Manhattan: wake up call or whiny bitch?

The BBQ Pit
1

Manhattan is leaving. The only comment from manny that I could find was the one quoted by Ed: "“I came to believe that the board wasn’t a comfortable place for politically conservative posters.”

I’d like to make three observations before the discussion/flaming begins. First, this board does skew left. Anyone who denies that, I think, doesn’t pay attention. There are clearly more left leaning posters, and certainly more obnoxious leftist fanatics, than conservative posters. Second, I don’t begrudge anyone their decision to leave. It’s manny’s life, and if he’s not getting anything out of the board anymore, it’s his business, not mine. I’ve left certain threads because there was nothing more to gain, and they were just getting painful to partake in, so I understand, to a point, not wanting to partake. Third, manny left quietly. Unlike certain posters who feel the need for one last shot at the board before going, the only information I found was Ed’s comment. Maybe I missed something, but I don’t think his leaving is an attention whoring grab for attention. I sure do hope he comes in here and explains a bit more, though.

With those three observations in mind, I don’t know how to feel. Part of me thinks he’s being a whiny little bitch who can dish it out but he can’t take it. Manny was never one to shy away from confrontation, veiled insults, or idiotic posturing without substance. And, in fact, that was one of the reasons I valued having him on the Board. Someone has to try to shut up the shrieking harpies of the left: Dio, rjung, Reeder, ElvisL1ives, etc. I’m embarrassed to have the listed posters, on occassion, being on my side of an issue, and having manny around to give them some grief was fun, if not entirely productive. But he certainly wasn’t below engaging them on their level. His leaving just smacks of a hissy fit thrown by a toddler.

However, I can also see part of his point. Although I’m not what I would call politically conservative, I can see how the board can become uncomfortable. I’m a spirtual guy, who believes in God, and this board is an uncomfortable place for deists. I’ve seen open hostility by atheists in numerous threads, and, even though I try to avoid those kinds of threads, they pop up everywhere (although less now that gobear has left). As UncleBeer so correctly pointed out here, that happens even more so in the political realm. But I can understand, in a different way, his point.

But, considering everything, I come down to being disappointed in him for leaving. I understand what I think he feels, but I just can’t quite buy it. Not just because I think the board needs more balance, or because he was amusing, but because I think he’s giving up. And I never thought he was a quitter.

2

To add some inside information, I had a long e-mail exchange with manhattan shortly after he gave up his mod gig. And the reason he’s stated for leaving both the SDSAB, and the general memberhip now, is identical to one of his primary reasons for resigning from mod-dom.

3

So he leaves quietly, only leaving a quote Ed provides, and it’s a hissy fit? Hmmm, I’m skeptical.

I don’t know, Manny’s been around here contributing for a good long while. Perhaps he’s trying to get himself a life. :smiley:

4

I’m glad I didn’t start this thread while I was thinking of it. You’ve said it all much more clearly than I could have.

5

Very sorry to hear this. I’ve met him in person a couple of times and he’s quite amiable and witty, a great guy to hang out with.

I’m a little worried as to what this says about the board, as my politics often can’t be slapped with labels either. I do know that there are posters who come screaming into certain threads like the RAF in WWII, drowning and driving out us wussier–er–less empathic folks.

Manhattan was one of the few who could hold his own while the bombs fell all around him. Sigh.

6

What a shame. He was one of the posters I particularly enjoyed reading. I just don’t get it, though, about leaving because it isn’t a “comfortable” place for conservative posters. The nitwits can be annoying, but they mostly just make fools of themselves.

7

Damn. I’m going to miss manhattan.

That simply cannot be his sole reason for leaving.

This board skews left, hard. The people listed in the OP are almost bully-like in their stances. There are a number of politically conservative posters on this board who are the same way, though.

I guess it just doesn’t bother me as much as others because I tend to stay out of political discussions as much as I can. During election time, I was indirectly called stupid, intolerant, a moron and told I was supporting all types of atrocities because I was voting for Bush. Posters with whom I previously had no problems stopped being chill in my book because of that. I don’t hold much of what they said against them, but I’d be lying if I said I forgot what they said. I’m not thin skinned and I didn’t take it too personally. That shit sure got old fast, though.

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Manhattan is not a quitter.

A man who is being beaten by a mob is not a quitter when he stops fighting and runs away. He is smart. And they are cowards.

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For this, I very strongly commend him.

I like to dip my toes into the political threads from time to time, and it was always nice to hear from him on those matters. I like to hear both sides, which is getting increasingly difficult around here. I will certainly miss Manny’s contributions, and hope that even if he doesn’t decide to rejoin the SDSAB, he will come back as a regular poster.

