# Dragging bandwagons into the SDMB **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331 "2019-09-16T18:33:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/1 "2019-09-16T18:33:10Z")
I have noticed a recent trend of certain kinds of issues being dismissed as “bandwagons,” particularly ones associated with women’s experiences in society. I put this in the Pit instead of in Great Debates, because it seems that at least one regular poster here has started using “bandwagon” as a response specifically to some of my posts. I am dismayed by this tactic. It seems dismissive in a way that doesn’t seem necessary in context, particular from the poster in question. And if this poster has a particular problem with me, I want to offer an opportunity to get that off es chest and, I hope, put an end to the “bandwagon” comments elsewhere. Examples (not all of them about me): In a thread about Margaret Atwood: > [@Does Anybody Actually Find "A Handmaid's Tale" Remotely Plausible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-actually-find-a-handmaids-tale-remotely-plausible/785357/165): > > The book is not about feminism, except as a marketing tool. Atwood described it as “a study of power, and how it operates and how it deforms or shapes the people who are living within that kind of regime”. The only reason it is pegged to feminism is because Atwood had the savvy to jump on the feminist bandwagon, which in the 1980s was sprialing up to a shrill crescendo. Exactly at a time when people were re-reading “1984” and discovering that it was about America, not the USSR. Plus she had the cachet of a woman-writer, with a willing and ready readership in place… All the ingredients of literary success. In a thread about Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari: > [@From me to Louis C.K.: You can fuck off and die now](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-me-to-louis-c-k-you-can-fuck-off-and-die-now/827900/46): > > The OP has never seen a bandwagon he did not jump onto yelling “Here I am”. > Stands to reason he’ll get a few dodgy ones. In a thread about a warning issued in a thread about women’s bodies and attractiveness > [@Acsenray](#): > > Responses like this are exactly what are making the internet a hostile place for women in particular—if you can’t handle it then leave or stay in your walled garden. It is driving women offline, and essentially silencing a range of voices. > [@AK84](#): > > Tell me, is there a trendy bandwagon you haven’t jumped upon in the last 5 years blaring “I’m here” through a megaphone. > > If you cannot differentiate between what passes for intense debate on this forum and some of the tricks pulled by trolls and their actual criminal misconduct then I cannot help. In a thread about representation of women among Golden Globes nominees: > [@Golden Globes (there will be spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/golden-globes-there-will-be-spoilers/806134/26): > > Natalie Portman has been trying to jump on the bandwagon for months. Classless person.:rolleyes: In a discussion arising in a thread about the recent Tarantino film about movies commonly employing violence as the solution to conflict: > [@Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (SPOILER THREAD)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-spoiler-thread/837646/81): > > This says something about you and the society you live in. Why is violent retribution the type of resolution that is so obviously the most entertaining to you? > [@Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (SPOILER THREAD)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-spoiler-thread/837646/133): > > Since, some people _really_ have it coming, > The characters in the film, especially. > Don’t have to jump on every bandwagon. > :rolleyes: In a thread about Brock Turner, a side discussion about whether whether informal usage of the term “rape” is appropriate: > [@Stupid Privileged White Kid Gets 6 Months for Rape, Father describes it as "20 minutes of action"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-privileged-white-kid-gets-6-months-for-rape-father-describes-it-as-20-minutes-of-action/756733/663): > > He was not convicted of rape for fuck’s sake. > [@Stupid Privileged White Kid Gets 6 Months for Rape, Father describes it as "20 minutes of action"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-privileged-white-kid-gets-6-months-for-rape-father-describes-it-as-20-minutes-of-action/756733/667): > > This is a meaningless nitpick. It’s felony sexual assault. That along with the actual description of what he did is legitimately described as rape in casual conversation, even if that’s not what the formal criminal charge is titled. > > I don’t know why you use that tone of exasperation. It’s not like what he did or what he was charged with is significantly less reprehensible than what “rape” signifies in your mind, whether defined by law or not. > > He is an actual rapist, for _fuck’s sake_. > [@Stupid Privileged White Kid Gets 6 Months for Rape, Father describes it as "20 minutes of action"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-privileged-white-kid-gets-6-months-for-rape-father-describes-it-as-20-minutes-of-action/756733/673): > > Its not a nitpick when the question being discussed is the propriety of a judicial ruling which is what you do in your post. It was not about “casual conversation”. And the fact that you insist upon using it (besides once again displaying your proclivity for jumping onto every trendy bandwagon, leaving your otherwise considerable sense behind) means that you are not discussing the issue in its proper context. > > Also, rape (which he was not convicted for) is absolutely more reprehensible than assault; same way causing Grievous Bodily Harm is more reprehensible than simple battery despite both being very properly crimes, with the attendant differences in sanctions. In a recent thread about allegations against Kavanaugh: > [@New sexual assault allegation against Justice Kavanaugh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-sexual-assault-allegation-against-justice-kavanaugh/840241/15): > > Some guys pushed his penis into some lady’s face and…that’s on him? > :dubious::smack: > [@New sexual assault allegation against Justice Kavanaugh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-sexual-assault-allegation-against-justice-kavanaugh/840241/33): > > This is a whoosh, right? > [@New sexual assault allegation against Justice Kavanaugh](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-sexual-assault-allegation-against-justice-kavanaugh/840241/39): > > I was wondering when you’d show up on the bandwagon! > > :rolleyes: My point is this: Even if you think I (or someone else) is wrong about something, this “bandwagon” thing is nothing more than a personal insult of some kind. It’s not an argument. It’s not valid reasoning. It’s childish and demeaning. If one might make a polite request in the Pit, I would venture to request replacing such responses with something rational and befitting a conversation between two people with comparable intelligence and sincere intent. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/2 "2019-09-16T19:00:28Z")
