# Bricker is becoming more and more like Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261 "2018-06-17T14:50:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/121 "2018-06-19T21:22:12Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > He’s a troll. He dresses it up with pomposity, but he’s a straight up troll and he does it by nitpicking, ignoring other people’s points, and distracting diatribes on secondary issues because he apparently has no fucking life whatsoever so he can outlast the well adjusted who have things to do and people who love them. He’s one of the Dope’s HPCFs (high post count freak) who is granted status simply for always being here. There’s a _status_ for that? Why was I not informed?! Bryan Ekers - 57,000+ posts Bricker - 55,500+ posts ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/122 "2018-06-19T21:25:59Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > There’s a _status_ for that? Why was I not informed?! > > Bryan Ekers - 57,000+ posts > Bricker - 55,500+ posts Moreover: Bryan Ekers - 57,000+ posts from Nov 200 - present Bricker - 55,500+ posts from Dec 1999 - present ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/123 "2018-06-19T21:40:02Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Moreover: > > Bryan Ekers - 57,000+ posts from Nov 200 - present > Bricker - 55,500+ posts from Dec 1999 - present Well, what do you expect, given my 1800-year head start? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/124 "2018-06-19T22:03:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, what do you expect, given my 1800-year head start? If I’m being honest, you could have done so much more. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/125 "2018-06-19T22:10:00Z")
I was too busy not trying to impose my will on others. You know, that thing you’ve accused me of wanting to do on numerous occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/126 "2018-06-19T22:19:07Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I was too busy not trying to impose my will on others. You know, that thing you’ve accused me of wanting to do on numerous occasions. With 1800 years of practice, I’d hoped for better self-control. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/127 "2018-06-19T22:27:28Z")
Heck, with your mere 19 years experience, I’d hope for an ability to craft insults that are not as feeble as “Nuh-uh! I know YOU are, but what am I?” You’ve falsely accused me numerous times (and not _just_ me, of course; it seems to be one of your go-to moves and can be directed at just about anyone) of something, and your riposte is that you’d hope I wouldn’t do the thing you falsely accuse me of doing? I remain astonished by people who are impressed by you. Frankly, I’m more inclined to pit _them_ than I ever would be to pit _you_, but since this thread was started by someone else, why not weigh in? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/128 "2018-06-20T03:33:25Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Well, good, because that was some waist-deep bullshit you were wading through and trying to pull everyone else into. Whatever motivated you to do it that time–too much booze, a bad Sunday, sheer perverse pedantry–I hope you avoid it going forward. Oh, goodie–you’re at it again. > [@Separating immigrants from their children is child abuse.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/separating-immigrants-from-their-children-is-child-abuse/816206/357): > > So in your 23 years of experience, you’ve seen numerous shoplifters jailed, but they were all childless? > > Really? > > That’s an amazing coincidence. To what do you attribute this lack of criminality after one becomes a parent? Lay off the fuckin booze, or whatever it is that’s making you post such unmitigated horseshit. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/129 "2018-06-20T03:57:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I see people getting upset about this all the time, but in my experience most of the time it goes something like this > > **OP:** [or post in the thread]: X cannot be legal. > > **Bricker:** Actually, if you look at Y court case, you’ll see that X actually is legal. > > **Other Posters:** Why are you obsessed with legalities when X is morally wrong? Like when **Bricker** defended the Dred Scott decision? > [@SCOTUS just restored us to Yellow Dog contract days!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-just-restored-us-to-yellow-dog-contract-days/814561/102): > > It is the law. I disagree with it. > > Same as if Dred Scott were decided today. It might be law but I would oppose it where I could. I hope you would too. > [@SCOTUS just restored us to Yellow Dog contract days!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotus-just-restored-us-to-yellow-dog-contract-days/814561/104): > > No, I would not. > > The judicial decision was the result of slavery being legal, and expressly contemplated in the Constitution. The way to reverse the horrible results created by correctly applying the law was for Congress to propose an amendment that eliminated the grounds for the decision: which they did, and which the states ratified in 1868. > > I don’t want judges creating the “right” result when the law is a bad one – I want legislators creating the law. > > … ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/130 "2018-06-20T10:34:37Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > There’s a _status_ for that? Why was I not informed?! > > Bryan Ekers - 57,000+ posts > Bricker - 55,500+ posts It’s why this place is dying; the same old men having the same conversation with each other over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/131 "2018-06-20T10:47:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It’s why this place is dying; the same old men having the same conversation with each other over and over. Are you going to walk back or revise your “status” claim? I don’t know how the moderators view Bricker, but I’m pretty sure _I_ don’t have any special status to flout rules and troll the board based on my comparably high post count, so if there is a “High Post Count Freak” club, I never got an invite. As a side note, if I felt the same contempt for the board that Bricker has often expressed - lamenting the hypocrisies of the users and such - I can’t imagine why I’d keep coming back here. I’m not that desperate for that kind of validation. _Other_ kinds of validation, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/132 "2018-06-20T13:03:54Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It’s why this place is dying; the same old men having the same conversation with each other over and over. **Bricker** offers useful knowledge of the law and the legal system whether you agree with his politics or not. **Bryan Ekers** brings no value to a conversation. 59000 or so of his posts are thuddingly unfunny one-line attempts at humor. One supposes he fondly believes himself to be the SDMB’s beloved class clown, but folks believe all sorts of things that just aren’t true. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/133 "2018-06-20T13:16:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Like when **Bricker** defended the Dred Scott decision? I don’t know what point you think you made. The other poster starts off by making a point of law, so there is no pivot from moral to legal here. That was the claim. That posters are talking only about the morality of an issue and **Bricker** tries to pivot to a legal analysis. But let’s say you found one example. So what? I purposely said “most of the time”, not “all of the time”. It would not surprise me at all if someone with expertise in the law preferred, at times, to focus on the legal rather than the moral issue at hand. In fact, if you go to the thread this OP is complaining about, you’ll see something similar happening. Bricker is being chided for challenging what appear to be false claims by another poster on the basis that he won’t continually condemn the practice of child separation after having already done so a few times. One continuing problem with this message board is this idea that it’s OK to say anything bad about the other side, whether true or not, because the other side is bad so what does it matter? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/134 "2018-06-20T13:26:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I don’t know what point you think you made. The other poster starts off by making a point of law, so there is no pivot from moral to legal here. That was the claim. That posters are talking only about the morality of an issue and **Bricker** tries to pivot to a legal analysis. I don’t even think it’s that. Look at what happened when a poster described their experience working with child welfare and not seeing parents arrested for shoplifting cases. This didn’t match Bricker’s experience. He could have ignored that mismatch, because it’s not super-relevant to the thread, of course. Or he could have asked a clarifying question: “Wait, I’m confused–do you mean you don’t see anyone arrested for shoplifting, or don’t see anyone sentenced to jail for it, or something else? Because I saw arrests/jail sentences pretty often for shoplifting when I worked as a public defender.” But a clarifying question doesn’t let him get his snark on. So he comes up with a really strained interpretation of the post that allows him to mock the poster: > [@](#): > > So in your 23 years of experience, you’ve seen numerous shoplifters jailed, but they were all childless? > > Really? > > That’s an amazing coincidence. To what do you attribute this lack of criminality after one becomes a parent? And, predictably, it’s such a ridiculous response that it monopolizes the thread for the next several hours. I’m gonna walk back what I said earlier: that’s pretty trollish behavior. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/135 "2018-06-20T13:34:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I don’t even think it’s that. Look at what happened when a poster described their experience working with child welfare and not seeing parents arrested for shoplifting cases. > > This didn’t match Bricker’s experience. He could have ignored that mismatch, because it’s not super-relevant to the thread, of course. Or he could have asked a clarifying question: “Wait, I’m confused–do you mean you don’t see anyone arrested for shoplifting, or don’t see anyone sentenced to jail for it, or something else? Because I saw arrests/jail sentences pretty often for shoplifting when I worked as a public defender.” > > But a clarifying question doesn’t let him get his snark on. So he comes up with a really strained interpretation of the post that allows him to mock the poster: > And, predictably, it’s such a ridiculous response that it monopolizes the thread for the next several hours. > > I’m gonna walk back what I said earlier: that’s pretty trollish behavior. I disagree. As noted, other than for a few posters, the main point of the thread is not really debatable. Taking kids from parents is bad, and what Trump is doing is wrong and unnecessary. That’s been stated. But everyone wants to be a legal expert and debate the finer points of the law. Someone (I don’t remember when) brought up the analogy of shoplifting. Others chimed in. An unbelievable claim was made and challenged. If other folks think it’s irrelevant, then just ignore it and let the two posters duke it out. If you really think he’s trolling, then don’t feed him, or simply report him. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/136 "2018-06-20T14:01:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I disagree. As noted, other than for a few posters, the main point of the thread is not really debatable. Taking kids from parents is bad, and what Trump is doing is wrong and unnecessary. That’s been stated. “Not really debatable” should be an appropriate description, but it ain’t: there are plenty of assholes there, and in our country at large, taking the position that it’s okay to tear apart families like this. So yeah, there’s a debate to be had, and Bricker could–I know this idea is shocking–DEBATE THE CONSERVATIVES WHOM HE DISAGREES WITH. > [@](#): > > An unbelievable claim was made and challenged. If other folks think it’s irrelevant, then just ignore it and let the two posters duke it out. The claim wasn’t unbelievable. Bricker had to paraphrase it as a different, very stupid, claim in order to make it unbelievable. It was a little ambiguous. Which is why clarifying questions could’ve helped. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/137 "2018-06-20T14:08:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > “Not really debatable” should be an appropriate description, but it ain’t: there are plenty of assholes there, and in our country at large, taking the position that it’s okay to tear apart families like this. So yeah, there’s a debate to be had, and Bricker could–I know this idea is shocking–DEBATE THE CONSERVATIVES WHOM HE DISAGREES WITH. > > The claim wasn’t unbelievable. Bricker had to paraphrase it as a different, very stupid, claim in order to make it unbelievable. > > It was a little ambiguous. Which is why clarifying questions could’ve helped. OK, I think maybe we can find a point of agreement: This board would be a much better place if folks refrained from parsing each other’s posts in the an unnecessarily unfavorable light. Let’s not accuse folks of making claims they don’t actually make, or give the other guy the benefit of the doubt whenever any doubt exists. In short, don’t go for the jugular just because you want to score a win for your side. I think most of us are guilty of that to some extent. Some more than others, and since we’re all talking about **Bricker** here, I’ll agree that he is in the “some more than others” category. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/138 "2018-06-20T14:14:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > OK, I think maybe we can find a point of agreement: This board would be a much better place if folks refrained from parsing each other’s posts in the an unnecessarily unfavorable light. Let’s not accuse folks of making claims they don’t actually make, or give the other guy the benefit of the doubt whenever any doubt exists. > > In short, don’t go for the jugular just because you want to score a win for your side. I think most of us are guilty of that to some extent. Some more than others, and since we’re all talking about **Bricker** here, I’ll agree that he is in the “some more than others” category. It’s something I try to avoid, but yeah, I know I’m guilty of it too. But this is some pretty extreme gotcha-ing. And the weirdest part is, IT ISN’T EVEN FOR HIS SIDE. He doesn’t even oppose the overarching point being made! Unless his side is, “I’m smarter than everyone else and I’m the only one who makes honest arguments, so let me mischaracterize someone else’s argument in order to show how dishonest they are,” in which case, sure, he’s scoring points for his side. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/139 "2018-06-20T15:29:06Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It’s something I try to avoid, but yeah, I know I’m guilty of it too. But this is some pretty extreme gotcha-ing. > > And the weirdest part is, IT ISN’T EVEN FOR HIS SIDE. He doesn’t even oppose the overarching point being made! Unless his side is, “I’m smarter than everyone else and I’m the only one who makes honest arguments, so let me mischaracterize someone else’s argument in order to show how dishonest they are,” in which case, sure, he’s scoring points for his side. Part of the issue is that, if you’re a conservative here, you will see any conservative who makes a false or questionable statement set upon as if by a pack of wolves. If you are a liberal here, you often get a pass. You seem to be pretty receptive to the idea that this place has an atmosphere that is unwelcoming to women. I would say it is as least as unwelcoming, if not more so, to conservatives. So don’t always look at it as “which side am I on regarding this particular issue”, but “which side am I on in the grander scheme of things”. Anyway, I think we could all do better about trying to not make this be about which tribe you’re on. I think in the case you were talking about here, that’s exactly what it came down to. As far as my understanding of how **Bricker** perceives this problem, I doubt he’s going to make a change. Besides being on the tribe that gets the most beat up on this MB, he also _loves_ winning in a debate. As I said earlier, fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly. And the scorpion is going to sting you if you give him a ride across the river. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261/140 "2018-06-20T16:08:02Z")
If we don’t embrace conservatives as equals, how will they realize how wrong they are about everything and abandon their conservatism? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-becoming-more-and-more-like-trump/816261.md?page=8)