10

This is as good a place as any for my personal confession…

I don’t stay away (for the most part) from threads on controversial issues because of a lack of interest. I do so because I don’t like how they tend to deteriorate into screaming matches, in which the values that I hold dear (moderation, reason, and calmness) tend to get ignored as soon as possible.

It’s a shame that Manhattan is gone, but not much of a surprise. Were I to participate as much as he did in GD, I’d go mad.

11

gobear left?

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You really are being a dumbshit here. Disagreement does not equal beating. I might add, your violent and scatalogical metaphors for message board interactions are really getting out of hand.

13

I joined a church after I’d started posting on the SDMB. One of the most interesting things I’ve learned is that identifying with a group of people (religious, conservative, or pretty much any common interest) makes you much more aware of slights against that group. It seems obvious, but it still surprised me.

There’s a contingent of shrill atheist assholes on the board that make the place seem very hostile to people holding pretty much any religious beliefs. Even though most atheists here are polite and decent in discussions, they’re completely drowned out by the minority. It just doesn’t take that many screamers to give the impression that the board is an nastier place then it really is.

The contingent of shrill liberal assholes is even larger, and (as a liberal) I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to see the same tired shit vomitted all over just about every political thread–and plenty of ostensibly non-political threads, for that matter. I can understand someone reaching the point where they say “This just isn’t worth the aggravation anymore.” Sometimes I’m surprised there are any conservative posters left.

So, seeya manhattan. I’ll miss you; you were well-informed, well-spoken, and usually added a lot to the threads you participated in. As far as exits on the SDMB go, you can’t get any more dignified then an anouncement from Ed Zotti himself.

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I liked him better when he was Banhattan.

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No comment on Manny, whom I like very much, but on the above post: you can imagine, then, what it’s like to be a liberal atheist in the U.S., a country full of shrill right-wing assholes and shrill religious assholes. This Board is like Bizarro-World for me, a rare place where “my sort” are in the majority.

That being said, of course, I do prefer non-shrill debate and discussion, and I find the assholiness pretty much equal on both sides.

16

I’ve seen Dem’s being asshole bullies. I’ve seen Rep’s being asshole bullies.
I’ve seen atheists being asshole bullies. I’ve seen religious being asshole bullies.
Manny was at times one of those bullies. He didn’t pull his punches and used his considerable writing and intellectual skills to bitch slap people who he disagreed with.

So he’s out numbered on the board. There’s a lot of “left” positioned posters ready to snipe back at him. I blame Bush for this. No, really I do :smiley:
The US seems to have sooo right wing IRL I think the US lefties here just want somewhere they can have their say without getting shit from workmates, friends etc.

It’s a true shame that he’s going. Manny was a great poster and at times could cut through all the the shit and get to the core of a debate. I’ll miss reading him.

This board is going down. It won’t be long before we’ll have a four piece playing Nearer my God to Thee in MPSIMS :wink:

Cya Manny. It’s a pity I never got to NY for a dopefest as you where one of the guys I really wanted to have a beer with. Oh well 'est la vie.

17

It’s hardly bullying when you challenge a mob to a duel and they accept en masse. Even if he didn’t like having a pack of liberals disagreeing with him in the same sardonic manner he derided them, I can’t fathom why he would have cause to complain. “Oh, it’s so uncomfortable when I tell 100 people they’re idiots, and 100 people respond in kind.” What’d you expect, dumbass?

Bullshit whining, if you ask me. “I feel like such an outsider when I tell the liberals how stupid they are, and they disagree with me.” Perhaps he wants a place where folks either walk the conservative walk, and hence won’t annoy him with their ideology, or they’re easily daunted, and won’t question his “authority”.

18

This board undeniably skews to the left of the political spectrum. It’s a mtter of personal perspective as to whether or not that’s a problem. In Manhattan’s case, he was apparently uncomfortable participating in a board where he was in a political minority, so he left. I once left a different board for the same reason so I can’t condemn his decision.

I will however say that there’s a difference between leaving a board because you dislike the level of political hostility on it and leaving a board because you don’t like the direction the political hostility is traveling.

19

Thank you, Metacom, for summing up my thoughts to a “T”.

Thank you, Manhatten, for sharing yourself with us while you were here. I wish you all the best and will continue to hold out some faint vestige of hope that, given the right circumstances, we someday see you here again.

20

I’ll say what I said in the ATMB thread: I’ve considered this move - just leaving - myself more than once.

For the moment, I’m apparently too stupid to actually do it.