# Am I a good and decent person? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191 "2009-05-21T16:28:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/141 "2009-05-22T19:48:32Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > What? He can’t be both? > > […] > > It’s rare, even for the more, ahem, outrageous of the board’s conservatives, to engage in the types of name-calling and insult behavior that typifies many of the board’s threads and posters. What’s the term again for something that disproves itself? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/142 "2009-05-22T20:10:09Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with these statements. It’s rare, even for the more, ahem, outrageous of the board’s conservatives, to engage in the types of name-calling and insult behavior that typifies many of the board’s threads and posters. So you’re not a conservative? Or just one of the rare ones? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/143 "2009-05-22T20:11:03Z")
You guys really don’t get it. You didn’t get the memo, haven’t heard the news, and didn’t pick up on the wake-up call. The Board isn’t “biased”, the Board has changed. Has it moved more leftish? I daresay, but it case it has escaped your notice, so has the whole bleeping country! Helloooooo! Is this thing on? And I’d love to take some credit, and will, if you insist. I’d love to think its the clarity of my crystalline reasoning and the sharpness of my wit, but no, it wasn’t. It was the right, and not the center right, but the _waaaaay right_ right, that brought this about. They seized the opportunity presented by 9/11 and exploited the hysteria to the absolute max, and ran roughshod over all good sense and probity. They got what they wanted and guess what? It was a fucking disaster! I am pleased as punch, tickled pink, to have the bankruptcy of the right revealed. Would much rather not have had to live through this shit storm to get here, but here we are. You think that you are the victims of bias and liberal media, but the simple truth is we aren’t as patient with such nonsense as we were, you aren’t getting the same respectful approval you’ve come to think you deserve. But you don’t “deserve” diddly-squat, you “deserve” whatever you get, and if you don’t get he same level of respect for you out-dated opinion set, its because people have changed, we have changed, reality has changed! We stand ready to help you adjust. All you need to is ask. Heck, you don’t even have to ask, we’ll tell you anyway! Chica-boom, chica-boom, don’t you just love it? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/144 "2009-05-22T21:04:10Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You guys really don’t get it. You didn’t get the memo, haven’t heard the news, and didn’t pick up on the wake-up call. > > The Board isn’t “biased”, the Board has changed. Has it moved more leftish? I daresay, but it case it has escaped your notice, so has the whole bleeping country! Helloooooo! Is this thing on? > > And I’d love to take some credit, and will, if you insist. I’d love to think its the clarity of my crystalline reasoning and the sharpness of my wit, but no, it wasn’t. It was the right, and not the center right, but the _waaaaay right_ right, that brought this about. They seized the opportunity presented by 9/11 and exploited the hysteria to the absolute max, and ran roughshod over all good sense and probity. They got what they wanted and guess what? It was a fucking disaster! > > I am pleased as punch, tickled pink, to have the bankruptcy of the right revealed. Would much rather not have had to live through this shit storm to get here, but here we are. You think that you are the victims of bias and liberal media, but the simple truth is we aren’t as patient with such nonsense as we were, you aren’t getting the same respectful approval you’ve come to think you deserve. > > But you don’t “deserve” diddly-squat, you “deserve” whatever you get, and if you don’t get he same level of respect for you out-dated opinion set, its because people have changed, we have changed, reality has changed! > > We stand ready to help you adjust. All you need to is ask. Heck, you don’t even have to ask, we’ll tell you anyway! > > Chica-boom, chica-boom, don’t you just love it? Don’t feel too secure. The wheel of fortune will turn, as it always does, especially in politics. Reality hasn’t ‘changed’, it’s just politics as usual. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/145 "2009-05-22T21:10:47Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] The Board isn’t “biased”, the Board has changed. Has it moved more leftish? I daresay, but it case it has escaped your notice, so has the whole bleeping country! Helloooooo! Is this thing on? [/QUOTE] I don’t know if the board has moved left so much as that most of the actual right wingers (and even the majority of conservatives) have left. This didn’t happen recently either, but has been ongoing for a couple of years now. As for the country moving left…well, I’m not so sure. I think that people are disgusted with the Republican party. That, however, doesn’t equal a shift to the left so much as a shift towards the Dems and away from the Pubs. That said…I believe in the whole pendulum theory of politics in the US, so I DO think things have shifted overall leftward. I don’t even think that’s necessarily a bad thing…I certainly was no fan of the right-ward shift we just went through for the last 8+ years (shocking as that probably is for you). -XT ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/146 "2009-05-22T21:14:49Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > For my money you are one of the kindest, most open-minded conservatives here and one who tries much harder to see and/or honor the point of view of political positions you don’t agree with than most of the posters on the other side. I agree with this. I’m not much for extremists on either side, and while my own political persuasion is to the left or sometimes libertarian in bent (I could live with both philosophies from a pragmatic standpoint), you’re definitely one of the conservative posters whose opinions and viewpoints I respect. You don’t seem to be a blind partisan, and I could certainly understand differences of viewpoint when it comes to something like abortion. Abortion, from my standpoint, is an ethical gray area, and the pragmatist in me more-or-less dodges the question–since there is such a difference in viewpoint–that I’d rather the individual decide for herself. But I do respect individuals who believe otherwise and, were I of the same mind, I could completely understand why one would be so unflinching and unyielding in their ethical stance on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/147 "2009-05-22T21:15:11Z")
