# A new rule for the BBQ Pit. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 10, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222 "2005-05-10T15:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/61 "2005-05-10T21:10:35Z")
I’ve got to agree with **Fortean** on this issue. I just don’t get the appeal of gathering in a thread toagree on how horrible some people are. I mean, it’s not as if we don’t know that there are sadistic evil bastards out there. For me, it’s rather like the people that slow down to rubberneck a really bad accident. What’s the point? All the handwringing and sighs and “Let’s kill the assholes” don’t change a damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/62 "2005-05-10T21:10:42Z")
I’ve got to agree with **Fortean** on this issue. I just don’t get the appeal of gathering in a thread to agree on how horrible some people are. I mean, it’s not as if we don’t know that there are sadistic evil bastards out there. For me, it’s rather like the people that slow down to rubberneck a really bad accident. What’s the point? All the handwringing and sighs and “Let’s kill the assholes” don’t change a damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/63 "2005-05-10T21:10:48Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > You wanna pit some horrible news event? Then actually pit it. You know, with the creative insults and the fun expressions of utter outrage. Not this weepy, whiney bullshit. That’s not a pitting. Oh amen. And when you Pit something, do NOT do it [**lame and tame**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6144571). I come here to get fired up and flaming, not to weep and lament. It’s sport, it’s entertainment, it’s a chance to VENT at the fucking ghastly wrongs of the world and the idiocies of humanity. Not just to meekly whimper. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/64 "2005-05-10T23:23:43Z")
I hate to mention it here, but a couple of babies on spikes, if strategically placed, can really improve the appearance of a rock garden. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/65 "2005-05-11T00:14:23Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > I agree with **Fortean** and could somebody please point out to **Roger T** that this thread has made it to over 50 posts and no one has criticized the OP for “Newness”. Read the thread. Just cause they got ignored doesn’t mean someone didn’t try to do it in the second post. There’s loads of news websites out there: > **[Drew Curtis' FARK.com](https://www.fark.com/)** [www.metafilter.com](http://www.metafilter.com) [www.dailykos.com](http://www.dailykos.com) hell, [www.bored.com](http://www.bored.com) I wish people would go there for thier daily circle jerk aren’t-people-horrible fix. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/66 "2005-05-11T00:18:13Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Baby kabobs for some, little miniature American flags for others. And always twirling, twirling, TWIRLING towards freedom!!! ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/67 "2005-05-11T13:58:46Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Baby kabobs … taste like chicken, you know. They do _not_!!! Uh … I mean, I, uh, heard that, um … somewhere. Yea, that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/68 "2005-05-11T20:31:23Z")
I suppose posts #61 & #62 are **jlzania’s** (bolding mine) attempts to elicit the usual response of _1920’s Style Death Rays_ or the _Marianas Trench_ (the deepest part of all the oceans) explored just once in 1960. Well, we’re not falling for that cheap trick. You’ll have to start another thread for those shennanigins. But moving to a more serious note (B flat perhaps?) I believe the OP narrowed things down a bit too much. What about postings in general? SDMB “Dopers” have been told time and again to make postings with well-defined questions and to summarize any links. Still, we get questions in _any_ forum with vague titles and almost no explanation. Example: A question for the “Dopers” Obligatory Link Well is that true? * * * ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/69 "2005-05-12T00:34:02Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Because it’s just so unbelieveable that people can do horrible things in the world. Unbelievable? Unbelievable how? If I were given carte blanche to walk up and down the streets of my neighborhood and kick down each and every door, I guaran-fucking-tee I would come up with an average of a detestably horrible human being engaging in brain-meltingly sadistic abuses on helpless innocents on every single block. The only difference between them and the tongue-clucking stories that appear in the Pit is that my neighbors haven’t come to the attention of the media. Yet. People, on average, suck. We are hyperintelligent primates who believe our onionskin-thin layer of sapience confers on us near-godlike status, whereas in point of fact we are barely removed from chimpanzees when you take away our cell phones, Segways, and designer footwear. We behave with abysmal selfishness on such a regular basis that you could use it to calculate the orbit of Mercury. We are capable of turning away from the most horrifying catastrophes being perpetrated in front of us _or even in our very names_ as long as they don’t affect us directly. We are capable of rationalizing and tolerating _or even advocating_ the most disgusting cruelties by appealing abstractly to the “big picture.” And we are so self-absorbed and self-congratulatory despite our glaring flaws that the objective observer requires two hands and a two-ton counterweight to push down the rising gorge. Unbelievable, my dead ancestors’ withered assholes. Fuck. > [@Giraffe](#): > > For regular people to collect these stories and seethe in anger over them seems to me to be a recipe for despair, not to mention an incredibly distorted view of people as a group. What he said. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/70 "2005-05-12T02:27:15Z")
