Oh, heck, since this is the pit. Do we now have a new definition for asshole? StarvinMarvin, who are you to tell someone else that they are no-one? Do you know that they are petty, jealous, etc? You started slinging out personal attacks as soon as someone suggested that D.T. was simply a good person who used enormous wealth in ways that sometimes helped others.
Maybe the one who is being petty is you.
Bucky
Oh, well. We can always make more killbots.
“Slander” has a specific legal meaning. Please specify whom you are accusing of slander and identify the allegedly slanderous statement(s), remembering as always that truth is an absolute defense.
Actually, no. If you wiped the foam from your mouth out of your eyes you would see that many people are cheering this person’s philanthropy and personal generosity of spirit. It is no sullying to point out that in fact he was speeding on an icy road without a seat belt, and that his actions were reckless and caused the death of two people, and question whether it is appropriate to lionize someone who causes the death of two people as a hero. Not directly comparing the two, but John Wayne Gacy devoted a lot of time to the Jaycees and entertained sick and dying children in the hospital. Shall we lower our flags to half-staff in his honor?
I’m a human being and a citizen of the United States of America, who has defended the right of all persons to freedom of speech.
:::uploading valium:::
Starvin, you need to calm down.
No slander going on here. Thomas was a great guy in life, but the reckless way he drove on that road was not a high point in his life. I don’t see it as a slanderous thing to be appalled at how he drove that day. I sure am appalled.
I think I am qualified (at least a little more than some) to judge his driving on that day - I had a car accident the same exact day that Thomas did, in the same storm, in a nearby area. I was driving maybe 20 mph, (surface streets) and was wearing my seatbelts. My car careened out of control. Very scary. There wasn’t too much damage to the car (considering the horrid sounds it made when it crashed into that wall) and I was unhurt, probably in part to the seatbelts.
I don’t understand Thomas’ foolhardy behavior, driving 70+ mph, NO seatbelt, in that weather, on those roads. I am all amazement that he did that. My jaw dropped open when I heard what he did, especially after my own harrowing experience. At least I have my inexperience in driving in icy weather (seeing as I am from a sunny clime) to partly explain why I did not drive more carefully on that day. Presumably Thomas had far more driving experience in cold weather than I do. So I just don’t get it.
Well, he payed dearly for his foolhardy act. But please - don’t freak out because some of us are appalled by the way he drove. I think we are entitled to be appalled.
All I ask is that you leave the dead man alone. As a personal acquaintance and dare I say a friend of mine, I am left to defend him, in his absence. Otto just wants a bone to chew on and attack; as shown in his thread on homosexual bigotry. Fine. But dont pick a man you dont know, talk shit, knowing he cant even defend himself or answer for what happened or what was done.
The rest of you!?!?! Get off the damn band wagon. Stop debating a man you know nothing of. Leave him be. Only God is left to judge him now, and I think thats quite enough in his situation.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. "
Jonathan Swift
Has anybody else seen a poster so flustered under pressure since MikeylikesIT left?
Read the posts, Marvin. It’s not about him, it’s about you.
Derrick Thomas was a decent, philanthropic human being who played professional football. Due to a lapse in judgment, he drove an automobile in an unsafe manner, without using his seat belts, which resulted in an accident that was fatal to himself and to one of his passengers who, I presume, were in the car with him by choice. And they may not have been asking him to slow down or anything.
Who among us has never had a lapse in judgment and suffered the consequences of it? And even if you have never had such a lapse in judgment (:rolleyes :), do you really think you’ll NEVER have one? When did any of you become perfect?
They guy had an accident and he died. It happens even to the best of us.
>< DARWIN >
__L___L
Damn smilies…
I wanted this: ( :rolleyes: )
>< DARWIN >
__L___L
I dunno…NewtonsApple was pretty easily offended.
Marvin’s already ignoring me because I was rude enough to suggest that gasp people actually still like to masturbate when they have a partner. I find the fact that he took offense to that even stranger than this thread.
I was kidding Drain. I thought you could see that.
(In regards to my ignoring Drain that is)
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. "
Jonathan Swift
TOMH
Get a life, even for the pit your behavior is low. First you attack a deceased man, whom I was a distant friend of. Then to deflect any sudden looks into you, to see what kind of person takes “pot” shots on the passed on, you suggest Im an alias.
Kind of Wizard of Oz’ish no?
The man behind the curtain isnt the coward right?
