# Diogenes the Cynic, Fount of Perfect Knowledge **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 20, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534 "2005-09-20T14:37:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [September 20, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/81 "2005-09-20T19:32:55Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Where did she say they were bothering her? Oh, of course. She started a thread about something that _didn’t_ bother her. Therefore, you don’t bother Metacom and he started _this_ thread for laughs. It’s all coming clear, now. ---
**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, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/82 "2005-09-20T19:33:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > [Maxwell Smart voice] > > Missed it by that much! > > [/Maxwell Smart voice] > > Regards, > Shodan How about coughing up a cite for **Zsofia** claiming that her neighbors were bothering her? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/83 "2005-09-20T19:37:18Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > What was Shodan right about? What he is right about is that if twice in a thread you state that the Op should mind her own business, and then claim that people that who don’t mind their own business are assholes, you have pretty much called her an asshole. ---
**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:** [September 20, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/84 "2005-09-20T19:37:39Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > How about coughing up a cite for **Zsofia** claiming that her neighbors were bothering her? So, you want an exact quote to that effect? The fact that she started the thread isn’t sufficient? I dub thee Doug the Pedant. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/85 "2005-09-20T19:38:30Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > How about coughing up a cite for **Zsofia** claiming that her neighbors were bothering her? I think this is just a semantic difference. Some are considering Zsofia to have been bothered by viewing what she feels may be illegal behavior. I think you may be more narrowly looking for a statement from her that they had done something directed toward her. ---
**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, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/86 "2005-09-20T19:38:46Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > You asked when had you ever advocated legislation supporting your views. > > Evidence was presented that you advocated new legislation supporting your specific view that the parents who homeschool their children should be required to learn a specific theory that you and I accept as fact, but the parents may reject. > > Asked, answered, the man wins a kewpie doll. I was actually just saying that parents should not be allowed to deprive their children of an education. > [@](#): > > The fact that she posted to the messageboard asking for advice about whether or not to report them to police indicates that, at least on some low psychological level, their presence was troubling to her. This is a bullshit definition of “bothering.” She never claimed that they had actively done anything to harass her, or threaten her or inconvenience her in any way. I fail to see how she’s being “bothered.” ---
**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, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/87 "2005-09-20T19:42:04Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I think this is just a semantic difference. Some are considering Zsofia to have been bothered by viewing what she feels may be illegal behavior. I think you may be more narrowly looking for a statement from her that they had done something directed toward her. They’re not directing anything towards _anybody_. I’m right about this and Shodan is wrong. She never said they were bothering her, only that she noticed behavior which she thought was suspicious. That cannot be called “bothering” with any honesty. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/88 "2005-09-20T19:42:47Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I was actually just saying that parents should not be allowed to deprive their children of an education. > > This is a bullshit definition of “bothering.” She never claimed that they had actively done anything to harass her, or threaten her or inconvenience her in any way. I fail to see how she’s being “bothered.” See my previous post, and, from M-W Online: bother 1 : to annoy especially by petty provocation : IRK 2 : to intrude upon : PESTER 3 : to cause to be anxious or concerned ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/89 "2005-09-20T19:43:01Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I fail to see how she’s being “bothered.” You never do, **Dio**. You have a blind spot the size of Antarctica when it comes to empathy for why things may bother other people. When something bothers you, it is the end of civilization; when it bothers someone else, it is tough shit. It’s not your most endearing trait. ---
**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, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/90 "2005-09-20T19:43:56Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > See my previous post, and, from M-W Online: bother > 1 : to annoy especially by petty provocation : IRK > 2 : to intrude upon : PESTER > 3 : to cause to be anxious or concerned They were doing none of those things. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/91 "2005-09-20T19:46:02Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I was actually just saying that parents should not be allowed to deprive their children of an education. Which is your view, and when you say the government should prevent it, you’re advocating legislation to support your views. > [@](#): > > This is a bullshit definition of “bothering.” She never claimed that they had actively done anything to harass her, or threaten her or inconvenience her in any way. I fail to see how she’s being “bothered.” Excerpt from Second Paragraph: > [@Zsofia](#): > > There’s a whole lot of people who seem to be living/staying there, for one thing. **They’re kinda loud.** There’s cars driving up at all hours of the day or night, and nobody really seems to get out of their car - **they honk the horn (GRR!)