# A big middle finger to the people who took advantage to politicize the school shooting **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2018, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107 "2018-02-19T09:00:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/321 "2018-02-22T19:35:36Z")
Smells like feet in here, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/322 "2018-02-22T19:49:38Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > You interpret my truth telling as a cynical attempt to undermine your side in favor of “the other”, and you double down on your own BS. What’s actually happening is that both parties are disintegrating under the weight of your nonsense and others like you, and it can’t happen fast enough for me. My country is full of ignorant fools, and it’s depressing. Hopefully the Republican party will disintegrate first, because I agree they’re more dysfunctional right now, but the Democratic party needs to be in line right behind them. > > I am neither fake nor on the “fence”. I don’t allow my reality to be shaped by your fake dichotomy. I am in favor of REASON, and neither side is actually embracing it right now. > > Have a nice day. Just for laughs, I’m going to treat your post as sincere for a moment. So, for the sake of argument, let’s take it as read that BOTH the Democratic and the Republican parties are engaging in unacceptable levels of rhetorical and active chicanery. The inescapable consequence of such a situation is that for the greater good of humanity, BOTH parties MUST CEASE TO EXIST. Having established that there is an argument to be made that the betterment of humankind demands the elimination of both the Democratic and Republican parties, let us revisit the world that actually exists around us today. In the world that exists around us today, the elimination of the Republican Party MUST precede the elimination of the Democratic Party. There are two reasons for this: 1. The iniquities, misdeeds, and malicious policies of the Republican Party are FAR WORSE, by orders of magnitude, than any which are attributable to the Democratic Party. 2. There is EVERY reason to believe that if the Democratic Party is eliminated first, the Republican Party, with its more robust mastery of intra-party discipline, combined with its demonstrated lack of scruples, will adapt to become more entrenched and resistant to elimination. There is virtually NO danger that the Democratic Party would have the degree of organization or party discipline necessary to be able to survive, thrive, and resist elimination in a similar fashion in the absence of the Republican Party. Okay, taking you seriously moment is over. Fuck off back to St. Petersburg, there’s a good _tovarisch_. ---
**Author:** ![Crazy\_Canuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazy_canuck/32/5282_2.png) [@Crazy\_Canuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazy_Canuck)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/323 "2018-02-22T19:58:11Z")
Goddammit, I should have checked his post count before responding. I hate arguing with footwear. > [@ausqb](#): > > I am neither fake nor on the “fence”. Oh, I’m pretty sure you’re faker than a three dollar bill. Random newbies almost never join this message board to take part in a single thread this far in. Also, the way you are claiming to be on neither side while still being on the side of our good Russian comrade who started this thread screams fake poster so loud it made my ears hurt. > [@ausqb](#): > > I am in favor of REASON Me too. I would like to hear your REASONS for believing in the “very pragmatic and demonstrable notion that ruling by violence and intimidation is far more costly when the oppressed are armed,” a question you ignored as completely as a republicans on gun control. Because if you claim to be here for the truth telling, but are more interested in smearing everyone who is insulting your Russian friend, it does appear that you are so full of shit that you just might collapse into a black hole. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/324 "2018-02-22T20:02:01Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Smells like feet in here, indeed. My feet smell much nicer, I’ll have you know. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/325 "2018-02-22T20:09:47Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > You interpret my truth telling as a cynical attempt to undermine your side in favor of “the other”, and you double down on your own BS. What’s actually happening is that both parties are disintegrating under the weight of your nonsense and others like you, and it can’t happen fast enough for me. My country is full of ignorant fools, and it’s depressing. Hopefully the Republican party will disintegrate first, because I agree they’re more dysfunctional right now, but the Democratic party needs to be in line right behind them. > > I am neither fake nor on the “fence”. I don’t allow my reality to be shaped by your fake dichotomy. I am in favor of REASON, and neither side is actually embracing it right now. > > Have a nice day. You misspelled “Russia”. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/326 "2018-02-22T20:24:51Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > My feet smell much nicer, I’ll have you know. Yet your nose runs? Feet smell, nose runs. Just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/327 "2018-02-22T20:30:16Z")
“Does your nose run and your feet smell? Then you’re built upside down.” ---
