When a comedian is not doing well on a particular night, he says “I’m dying here”.
Are there any similarities between actually dying and not doing well at a comedy club? Nope. At all. Not even a little bit.
And yet people still say it. And no one complains.
Or, if someone’s hungry, they say “I’m starving to death”. Have you ever starved to death? I assume it must not be a very pleasant experience. And yet we don’t give people grief for saying “I’m starving to death”.
Having said that, I think brightpenny overreacted when she said "“It felt like a gang rape”, and she should aknowledge that.
Nevertheless, for everyone here to come in and pretend to be shocked - shocked! - that anyone compares everyday experiences to extremely tragic events (like death, starvation and rape) is complete bullshit.
(Unless of course they go around giving stern warnings to anyone who says “I’m dying here”, or “I’m starving to death”, etc)
Alice, I didn’t intend to cause any harm to you or anyone. I deeply apologize for that. If I’d known the term pile-on before that, I would have used it. I have experienced what I described, however. I can’t imagine ever intentionally saying anything mean or nasty to anyone, and I try to treat others with the respect I wish for myself. I tease, banter, play, but not mean.
Although I’ve been here for a few months, I didn’t realize that there was a general fondness for pile-ups and meanness here. I will repeat this for the third (fourth?) time. I was uncomfortable with it, so I avoided the forums that participated in that and expected better in the other forums. My mistake. Miller is right. I don’t belong here.
**
Excalibre**, don’t email me again, or I’ll report you for harrassment.
brightpenny, I’d like to agree with what Revtim said. One of Cecil’s oft-quoted first lines in an answer was something like : If bullshit was cornflakes, you’d be General Mills. I’ve always thought he should have said Kelloggs. Stick around.
Funny. That’s all you got in the original GQ thread, and you reacted (and are still reacting) like someone beat your puppy. Yea, you had a few pointed comments thrown your way. But it just wasn’t as bad as you’re making it out to be. This thread, on the other hand, has some a small amount visciousness in it. But if you think this thread is bad, you really don’t have much experience with the internet in general and this board in particular.
You know, you may be right. This is coming from someone who thinks Spongemom got railroaded and does have a place in our community.
OK, you definitely don’t belong here. Hell, I don’t think you belong on the internet at all, if you think (a) a friendly email from Excalibre is harassment, or (b) you can do a damned thing about what you receive in your email box.
But “I’m dying here” and “i’m starving to death” have become so part of our discourse that everyone knows that they’re meant merely as hyperbole; people have been saying it for generations. Comparisons to rape, however, is not considered as appropriate for whatever reason, so equating it as you did is not a valid comparison. Most anyone with a native intuition in the English language would know that, and know that the gang rape remark is totally out of line, even if it may not be as bad as, say, dying.
Wow . . . I really think you’re going overboard… I mean, you obviously aren’t going to admit to overreacting in the first place, and now it just looks like you’re trying to make a point that nobody bought in the first place.
Deep breaths, take a break, and come back after awhile.
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Except “I’m dying here” and “I’m starving to death” are expressions that have passed so far into common usage that nobody who uses the phrases is even thinking about their literal meanings. Saying “I feel like I was gang-raped” isn’t in the same category. It would be more like getting into an argument and being berated and saying “I feel like a Tutsi who’s had his hands chopped off by a band of Hutus with machetes”. It may be just as grossly exaggerated as saying “I’m dying” or “I’m starving to death”, but you’re being disingenuous if you think the social context is the same and the statements therefore carry the same weight.
I think you’re proving our point. Those phrases are acceptable because they’ve worked their way into the vernacular. Are you hoping that “I feel like I’ve been raped” does the same? Whenever we let someone like brightpenny say what she said we desensitize the word a little more.
Perhaps, if you’re really that skeeved by having someone from this message board send you an email, you should consider removing from public view your email address. Just sayin.’
a board rule says no harrassment, which i assumed included emails referring to rape. you all get to object to the use of rape but I don’t. I get it now.
Now look what you went and did. You’re hurting Excalibre’s feelings. You’re nothing but a big meanie. And probably a rapist, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went crying home to momma and never came back to this message board again.
The more I think about the “Excalibre, don’t email me again” comment, the more you strike me as Stupid. Not just ignorant; hell, everyone’s ignorant of something. That’s the human condition. You came to this message board not knowing its culture and bumbled around a bit. Well, that happens. But now you’re casting about blaming everyone else for your own foibles. Like in this case. If you don’t want to be emailed, go to your profile and hide your goddamned email!! Blaming others for your mistakes is total bullshit.
You really, really, really, really, fucking really don’t understand this board. You really need to just fucking leave right now. This board is obviously not for you. You want this subject to die? Stop reading this thread! You’ll never be bothered with it again! Idiot.