Now, you’re apt to get this thread name changed to “I Disagree with Mr. Bloomberg’s Position on How Posts Are Addressed”
Personally, I have little problem with David. He tends to argue from a very opinionated stance. Gee, and nobody else does? {Notice for the sarcasm-impaired: that was an example.}
I have a definite problem with what he considers “reasonable” because it appears to presuppose the conclusion. When I was studying logic, they called this circular reasoning. And nastier names.
However, in general, he seems to be quite moderate in his posts. And Jodi, I think you shot first in that little exchange.
Read back through the entire post. Brian posted an article that he found obnoxious. He has time and again noted that he has no problem with your and my Christian worldview but objects to people who attempt to impose theirs on him. He made one intemperate remark in the course of it, with a weasel-word (seem) included, and you jumped all over him for it. He tried to make it clear that he wasn’t indicting you, and you jumped further on his shit. I tried to smooth the waters by showing him where the problem lay, he acknowledged that the phrasing was not the greatest and made clear that he was not slamming you or me, and you ignored both of us. David stepped in after having been away, and you took him on.
Hello, Jodi…you are not behaving like the “moderate Christian” you claim to be. I’m not saying that to slam you, but to hopefully wake you up. I’ve had people slam my comments too, and generally tried to deal with it pacifically. Occasionally I’ve shot a zinger back…did so today, and shocked Gaudere! Please take a chill pill, look the posts back over, do not let things in them anger you, and then see if we can repair all this. Thanks.
Poly, can you point me to where I can find this? Serious question, I re-read the whole thread, and I didn’t see anything like this, and I’d like to know if I missed it. I’m not sure I would have jumped into the fray had I seen something like this. I know you can’t post links to actual posts, just threads, so if you can point me to the datetime of a post in that thread, that would be fine.
Whilst re-reading the thread in question, I came across the following. I was going to respond there, but this thread is going now, and even though this is intended as more of a nudge than an actual flame, I still think it’s more appropriate in the Pit. Satan said:
Not unless you’re a waiter and the people you’re waiting on are black, right?
The words Brian posted which I took as acknowledging that his phrasing was easily misunderstandable were these:
I left his second paragraph in because I think he was making clear that he was not tarring and feathering all Christians by his comments.
Further, since I seem to be quite literally Satan’s advocate on this line, note his last post where he discusses his grandmother’s racism and his own views. I think that there is a very clear line between stating that a given group of people tend to include those of a particular disposition and slamming all people of that particular group for that disposition. Brian said that when he was a waiter, more often than not, blacks failed to tip, or tipped inadequately (by the standard etiquette for tipping). He did not indict them as cheap, he did not say that all blacks fail to tip, he just reported his experiences. (He may, given what I know of him, have reasoned that they probably were not exposed to the sort of etiquette training we all got as kids that would lead them to tip “properly.”) Was he generalizing and stereotyping? Yes. Don’t most people? I think that I would probably get tarred and feathered for quoting half the arguments on this board approvingly to some of the people who sit out in front of the general store near where I live in rural North Carolina. I could be pleasantly surprised. But I suspect there are not a whole lot of liberal broad-minded folk among them. Am I stereotyping? Damn’ right! I’m also saving my reputation and possibly avoiding a lot of trouble. I don’t think Brian held a grudge against all blacks for those who failed to tip him, he just made the observation, and probably reasoned “I’m seating some black folks; they probably won’t tip well.” And then was pleasantly surprised when some did.
I could be wrong on what he was saying. And I don’t hold that stereotyping is right. But people do it constantly. Being aware one does it, and why, and dealing with the difference between that and overt racism, is a good idea for everyone.
And I care that you care – to the exact same degree.
AURASEER says:
Well, I actually was aware of this. What am I to make, however, of a “lurker” who’s never bothered to exchange a single word with me but happily jumps all over me during my first appearance in the Pit? I don’t think much of him, because it strikes me as a small thing to do, and because I wouldn’t know him if I ran over him.
