A thought for Excalibre

The BBQ Pit
1

You have crossed paths with him several times recently for sure. God knows what his agenda is. Maybe you pissed him off (justifiably or not). Maybe he’s a psycho.

You’re smart enough to know that you’ve offended some people. I have, I know it, and I’m not proud of it.

You’re a smart guy, you know it, big deal. There are lots of smart people on this board. Most of them have the tact and decency to avoid a condescending attitude. Sometimes you tend to push the envelope in that regard. Sometimes you cross it. This is all subjective I realize. As a whole, I enjoy your posts, as for the posts that exhibit condescension and snark, not so much.

I’d never want to be the pot calling the kettle black (because that’s racist), I am not a perfect or even really good poster. If anyone wants to Pit me, they’re free to. They’ll probably not get as much of a rise out of me as they might think though.

The purpose of this post is solely because I did not want to further hijack the original post with my supposition. I wanted to make sure that you know that some of your posts piss some people off. If you’re aware of that, I’m preaching to the choir, and your feigned surprise at roger thornhill’s attacks were a joke.

In the past you have made me feel more rage than I’ve felt in a long time. I dwelt on it for almost a week. I’m terrible at holding grudges, as I think they’re not productive and are not healthy. That plus I find it hard to hate people. I usually have a thick enough skin so that attacks or slights roll off my back like water off a duck. I’m so over it, that I have no problem defending you in any post in which I agree with you. All else is water under the bridge. Seriously.

If I’m the only one who’s felt slighted or mistreated by you, I’m sure the posts will reflect that. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that you have provided useful information to more people than you have insulted. It should be that way for all posters. Myself included.

There’s no great conclusion for this, since I don’t really have an agenda. (I’m sure that won’t be contested).

Have at me, I guess.

2

In my own humble opinion, Excalibre’s vaunted but nonetheless genuine intelligence pales next to that of the esteemed mr. thornhill, and Excalibre knows it. This causes Excalibre resentment and defensiveness, which in turn causes him to trot out one of his favorite lines of defense: accusing his antagonist of following him around and picking on him. I am able to recognize this tactic as it has even been levelled at yours truly from time to time.

(Be it known to all and sundry that this information is offered only to illustrate that this is a tactic which Excalibre uses when he wishes to appear victimized or picked on and that this poster in no way wishes to intimate that his own humble intelligence is on a par with that of the aforementioned and highly esteemed mr. thornhill.)

Cheers, roger. :wink:

3

I had no idea. Interesting.

4

Come to think of it, I may have also learned a few things from Mr. thornhill. I can’t recall anything specific, but the name/location seems to ring a bell.

Meh.

I suspect that the smackdown comes at dawn.

5

Indubitibly.

:wink:

6

I haven’t particularly noticed Excalibre, nor what you are complaining about, so I won’t offer an opinion on that. But this is what made me sit up and incoherently exclaim, “Buh-whuh??”

I’m thinking that you don’t remotely understand that expression, as it has nothing whatsoever to do with race.

It is about hypocrisy. It’s a more modern (or modren, if you’re Dennis DeYoung) rendition of the classic “Et tu, Brute?” thingamabobber. The “pot calling the kettle black” is about doing what you’re faulting someone for, thus proving yourself to be not the brightest bulb in the string of Christmas lights.

It’s NOTHING to do with race. Thinking it’s racist because it has the word “black” in it might be racist, but the expression itself isn’t.

7

I take that to mean that a good amount of posters will give me what for, since that’s what was implying in the previous post. I can only asume that you concur.

I’m not afraid. I actually welcome criticism. We’ll see.

8

WHOOSH dumbass! The “black” part was a joke. Who doesn’t know the meaning of that tired phrase? So sorry you didn’t get it.

9

Dijon, I’m pretty sure he was joking about that expression being racist.

10

People in my part of Spain do deadpan a lot and lay irony onto every other sentence. Mom and most of my aunts are from other areas and this used to drive them nuts. Mom came up with an idea: there used to be a comic who turned the microphone around when he was getting to the punchline; Dad et al were asked to do that “turn the micro around” gesture when they were deadpanning (or had just whooshed you).

We need a “turn the micro” smiley :smiley:

11

I don’t know that you’ll come in for a great amount of excoriation from other posters in the main, as Excalibre’s generally haughty and condescending demeanor has likely alienated many who would otherwise be inclined to come to his defense. I would expect some rather pithy comments from Excalibre himself however, thus my comment above.

Well, that, and it’s rather late – therefore I’d expect most of the activity that this thread may generate will come tomorrow.

(And yes, I know it’s already tomorrow, but to me yesterday is today until the sun comes up, then it’s tomorrow.)

:slight_smile:

12

At the risk of derailing, or even worse - considering it’s the Pit - deflating this pitting (and, it must be said, preventing it from turning on me, as I have a sneaking feeling it might!), I was the one who got warned in the ‘Playboy’ thread, which I thought, all things considered, was fair enough.

Excalibre is a smart fellow - intelligent, a good writer and with a certain “style”, which is always welcome around here - and like many smart people, he sometimes over-reaches himself a tad, and again like many smart people he has undoubtedly the ability to get under some people’s skin, and possibly delights in so doing. But, all in all, he’s a good egg.

