# Der Trihs, come on down! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 4, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247 "2009-05-04T03:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/121 "2009-05-06T03:48:27Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > The fact that you’re calling the invasion of Gascanistan unprovoked clearly shows your utter disrespect of facts. Why were they stockpiling healing potions? And their contact with the Brotherhood of Pain? Was that just a high school reunion? You completely miss the point. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/122 "2009-05-06T04:49:41Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You completely miss the point. That’s usually his point. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/123 "2009-05-06T05:47:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How many times do I have to say it…I live in my parents’ ATTIC!!! Jeezuz pleezuz! What? No, the attic is for mad wives - let’s keep our tropes straight here. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/124 "2009-05-06T06:34:02Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > You completely miss the point. That’s what the pro-Gascanistan side always says. “_The blue dragons were only for kiddie rides_” and “_Elbonians were researching Epic Bigby’s Interposing Hand_” Was my joke that bad? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/125 "2009-05-06T08:12:43Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Or maybe it’s because you don’t act like an asshole with no social skills? At least that’s probably why you don’t generate the same ire that **Der Trihs** has. Oh, I’ve generated plenty of ire. Iraq threads in particular. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/126 "2009-05-06T08:42:31Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > That’s right, **Mr. Dibble** strikes me as an asshole WITH social skills. 😃 Was that a farting noise from the Syncretic Sewer I just heard? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/127 "2009-05-07T00:30:43Z")
Okay… I apologize for the “woodshed” comment. He got my goat, and I didn’t think before I wrote. Still, I agree with the folks who label **Der Trihs** as a bitter, hateful asshat troll. He pretty much threadshat with his answer. I stated that the government is generally considered to represent the will of the people in a democracy. Not really a point of contention- just a statement. I get “And when that will is evil, they are evil for serving it.” WTF is that supposed to be, other than something trollish and inflammatory? Then, my next statement that he replied to was that although military people have the choice to be insubordinate and end up in Leavenworth or Portsmouth, and that it was stupid and unrealistic to expect the majority to choose that route, I get the following answer: “Don’t engage in wars of conquest and torture people” is too complex and subtle for soldiers to grasp ? No, I don’t “expect” them to put principle ahead of the opportunity to kill, rape and torture, but that’s because I have a very low opinion of them." Again, that isn’t anything beyond an attempt to piss people off. It doesn’t address the point I made, and just tries to piss people off. Classic troll behavior. The point I was making is why the soldiers deserve gratitude, not to make some political point about Iraq, but that’s what he turned this into. The implication of what I was saying is that the real fault lies with the civilian leadership, not with the soldiers themselves, but he seems to think that the real problem is with the soldiers, which IMO is either crazy and deluded, or a deliberate way to try to get a rise out of people. That’s why I pitted him, and was so pissed. In a few sentences, he managed to change the topic, insult over a million people I hold in high regard, and directly call one of my best friends an incompetent because he chose to serve. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/128 "2009-05-07T00:58:57Z")
\*\*DS \*\*has very different views to yours and so when he expresses them you can’t get your head past the idea he must be doing it just to piss you off. It’s your problem, not his. I have seen nothing at all to suggest that DS doesn’t believe in what he says, and says what he says just to annoy people. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/129 "2009-05-07T01:45:22Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > \*\*DS \*\*has very different views to yours and so when he expresses them you can’t get your head past the idea he must be doing it just to piss you off. It’s your problem, not his. I have seen nothing at all to suggest that DS doesn’t believe in what he says, and says what he says just to annoy people. I agree completely. bump, your questions were answered specifically and truthfully from HT’s point of view. Which is what I said way back in post #8, and you still have no comprehension. You might have Pitted him for his beliefs, and you wouldn’t have been the first. But instead, you bizarrely claimed that he ignored you, and now you claim that his responses were trollish. They may have been offensive, but they certainly weren’t trollish. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/130 "2009-05-07T02:06:45Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > \*\*DS \*\*has very different views to yours and so when he expresses them you can’t get your head past the idea he must be doing it just to piss you off. It’s your problem, not his. I have seen nothing at all to suggest that DS doesn’t believe in what he says, and says what he says just to annoy people. I assume you meant **DT**. I have a DS, and it certainly doesn’t yell “Christianity is evil!” when I’m playing Professor Layton. 😃 Still, I agree; I think **Der Trihs** is certainly sincere in his beliefs. I also think he knows that he pisses people off by what he says, and doesn’t care; he figures that anyone who minds is delusionally insane or mustache-twirling evil. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/131 "2009-05-07T02:45:16Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Still, I agree with the folks who label **Der Trihs** as a bitter, hateful asshat troll. I do not. Bitter, likely, hateful, not sure, asshat frequently, troll, no. He believes in what he posts. It sometimes surprises me how often his detractors entirely misunderstand where he’s coming from. For example: [QUOTE=bump] He pretty much threadshat with his answer. I stated that the government is generally considered to represent the will of the people in a democracy. Not really a point of contention- just a statement. I get “And when that will is evil, they are evil for serving it.” WTF is that supposed to be, other than something trollish and inflammatory? [/quote] It’s a comment, nothing more, nothing less, which doesn’t contradict your statement in any way. It just makes the point that the democratic will of the people can still be evil. The democratic will of the American South may have been to perpetuate slavery for eternity, but that wouldn’t have made it right, and it wouldn’t have made the enforcers of that system right. That’s it. Not really a point of contention either, IMO. [QUOTE=bump] Then, my next statement that he replied to was that although military people have the choice to be insubordinate and end up in Leavenworth or Portsmouth, and that it was stupid and unrealistic to expect the majority to choose that route [/quote] Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. **Der Tris** makes two assumptions, firstly that it was _self-evident_ that the Iraq invasion was an unjustified and agressive war of adventure, an “evil war”, and here I think he is wrong. (About it being self-evident.) The second is that _knowing_ they had been ordered to fight in an evil war, military people would regard insubordination as the right thing to do. That is a high moral expectation but I’m not sure he’s wrong to hold it. Unrealistic possibly, but that’s debatable. [QUOTE=bump] “Don’t engage in wars of conquest and torture people” is too complex and subtle for soldiers to grasp ? No, I don’t “expect” them to put principle ahead of the opportunity to kill, rape and torture, but that’s because I have a very low opinion of them." Again, that isn’t anything beyond an attempt to piss people off. It doesn’t address the point I made, and just tries to piss people off. Classic troll behavior. That’s why I pitted him, and was so pissed. In a few sentences, he managed to change the topic, insult over a million people I hold in high regard, and directly call one of my best friends an incompetent because he chose to serve. [/QUOTE] Given **Der Tris’s** assumptions, he DID address the point you made. He rejected it. He’s not trolling - he has a very black-and-white view of the world and high expections of people to recognise and oppose evil where they find it. **Der Tris** simply cannot fathom why people don’t behave _better_, why the American people allowed Gitmo to stand, why they re-elected Bush for a second term, why the troops didn’t stand up for what’s right and prevent the Iraq invasion, why the US governmental mandaters of torture and rendition aren’t currently imprisoned without bail while they await their trial. His view of the way the world _should_ be is actually very rational and quite optimistic. Consequently he feels let down and disgusted by pretty much the human race in general, Americans in particular and most specifically the American military, who had a perfect opportunity to oppose a great evil (in his view) and lacked the guts or the imagination to do it. Personally I admire his idealism while occasionally wincing at his abrasiveness and lack of flexibility. If he gets to you, think of him as a sort of evangelical rational humanist and his posts as witnessing. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/132 "2009-05-07T02:47:58Z")
[Patrick Swayze]Ditto. {cough} [/Patrick Swayze] ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/133 "2009-05-07T03:51:42Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I assume you meant **DT**. Yes, sorry. Plus what **matt** said. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/134 "2009-05-07T10:23:13Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Okay.. I apologize for the “woodshed” comment. He got my goat, and I didn’t think before I wrote. > Still, I agree with the folks who label **Der Trihs** as a bitter, hateful asshat troll. > > He pretty much threadshat with his answer. I stated that the government is generally considered to represent the will of the people in a democracy. Not really a point of contention- just a statement. > > I get “And when that will is evil, they are evil for serving it.” WTF is that supposed to be, other than something trollish and inflammatory? > > Then, my next statement that he replied to was that although military people have the choice to be insubordinate and end up in Leavenworth or Portsmouth, and that it was stupid and unrealistic to expect the majority to choose that route, I get the following answer: > > “Don’t engage in wars of conquest and torture people” is too complex and subtle for soldiers to grasp ? No, I don’t “expect” them to put principle ahead of the opportunity to kill, rape and torture, but that’s because I have a very low opinion of them." > > Again, that isn’t anything beyond an attempt to piss people off. It doesn’t address the point I made, and just tries to piss people off. Classic troll behavior. The point I was making is why the soldiers deserve gratitude, not to make some political point about Iraq, but that’s what he turned this into. > > The implication of what I was saying is that the real fault lies with the civilian leadership, not with the soldiers themselves, but he seems to think that the real problem is with the soldiers, which IMO is either crazy and deluded, or a deliberate way to try to get a rise out of people. > > That’s why I pitted him, and was so pissed. In a few sentences, he managed to change the topic, insult over a million people I hold in high regard, and directly call one of my best friends an incompetent because he chose to serve. As others have said. Either willful or stupid nonsense that’s a lot closer to trolling than anything DT said. ---
**Author:** ![Bamboo\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Bamboo\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bamboo_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/135 "2009-07-11T23:05:46Z")
I agree with Matt. It seems to me that DT, though often abrasive, argues his points fairly. I generally hold his views. He IS perhaps, as Matt pointed out, extreme in his idealism, something I actually kind of admire. I find all this fantasizing about his private life pathetic. Does it really matter? The fact that certain posters in here go on and on about it so negatively is very telling. If his ideas are bankrupt, attack them. Unless the issue does directly concern his private life, leave it out. Malicious fantasizing is really just ad hominem. -BB ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247/136 "2009-07-11T23:09:52Z")
This thread has been dormant for a while. I’m going to close it. Feel free to start another one if you like. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/der-trihs-come-on-down/495247.md?page=6)