DAVID – It’s a big fucking deal, you patronizing weasel, because when you present only your side of it, it makes it sound like you took issue with me and I failed to respond. You conveniently left out that I called you on it then, as I called you on it now, but you were “too tired” to respond. When you present only one side of an exchange – especially an old exchange – you’re being intellectually dishonest again. Yeah, the rest of your post is “100% in effect;” it’s 100% bullshit, is what it is. Maybe you ought to read up on what you’re talking about before you post.
POLYCARP – I don’t know what to tell you; you’re absolutely right, of course, but I’m too mad about this to let it go yet (obviously). I honestly did not mean to “get in Satan’s shit;” I posted late and poorly; reposted to try to clarify what I was saying, but the offense had already been taken.
That has nothing to do with my problem with David. If you re-read the posts, I think you will find that he posted an insulting post about me – but not to me – and I told him I found that pretty “junior-high” – which it was. Then he jumped all over me. I’m actually glad I can’t post over the weekend, because maybe by then I will have calmed down about this whole thing, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t meant every word I’ve said. I may well live to regret it (though I think so little of him at this point that I kind of doubt it), but I mean every word of it.
To quote the great Gilbert Gottfried, “Oh, fucking shit my Christ!” I seriously doubt that had David addressed his comments to you rather than to Satan about you, you would have reacted any goddamned differently. In fact, I know it, from experience. You’d have leapt right down his throat. And what’s more, you would have ignored the glaring hypocrisy resident in the fact that you did exactly the same thing to me.
Grow up, jodih.
“I love God! He’s so deliciously evil!” - Stewie Griffin, Family Guy
Jodi, SDMB is NOT worth getting so upset over. It’s just an assload of electrons. Breathe, shut the computer down, and deal with reality instead of the Pit. Then maybe come back and treat this as the entertainment it is.
-andros-
“Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally One!” Exceptions? None!
-Doc Bronner
[I left his second paragraph in because I think he was making clear that he was not tarring and feathering all Christians by his comments.
[/quote]
Thanks, Polycarp! I see your point, although I took it differently. Saying, “if you alter my statement by one word, you’d be right,” seems quite a bit different than, “I didn’t word my statement as well as I might have.” (I don’t mean to be putting words into anybody’s mouth here, I’m just paraphrasing how I view the conversation to date.)
I couldn’t agree more with everything in that statement. I hope nobody, especially Satan, believed that I was slamming him for being a racist, that was certainly not my intent. As I said, my quote about the waiter wasn’t intended as a flame, more like a nudge: I liked the juxtaposition between a claim about not stereotyping, coupled with an earlier, admitted generalization. Everyone I know generalizes to some extent, including myself; I just thought this particular pair of statements was funny.
In any case, getting back to the subject at hand, I view it as I view most of the more heated exchanges on these boards: a bit silly, a bit humorous, a bit serious. I think Satan made a misleading statement, which was only partially “fixed” by a subsequent statement in the OP. I think Jodih questioned it inarticulately. I think Satan defended it and attempted to explain it rather than amending it so that it actually said what I think he was trying to get at all along. I think Jodih continued to play semantics longer than she should have. I think David jumped in a bit inappropriately. I think Jodih over-reacted to David, and David returned the favor.
ANDROS – You are the voice of reason, Polycarp is the voice of conscience, and Veg is a little of both. You’re all right. I’m logging off and I hereby promise not to post again until Tuesday morning at the earliest, by which time I devoutly hope I will have regained a grip on myself. I need to have this popped blood vessel in my forehead looked at, anyway.
Yes, he can be at times. He certainly knows how to throw his weight around on the “God-and-Aliens” board.
But he’s a Rush fan, so I cut him a little slack.
You KNOW that I agree with you. You are quite correct in your labeling of DavidB as a patronizing weasel and I’d like to add that he’s a bully and a hypocrite of a moderator.
He attacks me and insults me personally in virtually every thread that that I start in “his” forum.
If there is a fault I find in David B., it’s that he seems to get a little too involved in some of the debates.
I don’t know what kind of guidelines or rules the moderators operate under, but I don’t think being a moderator precludes a person from having an opinion, or from stating that opinion.
I’ve been “thwacked” by the moderators a couple of times, and took it like a man (or at least an adult), out of respect for the fact that they are doing a job I’m not capable of, or at least disinclined to do.