As for his most recent comments in the “Playboy” thread, to take each in turn, his accusation that I’m following him around is a bit naughty, and perhaps he was being unintentionally self-reflective when he wrote that. I don’t do that.

As for his “get a life”, comment, I must admit I put the ineffable weakness of that attempt at a put-down down to tiredness, overwork, too much wanking (reference the ‘Playboy’ thread again) - whatever. It put me in mind of Dennis Healey’s reflections to the House of Commons on being attacked by Geoffrey Howe: “Being attacked by the honorable member is like being savaged by a dead sheep”.

Live and let live, says I. Heat, kitchen; or, as dnooman says, to keep the culinary metaphor, pots and kettles. “Flyting” has a long and noble tradition. Let’s try and keep standards up in our own particular forum dedicated to throwing rotten tomatoes (men) and dunking in water (women).

And, in the mean time, I will endeavour not to take potshots in other fora.

13

See what I mean?

14

Excalibre telling someone to get a life and stop insulting him constantly is definitely the pot calling the kettle black. Excalibre is no doubt semi-intelligent, but he likes to think he can intellectually ride rough-shod over people who frankly, would rather walk away from him. Then I’m sure he pats himself on the back and congratulates himself for winning again when in fact, people are just walking away from him again because he’s not actually all. that. smart.

15

Linkypoo?

Not that I find it all that hard to believe… exy is off his rocker and when he wants to feel attacked, he’ll reimagine Reality to be more conducive to his weird worldview.

Not that I harbor a grudge, exactly, but one example still sticks in my mind after quite some time.

A while ago, I apologized for a spat we had, that I didn’t even remember.
After this, he lied and claimed that I insulted him for no reason.
I pointed out that, in fact, he’d come into a thread with a massively condescending attitude and I’d disagreed with his take, after which he called me an ‘asswipe’, but still wanted to claim that I’d insulted him out of the blue.
At this point, whatever issues distort his perception kicked in, and he claimed that I offered an apology in order to attack him. Makes perfect sense, right? At least to someone who’s paranoid.

The original thread in question was this one.

He started out by suggesting that people who were taking the OP’s anger seriously should be on mood stabilizers. Then went on to say that everybody in the thread, except the OP (and presumably himself) were just taking things too seriously.

I responded by pointing out that most posters were only responding to the OP’s level of anger. And that she herself had used some pretty strong language to indicate that she was, indeed, taking it seriously and very pissed off.

His “reasoned” response was, of course, to call me an asswipe. After which I did indeed insult him and pointed out that the OP was indeed more angry than the situation merited. After that, I pointed out that his claim of “selecting quoting” was, itself, selective quoting.

Rather than retracting his absurdity and ridiculous holier-than-thou bullshit, he decides to up the ante. And adds a wonderful piece of projection to it. After talking down to everybody and telling them how they need mood stabilizers if they don’t agree with him, he figures that it’s a good idea to call other people who he laid into from his holier-than-thou bullshit-mountain “egotistical, self-important dick[s] who [like] to start fights on the internet”

And, of course, later when I try to bury the hatchet he lets loose with his paranoia and claims that, really, I’m trying to make peace in order to fight.

So, long story short, it wouldn’t surprise me if he has, again, gone clear ‘round the bend and is convinced that people are out to get him. He’d undoubetdly intelligent, and often knows his facts. But he’s also out of his freakin’ gourd.

16

Humour is so subjective, and to an extent so cultural, that not only interpersonal differences may cause problems, but even intrapersonal differences: i.e. the idea that the same individual may at times a) not be systematic and predictable with regard to his* own choices and intentions and b) not even know whether he’s being humorous or not. This is an attested psychological phenomenon with regard to reading of texts, and could be extended to the productive psycholinguistic realms as well as the receptive, I believe.

It’s just something one has to live with around here that sometimes people won’t get you, sometimes they do this deliberately for strategic reasons, sometimes the joker is actually not joking, but for strategic reasons, dresses his comments up as a joke (or what later can be defended, excused, etc. as a joke), etc. etc.

With wits** like Cally, of course, the problems are magnified a hundred-fold!

  • sorry, just to save time…
    ** a wit in both senses of genius and humourist
17

Well put. As I have stated before, I have no enemies here, and have no real dog in this fight. I have this sneaking suspicion though, that this will be a thread based in acknowledgement and compromise. Understanding and perspective may also occur in the course of this thread.

I will gladly take the label of “lamest pitter ever” if some degree of understanding is obtained here. I don’t hate him anymore, I’m over it.

Again, I’m not really pitting Excalibre, I’m sooo done with that little annoyance. On preview, the pitting seems to be being done by others. I wanted to make sure you knew it was real, and apparently they did too.

Time for me to shut up.

18

Cross the envelope??

19

“WHOOSH” duly noted, and I’m feeling like a dumbass right now.

Heh. “Who doesn’t know the meaning of that tired phrase?”

That’s what you had ME wondering.

Consider me legitimately whooshed.

I bow to you. Nice job. You come to my town, I buy you a beer.

20

I’m just finishing up Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and I can’t help but hear that in a Russian accent.

Just figured I’d get that in.