# Diogenes, go take a nap **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 19, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306 "2010-09-19T17:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/161 "2010-09-20T16:59:00Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It impairs the ability to get pregnant, you fucking dumbass. God. Are you SERIOUS with this? I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/162 "2010-09-20T17:00:17Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > > [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > > OK. Because they want to. Because it scratches an itch. Because it passes the time. Whatever. The question remains, why is any justification needed? > > It isn’t. But if poeple are doing it because it amuses them why so many pit threads? Shouldn’t people be happy and grateful when Dio pulls his act? Instead of pit threads why not MPSIMS threads titled “Hooray for Dio! he makes posting fun!” I think we have a misunderstanding of the antecedent for “it.” I am saying that people post because it (posting) amuses them, not that **Dio** ’s posts amuse them. And please substitute “entertain” for “amuse.” My apologies if poor word choice led to confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/163 "2010-09-20T17:01:33Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > If he expresses his opinion in an assholish way, why is it necessary to respond to it? Why do you care what his opinion about something is? Because _someone_ will always respond to an opinion expressed in an inflammatory or assholish way. It’s the very reason trolling is so annoying and why DNFTT never works. And once someone does respond, Dio is off and running and any non-Dio-related discussion is quickly overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/164 "2010-09-20T17:02:34Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? I’m pretty sure being fucking retarded counts as a disability. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/165 "2010-09-20T17:03:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > > > It impairs the ability to get pregnant, you fucking dumbass. God. Are you SERIOUS with this? > > I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? I suppose if we qualify it to mean “reproduce” you’ll go “Aha! But that’s not what was said, ho ho, ha ha!”. Which would not be disingenuous at all… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/166 "2010-09-20T17:04:03Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > \ Maybe you are right and the only good baby is a baby on the barby…\ I just wanted to say that this is my favourite sentence of all time (not for the content, but the writing). > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > \ > Question, should infertile people be allowed to park in handicapped parking spots? If not, why not? They’re disabled, after all. [Actually, fertility is more likely to be treated as a disability.](http://green514.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ikea-good-2.jpg) 😃 **Dio** , I mostly agree with you on your stance about infertility. I think we have enough people on the planet, and going out of your way to increase the population when fate has decreed that you will be one of the people not reproducing is not a good idea, in my opinion, but I don’t voice that opinion very often, and I certainly don’t do it in a thread where there are infertile people who are hurting over their infertility, because that would be insensitive and hurtful (i.e. BEING A JERK). Yes, I think the mods should call **Dio** on being a jerk more often; he has the right to his opinion, and he has the right to voice his opinion, but there is context and the way he does so; you can voice your opinion and not be a jerk and de-rail every thread. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/167 "2010-09-20T17:04:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > > > It impairs the ability to get pregnant, you fucking dumbass. God. Are you SERIOUS with this? > > I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? Well, posts like this make me think that maybe you are disabled, but not because you can’t get pregnant. You see, you are a man. Men are not biologically capable of being pregnant, ever. They do not have uteruses, fallopian tubes, or any other female reproductive organs. Childbearing is not an ability that their bodies have. Women, on the other hand, are biologically capable of being pregnant, and this is a normal ability that almost all women have. Therefore, the lack of it is a, wait for it, “disability.” If a man has erectile dysfunction, it doesn’t become normal or not a disability just because I can’t get a hard-on either, because you see, I am a woman and therefore lacking a penis. I’m not sure if I just responded to a troll, or a stupid person. I guess it could be both. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/168 "2010-09-20T17:04:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > > > Because their particular disability does not interfere with their mobility. > > It doesn’t interere with any other ability either, though. Dio, Would you please, please, please, PLEASE just shut the fuck up? I had an operation for endometriosis several years ago. I had it because the pain was so bad I was getting up in the middle of the night in complete agony. I swear to god I found natural childbirth no big deal on some level because the cramps I felt were similar to the cramps I’ve gotten each month when I have my menstrual cycles. You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about or the pain you’re so damned ignorantly shoving aside. SHUT UP! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/169 "2010-09-20T17:04:34Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? > > I’m pretty sure being fucking retarded counts as a disability. Insanity certainly does. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/170 "2010-09-20T17:04:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Quitting is easy. I’ve done it dozens of times. The corollary is attributed to Tallulah Bankhead (perhaps apocryphally) > [@](#): > > “Cocaine isn’t addictive. I’ve been doing it for years and I’m not hooked.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/171 "2010-09-20T17:06:35Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > > [@Zeriel](#): > > > > It’s especially galling when you toss off one-liners in response to substantiative posts. > > Yeah! What kind of jerk move is _that_? Exceptions will be made, on a case by case basis, for jokes. But GOOD jokes, mind you. I’m watching you! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/172 "2010-09-20T17:12:33Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > > > It isn’t. But if poeple are doing it because it amuses them why so many pit threads? Shouldn’t people be happy and grateful when Dio pulls his act? Instead of pit threads why not MPSIMS threads titled “Hooray for Dio! he makes posting fun!” > > I think we have a misunderstanding of the antecedent for “it.” I am saying that people post because it (posting) amuses them, not that **Dio** ’s posts amuse them. And please substitute “entertain” for “amuse.” My apologies if poor word choice led to confusion. There are plenty of good threads and discussions here. Sometimes they get derailed by the handful of posters who make threads about themselves. It’s a confusing phenomenon for me. Most people seem frustrated by threads about some issue turning into threads about some poster. But then they turn around and help make the thread about the poster instead of the issue. As **Giraffe** says, it’s inevitable, but I find it confusing. It’s like that old XKCD cartoon “Come to bed, honey.” “Not now. Someone on the internet is wrong!” ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/173 "2010-09-20T17:14:22Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > > [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > > OK. Because they want to. Because it scratches an itch. Because it passes the time. Whatever. The question remains, why is any justification needed? > > It isn’t. But if poeple are doing it because it amuses them why so many pit threads? Shouldn’t people be happy and grateful when Dio pulls his act? Instead of pit threads why not MPSIMS threads titled “Hooray for Dio! he makes posting fun!” Oh, Larry. Can’t you see? _Pitting_ people is fun. All the funny posters come out to play. The posters with the cutting wit, the ones that can call you fucking retarded and make it sound like a certified diagnoses from John Hopkins’ top neurosurgeon. Fun. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/174 "2010-09-20T17:15:07Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > Fine. Infetility does not impair walking. Exactly what physical ability DOES it impair? > > > > Unfair to who? > > The taxpayers, since they will be giving additional money to someone who is not by your definition disabled. I didn’t say they weren’t disabled. If they got their balls blown off in military service, then I think they have a right to compensation, and whether they’re technicaly classified as “disabled” or not is academic to me. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/175 "2010-09-20T17:18:47Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > > > It impairs the ability to get pregnant, you fucking dumbass. God. Are you SERIOUS with this? > > I can’t get pregnant either. Am I disabled? Question is irrelevant given your gender. Men should be able to get a woman pregnant and women should be able to get pregnant (assuming the man or woman is of reproductive age.) If they cannot, they are disabled. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/176 "2010-09-20T17:19:07Z")
So today we’ve learned that “Reproduction” is not an “ability” in The Dio Zone! We’ve also learned that all disabilities are 1-to-1 correlated with handicapped parking! What other fun fantastic facts will show up? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/177 "2010-09-20T17:19:26Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > > [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > > > It isn’t. But if poeple are doing it because it amuses them why so many pit threads? Shouldn’t people be happy and grateful when Dio pulls his act? Instead of pit threads why not MPSIMS threads titled “Hooray for Dio! he makes posting fun!” > > I think we have a misunderstanding of the antecedent for “it.” I am saying that people post because it (posting) amuses them, not that **Dio** ’s posts amuse them. And please substitute “entertain” for “amuse.” My apologies if poor word choice led to confusion. I’m in complete agreement with **Larry Borgia**. As to your point, I don’t think people have to apologize or have a rationale for responding to Diogenes’ posts. I think they ought to, in the same way that I’ll continue to respond to **Sam Stone** about the economy, even though I think everything he posts on the topic is ill-informed opinion that flies in the face of reality. I’ll continue avidly reading **jshore’s** and others efforts to confront ignorance on global warming without calling for moderator actions or otherwise crying foul. My problem comes from those whining that he’s somehow being cruel or a jerk or “making me do it”, as if they don’t have a choice. And for chrissakes, just assume that everything people post here is their opinion. It may or may not be backed up by facts, but it shouldn’t be so damn threatening to you that you cannot control yourself. This tangent on pregnancy is a great example. If you think he’s wrong, you can try to scream and yell and use ALL CAPS until you are blue in the fingers, but he’s stating an on-topic opinion and there’s no reason you cannot control whether you choose to respond or not. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/178 "2010-09-20T17:23:15Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > This tangent on pregnancy is a great example. If you think he’s wrong, you can try to scream and yell and use ALL CAPS until you are blue in the fingers, but he’s stating an on-topic opinion and there’s no reason you cannot control whether you choose to respond or not. Has it been established that posters respond because they are unable to control themselves? If it has I’ve missed it, and if I have suggested anything like that I apologize, for it was not my intent. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/179 "2010-09-20T17:25:18Z")
He can be cruel and a jerk (and IMO, increasingly is both of late) without “making” people do anything. I’m not suggesting that people who respond to him, including myself, can’t control ourselves. I’m merely suggesting that it’s not our fault that he’s a giant asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306/180 "2010-09-20T17:28:23Z")
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. I just don’t see an inability to reproduce as being a “disability” the way that word is typically use and understood. That is not to say that the CAUSE of infertility can’t be disabling, painful, etc., but I still maintain that the infertilty is a _symptom_ in those cases, not a disability in itself. It may not be popular to say it, but I don’t think it’s any big tragedy if someone can’t get pregnant, and I don’t think it’s an urgent medical need to get fertility treatments (or for guys to get erections). Popular or not, that’s my opinion and I’m not going to change it. I don’t think that not being able to get pregnant is on a par with dying of cancer. Sorry. Adopt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-go-take-a-nap/554306.md?page=10)