** or maybe call on a cel or something, because people sort of come out of the house and they talk and then the other people drive off. (I don’t watch too closely.) > [@dictionary.com](#): > > both·er > v. both·ered, both·er·ing, both·ers > v. tr. > > 1. To disturb or anger,\*\* especially by minor irritations\*\*; annoy. All emphasis mine. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/92 "2005-09-20T19:46:25Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > They were doing none of those things. I’m pretty sure that everyone who has read the other thread will agree that the actions of the neighbors have caused her to be anxious or concerned. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/93 "2005-09-20T19:46:30Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Eh, um, er…do you own your own house? Ever tried to appeal your property tax assessment? Do you think the municipality to which you pay taxes has any motive to REDUCE the taxable value of your home? At the very least, it’ll stay constant. > > Good luck appealing, too…it takes a mountain of evidence and blackmailing 2/3 of the appeal board to get them to lower your property taxes. (ok, maybe only 1/3 of the appeal board). Bring along a horse head and a giant named Luca too. ---
**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, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/94 "2005-09-20T19:49:12Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > You never do, **Dio**. You have a blind spot the size of Antarctica when it comes to empathy for why things may bother other people. When something bothers you, it is the end of civilization; when it bothers someone else, it is tough shit. > > It’s not your most endearing trait. There is no blind spot, here, you’re all just full of shit and reaching to try to score a point. All of the so-called “suspicious” behavior descibed in that thread was taken as a given. I repeatedly said that as long as they weren’t harrassing or threatening or “bothering” anybody, AND she had seen nothing illegal, then I wouldn’t call the cops. It was and is blindingly obvious from context that when I said 'bother," I meant behavior which was specifically deliberate and directed towards the OP or her neighbors. This is a bullshit point and everybody knows it. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/95 "2005-09-20T19:49:42Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > They’re not directing anything towards _anybody_. I’m right about this and Shodan is wrong. She never said they were bothering her, only that she noticed behavior which she thought was suspicious. That cannot be called “bothering” with any honesty. It’s obvious that she’s bothered by the whole thing. Why else would she ask about calling the cops? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/96 "2005-09-20T19:50:30Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Ok. I think children have a right to be educated. I think theyeshould be taught science. I also think they should be taught math and taught how to read. I guess I’m a fascist. :rolleyes: > > I was talking about protecting the rights of children, not taking anything away from parents. So close but no cigar. You believe children should be educated in a manner you approve of. With subject matter you approve of. With a **Diogenes** -approved approach to the subject matter. And you have advocated making this compulsory via government. The very fact that you can’t even see your statement as potentially offensive is evidence of your self-righteousness. Because obviously no one would possibly be offended by you telling them what to teach their kids or that they must submit to testing to prove to you that they had a grasp of what you think an education should provide. Your standards are fair, reasonable, and should provoke no disagreement among right-thinking people. Almost the very definition of self-righteousness. You have also said [“Any sort of inattentive driving should be penalized”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5807738&postcount=23) and [“Bottom line, if a minor is in the presence of criminal activity, does not leave and does not report it, I say throw them in the can for a night. Put the fear of God in the little bastards.”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5510628&postcount=13) Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/97 "2005-09-20T19:50:32Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I didn’t say shit about **Zsofia**. I was talking about people in my own experience. I did not intend to say anything about Zsofia at all because, at that point in the thread, she had not yet indicated that she had tried to involve herself in anyone else’s business or “police the neighborhood.” You’re reading too much into it, but since you seem to be intent on taking it that way in order to try to score a cheap debating point, then I apologize to Zsofia because I did not consciously _intend_ to implicate her at all. That point in the thread was post #56. [The weasel speaks](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6592569&postcount=32) in post #32. Which came _before_ post #56. Got it? ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/98 "2005-09-20T19:52:34Z")
It’s hard to fathom that anyone who has ever been the victim of harassment by authority would even consider calling the police on someone for these vague transgressions. I have been needlessly harassed, and it didn’t make me feel any better than I was innocent of any crime. It was still a violation and I will never forget what it felt like. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/99 "2005-09-20T19:52:51Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sorry, I can’t. To me, the purpose of owning a home is to live in it, not to sell it. Nope, the purpose of owning a house is as an investment and to have some equity. If the point was just to live in it you wouldn’t need to own it. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534/100 "2005-09-20T19:52:56Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There is no blind spot, here, you’re all just full of shit Stop it, you’re killin’ me! :D:D:D Enjoy, Steven [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diogenes-the-cynic-fount-of-perfect-knowledge/322534.md?page=6)