# American Idol 2/29 and beyond. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477 "2006-02-28T17:24:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/301 "2006-03-05T00:10:58Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Spare me. Seriously. Do you really think I was literally comparing AI to terrorism? That’s about as classic a case of godwinism I’ve seen recently, with “terrorists” having universally replaced “Nazis” as the godwin of choice for the last few years. > > In the first place. > > In second place (I don’t believe I’m actually responding seriously to this), what part of “one of the” don’t you understand? So you definitely aren’t putting American Idol in company with terrorism or bird flu, but it’s definitely “one of the” worst aspects of the modern world, on the short list with terrorism and bird flu. Got it. Sorry I misread you. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/302 "2006-03-05T00:13:04Z")
Excatly how did this thread get like this? Every other AI thread has been fun and good natured. This one is a damned car wreck. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/303 "2006-03-05T00:14:59Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Where did I speak for you? just because I have a negative opinion where you have a positive opinion doesn’t mean, well, anything. It certainly doesn’t suggest that I’m “speaking for” you. Pretty much the opposite actually. You said that we should feel ashamed for watching it. You want to feel ashamed, you go right ahead. You want to hate the show, hate the show. Just stop shitting on the thread, okay? The thread is for people having fun talking about the show. It isn’t for people getting talked down to for liking it, or told they ought to be ashamed. If you want to pit the show or the fans, go pit it or us. But don’t come in this thread and say that I should be ashamed of something. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/304 "2006-03-05T00:18:34Z")
Dude. My “in the first place” was that it was obviously hyperbole. My “in the second place” was, even if it wasn’t, I never said it was worse than terrorism. I said it was “one of the” worst things about our modern world. You want me to rank them now before I’m allowed to express an opinion? You don’t think there are any aspects of our culture that are symptoms of something beyond what they themselves signify? Like Jerry Springer, backyard wrestling, and AI? I’m not allowed to express an opinion about the coarsening of our culture, and one of the most egregious examples, symptoms of that coarsening, without you godwinning it with–let me shake my head clear and read that again–_bird flu?_ NOW maybe you see how this thread got like this. _Bird flu!?!?_ ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/305 "2006-03-05T00:35:03Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > NOW maybe you see how this thread got like this. It seems only timed with yours and Liberal’s entrance into the thread, but I allow everyone to draw their own conclusions. _Bird flu!?!?_ [/QUOTE] I’m glad to see I’ve made my point. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/306 "2006-03-05T00:45:22Z")
This is what happens when people think their opinions are fact and that everyone should agree with them on the so-called facts, **Walter**. Mix in a little OCD and there you have it. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/307 "2006-03-05T00:57:05Z")
Kumbayah, my lord, kumbayah… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/308 "2006-03-05T01:10:22Z")
So, is anyone compiling their wishlists for songs, yet? Who would you like to hear singing what? ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/309 "2006-03-05T01:26:02Z")
Well, I would love to hear Chris sing “Hunger Strike.” 🙂 I’d like Paris to sing something jazzy again, like “Honeysuckle Rose,” the way Anita O’Day did it, though it might be just a little too, er, grown up for her. I don’t like Melissa, but she has a good voice for “Black Velvet,” and I like that song. I’d like to hear Bucky sing something by Lyle Lovett. “Which Way Does That Old Pony Run,” or something like that. Taylor, something by The Band. “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down,” would be awesome. Kevin, “I’m a Soul Man,” just for the irony. Mandissa, “Brick House,” just for the self-effacing humor of it. I’d love her for it. That’s all I got right now. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/310 "2006-03-05T03:31:37Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > This is what happens when people think their opinions are fact and that everyone should agree with them on the so-called facts, **Walter**. Mix in a little OCD and there you have it. To be fair, Biggirl. Walter is one of the primary reasons this thread has gone south. I expressed my personal opinion about some of the contestants, and my personal opinion about AI as a cultural phenomenon–as a symptom of what is, in my personal opinion, a disturbing trend in American culture–and WW reacts with “terrorism” and “bird flu.” Seriously. “Terrorism” and “bird flu.” And THEN he asks what happened the thread. Just because he asked the question doesn’t mean he ain’t one of the answers. ANYway. Fantasy-world, never happen song choices: Chris: Jeff Buckley’s “Eternal Life” Tyler: a swingin’ “Me and My Shadow” Katherine: Annie Ross’s “Twisted” Mandisa: “Unchained Melody” Eliot: Jeff Buckley’s “Dream Brother” Paris: “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” The rest I don’t much care about. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/311 "2006-03-05T03:38:59Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You said that we should feel ashamed for watching it. You want to feel ashamed, you go right ahead. You want to hate the show, hate the show. Just stop shitting on the thread, okay? “Thread shitting” is a specific behavior. Expressing a negative opinion of the subject at hand is not thread shitting. Thread shitting is when someone comes into an appreciation thread and goes “AI sucks.” Thread shitting is NOT when someone who is actively participating in a thread, discussing various aspects of the subject at hand, shares negative opinions of the SUBJECT–not the participants–along with the positive. Subjective discussions in CS will net you both positive and negative opinions. Your choice to ignore or respond. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > The thread is for people having fun talking about the show. It isn’t for people getting talked down to for liking it, or told they ought to be ashamed. If you want to pit the show or the fans, go pit it or us. But don’t come in this thread and say that I should be ashamed of something. You need to re-read. First of all, this thread is for discussing the show, not for “people having fun talking about the show.” There is no loyalty oath required. Read how many posts I contributed discussing the show as an active participant before I expressed my personal misgivings about the show as a personal phenomenon. I said _WE_ should all be ashamed. I’m not talking down to anyone. I’m expressing a highly personal opinion and including myself in the audience for this show. If you have a problem with my opinion, you should address _my opinion_, and not whether or not I have a right to express it. Or, ignore it; read the posts that make you happy. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477/312 "2006-03-05T03:41:34Z")
. . . about the show as a [del]personal[/del] \*\*\*cultural \*\*\*phenomenon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-idol-2-29-and-beyond/346477.md?page=15)