# Congratulations. I used to look up to you. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078 "2014-01-29T22:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/21 "2014-01-30T11:13:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Okay, you win! I yam not really crazy, wrong, stupid, or full of bullshit! I yam just pulling your leg to see if you were serious! Don’t worry! Be happy! Everything is just as you say - Governments always have as first and foremost duty protecting the well-being of the people. Accredited researchers are to a man honest, altruistic and un-compromised by corporate/government funding. Parsing theorems by plebiscite or authority is intellectual integrity. “Conspiracy” is an urban myth - all significant corporate/government policy decisions are made openly by transparent democratic due process, and only after exhaustive public debate. Minority views are held solely by ignorant bad guys. AIDS is a sexually transmitted, fatal disease caused exclusively by the HIV virus. Homosexuality is accepted as normal. Terrorism is a threat to the state. Climate change is human. 9/11 was an attack. Obomba is black. Radiation is harmless. Paranoia is madness. Science is reality. History is truth. Religion is wisdom. Socialism is good. Freedom is slavery. War is peace. Snakes are ducks. Denial is death. Arbeit macht frei. Amen. > Whew! Glad THAT one’s over! > Still I can’t help but wonder why you could not answer even a single question I put to you. You must have thought them all rhetorical… Unfuckin’believable. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/22 "2014-01-30T12:12:36Z")
Thank you for keeping us informed of each new development in this endlessly dying relationship. ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/23 "2014-01-30T12:58:02Z")
Fuck em’, OP. I’m interested. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/24 "2014-01-30T13:18:01Z")
So kook who has always been a kook is still a kook. Did I get that right? Its early I sorta dozed off in the middle somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/25 "2014-01-30T13:49:39Z")
Snakes are ducks? Well … who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/26 "2014-01-30T14:15:37Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > Snakes are ducks? > > Well … who knew? Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfuckin’ ducks on this motherfuckin’ thread! ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/27 "2014-01-30T14:55:44Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > Snakes are ducks? > > Well … who knew? Please desist immediately from using this obvious allusion to our copyrighted legal name. Bubbadog Chief Legal Authority Snakes-R-Us ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/28 "2014-01-30T15:20:58Z")
I’d be so tempted to email Uncle Doofie back with a long, torturous explanation (with dozens of cites and diagrams and maybe a powerpoint), all detailing why snakes are indeed not ducks. ETA: Heck, get all your friends to email him: a whole InBox full of subjects like “Wait, are snakes really ducks?” “SNAKES ARE NOT DUCKS!” “Snakes vs Ducks: What the gubmint won’t let you find out”, “Does a snake’s quack echo?”, etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19adc/32.png) [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Why_Bother)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/29 "2014-01-30T15:30:57Z")
OP, I feel your pain but I think you made a grave tactical error when you decided this idiot was worth responding to. I get that you thought the guy might be salvageable, but really, as soon as anyone plays the conspiracy card they’re basically declaring themselves to be beyond hope. Any evidence which supports a conspiracy theorist’s view proves him right, but any evidence which undermines his theory proves the existence of the conspiracy against him, which also proves him right. That’s genuinely how they see it, and they don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Talking sense to these people is like showing a card trick to a fucking dog. All you do is baffle them and rile them up. No matter what you say you can’t convince them. The only way to win is not to play. I’m currently in the early stages of building a little website devoted to debunking all manner of weird conspiracy crap, from AIDS denialism, to anti-vax bullshit, to 9/11 “Trutherism”, to ancient astronauts, to the law of attraction and any other batshit conspiracy gibberish that gets on my tits. It’s nothing fancy, just a little Wordpress thing. Mostly it’s a reaction to seeing this nonsense posted by some of my so-called “friends” on Facebook. One day, I’ll have it finished and then every time they ask me what I think about whatever harebrained crap they’re puking over my newsfeed that day, I can just link to the appropriate page on the site. I know it’d be easier to unfriend them, but maybe I can help a few other people as well. My advice to you would be to do something similar. You can’t convince these people on a 1-2-1 basis, but the more good info that’s out there, the fewer people will fall for it in the first place. I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/30 "2014-01-30T16:25:18Z")
> [@Phatlewt](#): > > It’s been going this way with my dad, as of late. When Snopes became “leftist,” I figured there wasn’t any point in talking about that any more. Snopes is run by a bunch of communist pinkies who helped get Obama elected, with the help of the Russians and the Chinese, to ruin America. [http://defeatcommunism.com/profiles/blogs/snopesanother-propaganda-tool](http://defeatcommunism.com/profiles/blogs/snopesanother-propaganda-tool) [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2195441/posts](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2195441/posts) > **[Snopes.com is a secret tool of the Democratic party to promote...](https://www.truthorfiction.com/snopes/)** > > Snopes.com accusing them being owned by a flaming liberal and this man is in the tank for Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/31 "2014-01-30T16:25:51Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’d be so tempted to email Uncle Doofie back with a