Most of the instances that I’ve seen David B. step forward and moderate seem to me to be called for, and good judgement calls.
If I were an argumentative trolling ass-wipe, I might see things a little differently, but I’m not.
I’m going to continue to be my caustic, slightly misanthropic self, and if any moderator sees the need to moderate me or to edit my posts (as Lynn did recently), I’ll just suck it up and drive on.
Instead of whining about it.
<FONT COLOR=“GREEN”>ExTank</FONT> <FONT COLOR=“BLUE”>“Shut the Fuck UP!” By Dr. Dennis Leary.</FONT>
FWIW, I think David B is quite fair as a moderator, and I think jodi has few grounds for complaints.
It’s true, Ex Tank, that he expresses his opinions quite a bit, but I don’t see why the role of moderator precludes this. In fact, one might say the moderator has a right to make thoughtful points, suggest new avenues for discussion or call down people making insults or advancing propositions not supported by fact.
man…get me the Visine my eyes hurt from the heat in here…I have seen message boards where people rip one another asshole (repeatedly) but this posting takes the cake.
Sorry, but being new to these boards it’s kinda funny.
I think these boards are to provoke thought and comment? I sent a buttload of my friends and family the link to the site because it seemed to me to be a place where intellectual people had something to say.
Not that I am saying this isn’t warranted cuz I haven’t been here long enough to figure out what is going on.
However, if one has a comment, one will make a comment. If one doesn’t choose to respond, then so be it. But I wonder if flaming someone is the right way to handle the situation at hand.
Again, I am new here and looking at it from an outsider’s perspective and it seems to me that there are better ways to handle this situation?
For the record, I will respond or create a thread to those things that strike me as something I want to commit time to. I refuse to banter on about the tea in China or the leg hairs on a goat. I prefer things that make sense to me.
Anyhow, as an outsider I hope that I have not made any enemies but bring about a thought pattern that others involved in this situation can break away and turn to more interesting subjects. (course I read each and every posting in this thread, kinda like hating soap operas but getting sucked in the plot of Gina and her need to be princess to steal a painting when you are home sick.<giggle>)
BTW…I apologize in advance if I end up doing the same thing <hehe>
ummm…Techchick, if you find the “heat” to be uncomfortable, perhaps you might find one of the other forums (General Questions, Great Debates, MPSIMS or either of the Comments forums) preferable to the BBQ Pit. Even if you didn’t read the forum description (If you must flame, do it here) before entering, what sort of discussions did you expect to find in a forum titled “The BBQ Pit”? The purpose is to keep the flaming out of the other forums, in case you couldn’t figure that out.
Peyote, that was a little harsh. Ever heard that a gentle answer turns away wrath?
Techchick, this thread is from the BBQ Pit. If you go to www.straightdope.com and click on the message boards, you’ll see a list of the forums, one of which is the Pit.
The Pit is the place where posters spew venom and hash out angry irrational fights. If enemies get out of hand in, say, MPSIMS, the moderators will tell them to take it to the Pit.
The Pit is, and probably always will be, the place for infantile name calling and flaming. A lot of people have protested that, but if it doesn’t happen here, it’ll happen on the main boards. Some poor newbie will be flamed for asking about words ending in “gry” and transform into a troll. G-d knows we have enough already.
That’s why Peyote was kind of mean, BTW. It’s just a habit to be abusive in the Pit. But you’re new, and get some leniency, and if the dirty little prick does it again I’ll kick his ass.
Definition of jodih-FOOL
Please put me on your ‘enemies list’; you skank.
Being showered with abuse by jabbering , twisted legalistic swine like you is a blessing from heaven!
I made painful & halting use of the search engine , & judging by: A-your posts ;& B- everybodies responses to those quotes; I can , as an individual who has not exchanged one byte of data with you directly & is utterly impartial; declare you to be A GIT, AND AN UTTER ASS, AS WELL AS A SWINE.
In other words, a lawyer. One of the people who made America into Hell.
YO-HO, ME HEARTIES! ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR THE MUSICAL BATTLE AT SEA!
