s observations (sometimes I do, and sometimes I do not), the point made should not be scoffed. In fact NO one’s comments should be derided or insulted, even the one’s made by those same judgmental and sarcastic people. It is very easy and way more menschlech to say, “I disagree,” and not attack someone because he holds a different opinion from your own. Who is to say your opinion is more choshuv than his? Hashem is the Arbiter, not we. And given the fact the kovod habrios and mitzvos bein adam l’chaveiro are so high on His list of must-dos, it would behoove some of the posters here to stop being so judgmental every five minutes and actually LISTEN to what someone is saying, whether or not you agree with his words. Sorry to go a teensy bit off-topic, but it really isn’t off-topic, as the topic seems to be “how can we insult a poster in the CR?” Just because we are all anonymous and can say virtually what we want (minus the mods’ running interference), does not mean we are allowed to drop minimum standards of v’ahavta l’reiyacha kamocha.