It also seems like a damned if you don’t and damned if you do dilemma. “Hey, you said something that isn’t being said by a bunch of other people! We can therefore dismiss you as a standalone nutball, go read what these other people said on the issue, you’ve obviously got it wrong!” “Hey, you said something that’s being said by a bunch of other people! We can therefore dismiss you as a mindless sheep who jumped on the bandwagon. You aren’t thinking for yourself, you’re just saying stuff you heard someone else say!” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/3 "2019-09-16T19:12:47Z")
Sounds like the new way to say SJW, or some similar nonsense. It’s just a lazy and dumb way for someone to dismiss an argument they don’t want to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/4 "2019-09-16T19:14:06Z")
Actually I’ve been seeing it for a decade if not more. You could say people today are jumping on the bandwagon bandwagon. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/5 "2019-09-16T21:36:06Z")
“Jumping on the bandwagon” is an expression I’ve heard all my life. And I’m OLD. It’s probably 100 years old easily. When was the last decade that you saw a bandwagon??? It’s not new. It’s just something that one poster likes to use. Maybe it’s new to him? ---
**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:** [September 17, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/6 "2019-09-17T06:36:58Z")
It’s a dismissive _ad hominem_ the way it’s being used there - the implication being that you don’t _really_ care about women’s issues, you’re just going along with it for attention. It’s an accusation of deception, verging on an accusation of lying, IMO. At least it’s not “groupthink” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/7 "2019-09-17T06:56:22Z")
You’re not having a “bandwagon” issue. It’s a troll issue. All of the quoted trolls feature in my ignore list. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/8 "2019-09-17T07:10:34Z")
If you tell him the earth is round he’ll “expose” you for jumping on that bandwagon, too, I’m sure. He’s clearly just not the sharpest tool in the box. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/9 "2019-09-17T07:25:46Z")
Ahhh, my first pitting. Took 11 years. Man I wish it had been done by less of a dumbass… Who’d actually had sufficient brain cells to write a more decscriptive thread title. And looking up the threads, they are all spread over a few years. I must say that is obsessive. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/10 "2019-09-17T07:27:16Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s a dismissive _ad hominem_ the way it’s being used there - the implication being that you don’t _really_ care about women’s issues, you’re just going along with it for attention. It’s an accusation of deception, verging on an accusation of lying, IMO. > > At least it’s not “groupthink” :rolleyes: Yeah, I mean his shtick is bandwagon and yours is going crying to the mods because someone hurt your feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/11 "2019-09-17T07:41:13Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Ahhh, my first pitting. Took 11 years. Man I wish it had been done by less of a dumbass… > Who’d actually had sufficient brain cells to write a more decscriptive thread title. > > And looking up the threads, they are all spread over a few years. I must say that is obsessive. Obsessive would apply had he been tracking you from the get-go without the nifty search function the board has. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2019, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/12 "2019-09-17T08:15:57Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Yeah, I mean his shtick is bandwagon and yours is going crying to the mods because someone hurt your feelings. Aaw, _someone_’s still butthurt about their well-deserved warning. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And _that_ was from _early_ last year. So _you’re_ a fine one to chide _anyone_ about “obsessive”, motherfucker. Not that using the search function (doubtless what **Acsenray** did) would be obsessive in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/13 "2019-09-17T09:19:51Z")
Calling **nearwildheaven** …there’s lots of room over here! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/14 "2019-09-17T10:10:57Z")
One of the more peculiarly ignorant and asinine quotes in OP doesn’t contain the word ‘bandwagon’: > [@AK84](#): > > Some guys pushed his penis into some lady’s face and…that’s on him? > [@AK84](#): > > Ahhh, my first pitting. Took 11 years. Uh … I’ve got news for you, **AK84**. Life is too short to Pit every imbecile. The username ‘AK84’ conjures up vague images of pomposity, but otherwise your opinions have been too lackluster or content-free for any lasting memory. Take that as compliment or insult, up to you. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/15 "2019-09-17T10:58:40Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > One of the more peculiarly ignorant and asinine quotes in OP doesn’t contain the word ‘bandwagon’: Right: it was the first exchange in an exchange that ended with that nasty little martinet AK84 using Bandwagon yet again. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/16 "2019-09-17T12:01:11Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Uh … I’ve got news for you, **AK84**. Life is too short to Pit every imbecile. The username ‘AK84’ conjures up vague images of pomposity, but otherwise your opinions have been too lackluster or content-free for any lasting memory. Take that as compliment or insult, up to you. Yeah,seeing as you are a white dude living in Thailand, I am obviously not the cohort you are looking for to make (amongst other things) “impressions” on you. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2019, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/17 "2019-09-17T12:07:14Z")
Oh, did someone open the Asian stereotype door…? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/18 "2019-09-17T12:39:51Z")
Don’t remember much about **AK84** except GOP party line idiocy about Brett Kavanaugh. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/19 "2019-09-17T12:42:45Z")
Putting our disagreements aside, the key goal here is to continue to provide **AK84** with a safe space to work out his mommy issues. It’s been over eleven years, so I’m confident there’s a breakthrough coming any day now. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331/20 "2019-09-18T20:21:07Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Don’t remember much about **AK84** except GOP party line idiocy about Brett Kavanaugh. AK84 is Pakistani so he doesn’t really have any reason to toe the GOP party line. But he also has a weird hangup about gender equality and how it can’t possibly be something Actual Human Beings want. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dragging-bandwagons-into-the-sdmb/840331.md?page=2)