I’ve never pitted anybody before, not people who I found to be stooopit, or bothersome, or even nuts. For some reason this crosses the line for me. Ah well
Other than that I’m really not sure where to begin or what to say. I’m blown away that someone who I find to be a (generally) reasonable and intelligent guy could seriously be accusing the US forces in Iraq of being engaged in a campaign of genocide.
Fighting a mismanaged war? Ok. Have a moral obligation to refuse to pick up a gun and fight? Maybe. But they’re there because they chose to protect America up to and including the cost of their own lives. It is their commander in chief’s fault that they were sent over for bogus and/or occult reasons. (by occult I mean hidden)
And, jeez, Bush may be stupid, corrupt, and funny lookin’, but he didn’t order or even suggest a campaign of genocide.
Match your rhetoric up with reality, this is just nuts.
No, I believe your characterization of the US troops is both insulting and stupid. I believe that when you use words as heavily loaded as ‘genocide’ it behoves you to back it up. I believe that spewing hateful rhetoric (eg. that US troops are engaged in a campaign of genocide) is a bad thing and that you should not do it.
That would still be false to facts. Or are you honestly suggesting that the US troops are engaged in a campaign of mass murder? Are those their orders? Or are they, instead, engaged in a horribly managed and possibly doomed attempt to bring stability to Iraq?
If you do you’ll look like a hatemongering idiot and although IANAMod and I’m not implying you’d be banned or anything…
You’d be a real jerk.
When you use loaded, powerful words like “genocide” to describe the Iraqi war, we’re not talking so much about semantic nits as we are you trying to reinvent the English language to further your own rhetorical ends.
DtC, I will not pit you personally, but I do want to comment.
Although I think the war is a horrible criminal act which has required a sort of brainwashing of society, the word genocide has a specific meaning that must not be deluted just for your aggravating pleasure. It is not a semantic nitpick and you know why it’s not.
Aside from that, I don’t know why you seem so angry here lately. I hope that you channel your anger in an appropriate direction so that you can have some relief from what ever is bothering you. If I am mistaken, please forgive. You have been too valuable to the Straight Dope too long for me not to say something when I have a chance.
C’mon Digenes give me a little credit. If Bush wanted to wipe out Iraw or the Middle East I would have done it for him by now. I mean, geez, do you think I’m incompetent?
Only half kidding - but I’ll let you figure out which half!
Honestly, if the US army was interested in genocide, there would be absolutely no fucking doubt about it. This goes for Israel too, while we’re at it.
Not to mention the implied slur against every single other nation on the earth that is not lifting a finger to stop our apparently insane genocidal actions. Fuck, nobody is even bothering with an embargo to put pressure on us. What’s up with that?
No, you’re not, Diogenes. That’s throwing gasoline onto a fire, a.k.a. trolling. There’s enough overwrought rhetoric about this war. We certainly don’t need you making discussions even more inflammatory. Consider this a warning, Diogenes. Ratchet it back or we will dispense with your presence.
I gotta admit I can see Dio’s point. Honestly, how can you say the wholesale slaughter of civilians isn’t mass murder? It’s no less of a stretch than calling it “protecting our country.” To my mind, it’s much less of a stretch than calling it “protecting our country.”