[QUOTE=gonzomax] Could not resist could you? It is who and what you are. The lowering of debates falls at your feet . You are guilty more than anyone but Shodan. Shodan does not say post as often, but is even nastier. [/QUOTE] Let me guess…you saw your name and that was really the only part of all the stuff you quoted from me you saw. Right? Out of curiosity…I’m more guilty than Shodan of what, exactly? As for the rest…Shodan does not say post as often as…what? I didn’t know Shodan EVER said ‘post’, and I try and keep my baser instincts firmly under control in my use of the 4 letter word ‘post’. WRT Shodan’s nastiness compared to my own…well, some things are best left un-disclosed… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/148 "2009-05-22T21:33:01Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Chica-boom, chica-boom, don’t you just love it? You really shouldn’t watch pr0n while posting, the soundtrack leaks through to the board. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/149 "2009-05-22T21:36:14Z")
Post! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/150 "2009-05-22T21:37:20Z")
Nasty… -XT ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/151 "2009-05-23T00:46:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Post! > > Regards, > Shodan I thought four-letter words were no longer allowed in Teh Pit? :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/152 "2009-05-23T01:08:22Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Don’t feel too secure. The wheel of fortune will turn, as it always does, especially in politics. Reality hasn’t ‘changed’, it’s just politics as usual. Well, you can’t deny that the country has moved to the left in certain important ways, and that it’s hard to imagine that it’ll move back significantly in those areas. Race relations, for example. And even in abortion/religion; even with the general opposition to abortion that still exists, the fact that it has any support at all, and that not ALL providers are being harassed and shot at in the streets, is pretty significant. Ditto the fact that people can actually be some religion other than Judeo-Christian and live peacefully in a good plurality of places. It’s possible that something will happen one day to make, say, the forced institutionalization of homosexuals societally acceptable again. But it’s hard for me to imagine what it is. So I think at least SOME of **elucidator’s** statement was justified. I guess it’d depend on what your definition and criteria for “the nation moving to the left” means. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/153 "2009-05-23T01:27:43Z")
Well, really, just so much gossamer and whimsey for criteria, signs and portents which may not, in fact, signify much of anything. Wholesale massacre of an election, public polling that ranks Republicans just slightly more popular than syphillis… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/154 "2009-05-23T02:08:47Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Yes, it’s just too bad they can’t take a page from your book and elevate the discourse with words like ‘faggy.’ I called no person faggy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/155 "2009-05-23T02:42:05Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I called no person faggy. No, you just use the word to [describe something as “weird, or stupid”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508833), or whatever, then whine that you didn’t mean it [THAT WAY](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10897234&postcount=73). Way to be a weasel! ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/156 "2009-05-23T02:46:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, you need to keep one thing in mind. **BrainGlutton** is an idiot. So I wouldn’t take anything he says too seriously. \*\*Miller \*\*laying down the common sense! **Sarahfeena** I don’t know you in real life so for what I know you might be the world’s nastiest serial killer, but based on the posts I’ve read I think you’re a good person. I think that anyone that doesn’t have some reservations about abortion has a bit of trouble with their moral compass. Abortion is fucking disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/157 "2009-05-23T03:14:23Z")
On the other hand, crack babies are amongst mankind’s most uplifting experiences. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/158 "2009-05-23T03:40:57Z")
Only when ground really fine and snorted through the left nostril… [QUOTE=gonzomax] I called no person faggy. [/QUOTE] Seriously Gonz…how would you know? You are too stupid to figure out what you have written, let alone bright enough to understand how others read your, um, posts. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/159 "2009-05-23T04:04:10Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > \*\*Miller \*\*laying down the common sense! > > **Sarahfeena** I don’t know you in real life so for what I know you might be the world’s nastiest serial killer, but based on the posts I’ve read I think you’re a good person. I think that anyone that doesn’t have some reservations about abortion has a bit of trouble with their moral compass. Abortion is fucking disgusting. I like Sarafeena. I also have no reservations about abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191/160 "2009-05-23T04:44:10Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I forgot to answer Heffalump and Roo’s questions: Thanks for remembering. > [@Sarahfeena](#): > > No, I don’t think you can really control the culture of a message board. It may change over time, but you can’t direct it to go one way or another. Depends on the “you”, I guess. It seems that at least one person or a few have changed this place, either some or dramatically, depending on your viewpoint. But yes, given the way this message board functions, a given poster probably can’t do all that much to change the culture here. On the other hand, you’ve pointed out one poster who is changing the culture. . . just not in the way you want it to be changed. And you may have a bigger influence than you realize. Perhaps the fact that you post less here has given rise to more people becoming emboldened to take more extreme views. If they knew they had to argue with you, they might have thought twice about it. > [@Sarahfeena](#): > > If I had an alternative, do you think I’d be here going boo hoo hoo I’m all sad about this place? 😉 There are other places I go for other reasons, but for real debate and current events, I don’t have another place I think is better. So do you think the place has changed, or your expectation of it? Or both? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-good-and-decent-person/497191.md?page=9)