long, torturous explanation (with dozens of cites and diagrams and maybe a powerpoint), all detailing why snakes are indeed not ducks. > > ETA: Heck, get all your friends to email him: a whole InBox full of subjects like “Wait, are snakes really ducks?” “SNAKES ARE NOT DUCKS!” “Snakes vs Ducks: What the gubmint won’t let you find out”, “Does a snake’s quack echo?”, etc etc. This is a great idea which I ultimately don’t have the effort or interest to go through with. > [@Doctor\_Why\_Bother](#): > > OP, I feel your pain but I think you made a grave tactical error when you decided this idiot was worth responding to. I get that you thought the guy might be salvageable, but really, as soon as anyone plays the conspiracy card they’re basically declaring themselves to be beyond hope. Any evidence which supports a conspiracy theorist’s view proves him right, but any evidence which undermines his theory proves the existence of the conspiracy against him, which also proves him right. That’s genuinely how they see it, and they don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Talking sense to these people is like showing a card trick to a fucking dog. All you do is baffle them and rile them up. No matter what you say you can’t convince them. The only way to win is not to play. > > I’m currently in the early stages of building a little website devoted to debunking all manner of weird conspiracy crap, from AIDS denialism, to anti-vax bullshit, to 9/11 “Trutherism”, to ancient astronauts, to the law of attraction and any other batshit conspiracy gibberish that gets on my tits. It’s nothing fancy, just a little Wordpress thing. Mostly it’s a reaction to seeing this nonsense posted by some of my so-called “friends” on Facebook. One day, I’ll have it finished and then every time they ask me what I think about whatever harebrained crap they’re puking over my newsfeed that day, I can just link to the appropriate page on the site. I know it’d be easier to unfriend them, but maybe I can help a few other people as well. My advice to you would be to do something similar. You can’t convince these people on a 1-2-1 basis, but the more good info that’s out there, the fewer people will fall for it in the first place. I hope. Well, I did a fairly exhaustively researched rebuttal of several major HIV myths, to this asshole, which might be of use to you. If you’re interested, PM me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/32 "2014-01-30T16:59:52Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But, as I said to another poster, just because you’re upset about something doesn’t mean you should come here and start an entire thread. But of course it does, that’s an immutable feature of board culture. Besides, what option is there to start a partial thread? ---
**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:** [January 30, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/33 "2014-01-30T17:07:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > But of course it does, that’s an immutable feature of board culture. > > Besides, what option is there to start a partial thread? Hasn’t there been a monthly mini-rant thread for the last little while? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/34 "2014-01-30T17:09:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Hasn’t there been a monthly mini-rant thread for the last little while? If this is “mini” then the list of threads that shouldn’t be put there probably come down to stuff AskThePizzaGuy wrote. ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/35 "2014-01-30T17:10:59Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Snopes is run by a bunch of communist pinkies who helped get Obama elected, with the help of the Russians and the Chinese, to ruin America. > > [luk 88-hb88 kim](http://defeatcommunism.com/profiles/blogs/snopesanother-propaganda-tool) > > [Snopes' Liberal Agenda - Not the Ultimate Source of Truth](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2195441/posts) > > [Snopes.com is a secret tool of the Democratic party to promote...](http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/snopes.htm) Is this a whoosh? Because I don’t want to attack these sources if I turns out you’re not serious. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/36 "2014-01-30T17:29:37Z")
Pretty much everything **Drunky Smurf** writes is a whoosh. 😃 This may or may not be a whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/37 "2014-01-30T17:32:38Z")
Yeah, from what I’ve read of his posts, me and him aren’t on the same side of the spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/38 "2014-01-30T17:33:47Z")
I was about to post this quote, which is one I like to dig out on occasions like this (much like the doper favourite, “You can’t reason someone out of a position he didn’t reason himself into”): > [@](#): > > There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. This principle is, contempt prior to examination. I’ve always thought this was said (or written) by Herbert Spencer, the Victorian philosopher, but Wikiquote has informed me that it’s actually misattributed, and was actually originated in the 18th century by a guy called William Paley. You learn something new every day. Quote is still true, though. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/39 "2014-01-30T17:47:21Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Snopes is run by a bunch of communist pinkies who helped get Obama elected, with the help of the Russians and the Chinese, to ruin America. Yup, it’s true. They’re funded exclusively by George Soros, who is a well-known totalitarian communist trying to destroy America at the bidding of his Societ/ChiCom masters. And worse? They’re _academics_! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078/40 "2014-01-30T17:54:45Z")
Always a bit disappointing to find out the people you admired when very young are really just glib assholes. But that happens to us all. The best revenge is thirty years from now when one of your best friend’s kids discovers that you too are just a glib jerk and not really cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congratulations-i-used-to-look-up-to-you/680078.md?page=3)