**Author:** ![ausqb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@ausqb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ausqb)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/328 "2018-02-22T22:20:12Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You misspelled “Russia”. Believe whatever you want, dude, but you’re part of the problem. I’m not alone on this. People are fed up with both parties; that’s why no one bothers to vote anymore. Nobody on the ballot represents the majority view of the public. In the last election, it was so obvious to me that if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two best choices we have to pick from out of 323 MILLION people, then something is seriously wrong. You’d have to be daft to think that Trump was competent to hold the office, but if you’re paying attention you’d know that smart people very close to Hillary say she’s not either, oddly for a lot of the same reasons (morally bankrupt demagogue with an unsuitable temperament). The one big point in her favor was her intelligence relative to his, but given the low bar he sets, that alone isn’t enough. It’s the nature of our pathology that we’re elevating these types of people to positions of leadership. I don’t know why you can’t see that, but a lot of people are waking up. I for one am never again voting for ANY of these clowns from either party for as long as I live. It’s way past time for a third party, and I won’t contribute to the madness anymore. The fact that you’d view this kind of position as anti-American foreign meddling speaks volumes to me. These political parties do not define America. America is bigger than that, or at least it should be. I think the last thing the Russians want is for us to regroup behind a calm and rational third party. They want us to continue the petty BS bickering and get nowhere, which seems to be right up your alley. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/329 "2018-02-22T22:29:26Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > Believe whatever you want, dude, but you’re part of the problem. I’m not alone on this. People are fed up with both parties; that’s why no one bothers to vote anymore. Nobody on the ballot represents the majority view of the public. > > In the last election, it was so obvious to me that if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two best choices we have to pick from out of 323 MILLION people, then something is seriously wrong. You’d have to be daft to think that Trump was competent to hold the office, but if you’re paying attention you’d know that smart people very close to Hillary say she’s not either, oddly for a lot of the same reasons (morally bankrupt demagogue with an unsuitable temperament). The one big point in her favor was her intelligence relative to his, but given the low bar he sets, that alone isn’t enough. It’s the nature of our pathology that we’re elevating these types of people to positions of leadership. > > I don’t know why you can’t see that, but a lot of people are waking up. I for one am never again voting for ANY of these clowns from either party for as long as I live. It’s way past time for a third party, and I won’t contribute to the madness anymore. > > The fact that you’d view this kind of position as anti-American foreign meddling speaks volumes to me. These political parties do not define America. America is bigger than that, or at least it should be. I think the last thing the Russians want is for us to regroup behind a calm and rational third party. They want us to continue the petty BS bickering and get nowhere, which seems to be right up your alley. Here we go. _What_ calm and rational third party might you have in mind? ---
**Author:** ![ausqb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@ausqb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ausqb)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/330 "2018-02-22T22:41:12Z")
> [@Crazy\_Canuck](#): > > Oh, I’m pretty sure you’re faker than a three dollar bill. Random newbies almost never join this message board to take part in a single thread this far in. Also, the way you are claiming to be on neither side while still being on the side of our good Russian comrade who started this thread screams fake poster so loud it made my ears hurt. It’s difficult to have a sincere exchange with someone who is hedging their bets in this way. I’m sure if you reflect on that you can understand. I highly doubt that it would be as uncommon as you say that during times of intense political debate in the country someone new joins the board to talk about politics. But as I’m new, I wouldn’t actually know that for a fact so perhaps I’m wrong about that. For the record, I’m not “on the side of” OP, except to the extent that I agree national policy shouldn’t be set by emotional reactionaries. Let the shrill idiots blather and scream as much as they want in the street, but the people passing actual the laws need to be unflappable and adult. That said, I’m not absolutist. SCOTUS has clearly said that the RKBA is not absolute, and I have no issue with that in principle. We can all agree that Uncle Jeb should not have surface to air missiles in the back yard. > [@Crazy\_Canuck](#): > > Me too. I would like to hear your REASONS for believing in the “very pragmatic and demonstrable notion that ruling by violence and intimidation is far more costly when the oppressed are armed,” a question you ignored as completely as a republicans on gun control. Because if you claim to be here for the truth telling, but are more interested in smearing everyone who is insulting your Russian friend, it does appear that you are so full of shit that you just might collapse into a black hole. You’re asking me to explain to you why it’s more difficult to subdue a hundred people armed with rocks versus a hundred people armed with rifles? Is that your question? Because if that’s your actual question, I think you’re simply bought into an ideology and there’s nothing I can say that you’ll actually be open to hearing. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but you’re not making it easy. If I’ve misrepresented your question, please set it straight with a little less attitude and I’ll do my best to respond. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/331 "2018-02-22T22:43:06Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > Believe whatever you want, dude, but you’re part of the problem. I’m not alone on this. People are fed up with both parties; that’s why no one bothers to vote anymore. Nobody on the ballot represents the majority view of the public. > > In the last election, it was so obvious to me that if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two best choices we have to pick from out of 323 MILLION people, then something is seriously wrong. You’d have to be daft to think that Trump was competent to hold the office, but if you’re paying attention you’d know that smart people very close to Hillary say she’s not either, oddly for a lot of the same reasons (morally bankrupt demagogue with an unsuitable temperament). The one big point in her favor was her intelligence relative to his, but given the low bar he sets, that alone isn’t enough. It’s the nature of our pathology that we’re elevating these types of people to positions of leadership. > > I don’t know why you can’t see that, but a lot of people are waking up. I for one am never again voting for ANY of these clowns from either party for as long as I live. It’s way past time for a third party, and I won’t contribute to the madness anymore. > > The fact that you’d view this kind of position as anti-American foreign meddling speaks volumes to me. These political parties do not define America. America is bigger than that, or at least it should be. I think the last thing the Russians want is for us to regroup behind a calm and rational third party. They want us to continue the petty BS bickering and get nowhere, which seems to be right up your alley. You come across as a conservbative trying to be a liberal. It’s almost faked. ETA: go get some good cannabis and let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/332 "2018-02-22T22:44:32Z")
“But Hillary had Vince Foster killed! Both sides are equally bad!” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/333 "2018-02-22T22:49:27Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > Because if that’s your actual question, I think you’re simply bought into an ideology and there’s nothing I can say that you’ll actually be open to hearing. I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but you’re not making it easy. If I’ve misrepresented your question, please set it straight with a little less attitude and I’ll do my best to respond. You should read up a bit on what this forum is all about. BTW, which third party are you pulling for here? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/334 "2018-02-22T22:51:07Z")
I’ll bet it has the word “snowflake” in it. ---
**Author:** ![ausqb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@ausqb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ausqb)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/335 "2018-02-22T23:10:28Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _What_ calm and rational third party might you have in mind? You’re asking me to tell you who you should vote for? If that’s your actual question, then I would propose that you simply not vote. Leave it to people willing to think a little harder about things, and we’ll all be better off. I do not wish to spoon feed any particular agenda to anyone. My intent is to call attention to some harmful behavior in the hope that at least a few people will contemplate what we’re participating in and be willing to stop it. I understand that response may feel horribly unsatisfying when you’re looking for someone to just tell you what to think, but I fear I’d be doing you a disservice if I gave you what you were asking for. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/336 "2018-02-22T23:27:48Z")
Ah. So you’re just masturbating. Have fun with that, Sparky. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/337 "2018-02-22T23:33:16Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Ah. So you’re just masturbating. Have fun with that, Sparky. Isn’t that what socks do? Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/338 "2018-02-22T23:39:32Z")
I guess we’re moving up in the world. This one speaks English. Speaking of > [@ausqb](#): > > \ **You’d have to be daft** to think that Trump was competent to hold the office, but if you’re paying attention you’d know that smart people very close to Hillary say she’s not either, oddly for a lot of the same reasons (morally bankrupt demagogue with an unsuitable temperament).\ (bolding mine) “daft” is not generally an American construction. Of course non-Americans are welcome on the boards, but they shouldn’t present themselves as American while they do so. Which third party would you, personally, choose? We can, and will, pick our own candidates to vote for. Since you’ve raised the issue of a third party, I’d love to know which one has your backing. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/339 "2018-02-22T23:50:50Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > My intent is to call attention to some harmful behavior in the hope that at least a few people will contemplate what we’re participating in and be willing to stop it. You’re doing something that’s the first cousin to JAQing Off and looks about as appealing, once people catch on to the strategy. All you have to do is spread some shit, muddy the waters with a mix of outright lies and facts so taken out of context they’re effectively lies, and leave the rest of us to clean up. Then you can look down on the muddied waters, proclaim yourself clean and the other side dirty, and claim with a straight face that the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans. You offer no arguments. You offer no analysis. You just move in, shit, and demand we all look at the shit, and your lies have yet another venue in which to spread. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107/340 "2018-02-22T23:59:01Z")
> [@ausqb](#): > > … but if you’re paying attention you’d know that smart people very close to Hillary say she’s not either, oddly for a lot of the same reasons (morally bankrupt demagogue with an unsuitable temperament). Can you provide a reference for that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-middle-finger-to-the-people-who-took-advantage-to-politicize-the-school-shooting/809107.md?page=18)