**LifeOnWry:** > [@](#): > > Baby kabobs for everyone! > > They taste like chicken, you know. They do. Cannibals say that human flesh tastes like chicken, so…babies must taste like chicken. And chicken must taste like babies. …Good, I’m glad you’re coming with me on that one. [/Izzard] Thought I’d give you a hand there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/71 "2005-05-12T08:40:23Z")
Do we really need a fresh round of outrage and name-calling every time some asshole somewhere does something particularly disgusting or inhuman? What’s the point? I thought the point was when they do something particularly disgusting or inhuman to _you_, you pit the sons-of-bitches. And then you feel warm and tingly all over. mm ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/72 "2005-05-12T11:31:17Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Fat Nazi threads are instant disasters. I pit Hermann Goering! He was a fat crossdressing Nazi junkie! ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/73 "2005-05-12T18:15:45Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I suppose posts #61 & #62 are **jlzania’s** (bolding mine) attempts to elicit the usual response of _1920’s Style Death Rays_ or the _Marianas Trench_ (the deepest part of all the oceans) explored just once in 1960. Well, we’re not falling for that cheap trick. You’ll have to start another thread for those shennanigins. Naw-no cheap tricks here-sometimes I suffer from cyber stuttering. So sue me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/74 "2005-05-13T22:29:17Z")
> [@Darwin's Finch](#): > > You’re new here, aren’t you? To the planet, I mean. I’ve known from the age of four that people fundamentally suck, from first-hand experience. How can anyone _not_ believe that humans do horrible things to one another? You’re taking my usage of unbelievable, too literally. I understand that people are fucked in the head, and that it will always be the case, and that there’s nothing I can ever do about it. I just can’t grasp why people would do such things. What’s wrong with talking about them? What’s wrong with being frustrated about it? > [@Cervaise](#): > > Unbelievable? Unbelievable how? If I were given carte blanche to walk up and down the streets of my neighborhood and kick down each and every door, I guaran-fucking-tee I would come up with an average of a detestably horrible human being engaging in brain-meltingly sadistic abuses on helpless innocents on every single block. The only difference between them and the tongue-clucking stories that appear in the Pit is that my neighbors haven’t come to the attention of the media. Yet. Again, I understand. You too, took my usage of unbelievable out of context. > [@Cervaise](#): > > People, on average, suck. We are hyperintelligent primates who believe our onionskin-thin layer of sapience confers on us near-godlike status, whereas in point of fact we are barely removed from chimpanzees when you take away our cell phones, Segways, and designer footwear. Um, who is “we”? You can take away my cell phone, my Timbo’s, and whatever the fuck a Segway is, I’m not going to go kill and stirfry my neighbors (However tasty they may look 😛 ). And I’ll never stab my future children 100 times each, the same goes for drowning them in my car. It will not happen. ---
**Author:** ![Dinaroozie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Dinaroozie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinaroozie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/75 "2005-05-14T17:41:22Z")
> [@](#): > > From **Duke of Rat** : > Fat Illinois Nazis Am I the only one that read that as the letters F-I-N in some kind of bizarre, politically incorrect phonetic alphabet? Or was it meant to look like that? Perhaps I just need some sleep. ~ Isaac ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/76 "2005-05-15T13:30:48Z")
To be fair, sometimes it’s not the crime that’s being Pitted, but the punishment. OP thinks the punishment is too harsh or too lenient, and others weigh in. There’s a multi-page thread right now to that effect. And I remember an incident from a few years ago, where road rage culminated in a dog being yanked out of a car. The corresponding thread rolled along for about half a page, with everyone calling for the dog-thrower’s head, until someone piped up that the dog incident was not as bad as this, that, and the other unspeakable crime against humans. What I’m saying is, yes, it’s difficult to come up with more than “that’s terrible” about the Illinois stabbing victims or Precious Doe. But some incidents, like the kids who suffocated in a car while their mom was at the beauty salon, or the woman who was caught on tape smacking her kid while the kid was in the car seat, can lead to interesting debates about how and why, not just “oh that’s terrible”. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/77 "2005-07-29T21:30:51Z")
Without baby spiking, how else does one show one’s exuberance when crossing the end zone in babyball? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222/78 "2005-07-29T23:05:03Z")
Well, re-opening dead threads is hardly the way to do it. This one’s done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-rule-for-the-bbq-pit/303222.md?page=3)