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. "
Jonathan Swift
C’mon have a little heart. It was totally tragic. He wasn’t heroic because he died. He made a mistake by driving too fast. He was one of the nicest football players there are. You may say that because he was charitable doesn’t make him heroic, but if you have followed football for awhile, or even in the last few months, there has been too much negativity. Two players have been charged with murder, and this week three players were charged with criminal offenses in two seperate situations. Thomas was never in the news for negative things and it was a freak accident and sad because he seemed to be doing okay. Sorry but he is dead, don’t call his character into question now.
“The idea of a walk-in closet sounds frightening. If I’m ever sittin’ at home and a closet walks in, I’m gettin’ outta there.” ~George Carlin
Amen.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. "
Jonathan Swift
You guys know that our society elevates celebrities above everyone else. So the Missouri Legislature held a moment of silence for Thomas because they feel he is a celebrity in the state. But I’m sure the real reason was that they knew what a caring individual he was. So what if people set up memorials for him. It is the same when other celebrities die. Now I wasn’t there, but I’m sure there were plenty of flowers and messages in Hollywood and New York when Frank Sinatra passed away.
“The idea of a walk-in closet sounds frightening. If I’m ever sittin’ at home and a closet walks in, I’m gettin’ outta there.” ~George Carlin
Marvin,
I have used the following terms, and only the following terms, to describe Derrick Thomas: “kind”, “generous”, “humane” and “philanthropic”.
Please tell me which of these constitutes “an attack”. I am genuinely interested to know, as I had previously though that they were all very positive descriptions. If any of those terms is a vile insult, I ought to be told.
Did I suggest that? What I said was
Why do you think I’m accusing you of being an alias on the strength of that? My intention was merely to suggest that that you were an intellectual lightweight given to fabrication along the lines of MikeylikesIT.
Also, you don’t seem to have addressed my posts about the language issue. If they were too difficult for you, let me know and I’ll post the simplified version.
Please do so, as I will feign ignorance, to waste your time. See how either way, you just arent doing so well?
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. "
Jonathan Swift
Tom, he’s trolling. Don’t bite, for the love of god.
I’d like to add a word or two about the conditions of the roads that day and KC drivers in general.
I agree that wearing a seat belt (as one of his passengers did) would most likely had made a difference. That, however, was their decision.
KC drivers drive me nutz. They claim that Kansas drivers are worse, but it’s difficult for me to imagine that. In my experience, the vast majority weave in and out from one lane to another, fail to use turn signals, speed up, then brake, etc. It’s simply the way a lot of them drive. My daughter has now adopted some similar driving traits (much to my dismay) because “one does to survive” in such traffic.
The roads that day suddenly turned very icy, others were sheer ice. KC had literally hundreds upon hundreds of accidents all over the city. Some roads were closed. One pile up just beyond the airport (my daughter worked that day) involved something like 5 semi’s and numerous cars in which 10 individuals died. It took the rescue crews 9 hours to reach the last victims.
Don’t be so quick to judge. Even a more careful driver could easily have been in trouble that afternoon.
You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims. -Harriet Woods-
A “decision” that cost them their lives, and deprived the world of some very nice people. A very, very stupid and crappy “decision”.
Obviously it isn’t working. People are not surviving such driving tactics.
I am from LA, where the people do not always drive in a genteel manner. I’m not saying that I am an expert driver, or that Angelenos are all expert drivers. But some of these midwest drivers scare the shit out of me, and are far worse than anything I encountered in LA. They are totally oblivious. No turn signals, the weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, not looking behind them when they merge onto a freeway (to make sure that the way is clear to merge) these are all very stupid driving habits.
Perhaps it’s because I am from an area where freeway driving has taken on a new level, I dunno. But I just think there’s no damned excuse for this sort of oblvious driving. Pardon me for an “outsider’s” viewpoint here, but I just don’t think ignorance and putting your common sense on the shelf when you drive is a reasonable way to think. Does anyone think it’s safe to drive without seatbelts? To weave in and out of traffic? What? Are they morons, or what? I don’t believe that, on some level, they don’t understand that the way they are driving is dangerous.
Well, pardon my rant. Apparently I am in the minority when I get angry at idiotic and dangerous driving. I guess if enough people do it, it all of a sudden is not idiotic or dangerous, right? Sigh.
In regards to this recently deceased football player - he sounds like a really nice guy. Have I ever said any different? I think it’s damned sad that he died so young. And yes, it’s true - what a lovely contrast he has been to all the asshole football players out there.
In retrospect, Edlyn, I wanted to add this: I was not ragging on your post directly there - I can tell you are very dismayed by the bad driving habits of these people also.
I just think there little excuse for such oblivious driving. Arggh.
You’re right, andros. And I have a feeling I have encountered this troll somewhere before …