# Graham Wellington has been banned **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 14, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235 "2005-10-14T16:27:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/21 "2005-10-14T19:45:36Z")
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. “Snigger.” Hey, it was funny. I’m not sure that it is anymore now that he’s actually been banned. Without jeopardizing the awesome double standard I enjoy in my occassional use of the n-word on these boards, I have to say that – in an of itself – I’d hate to see the day come where using the n-word be cause for an automatic banning on the SDMB, especially in a first offense, and especially in a phrase like “society’s nigger” – where it’s used more for shock value in a kind of glib manner than anything especially hateful. But you can kind of see where the dude was headed in his other posts, and it’s not exactly the wrong call, just somewhat, IMO, premature. I prefer to give people enough rope to where they hang themselves and make their transgressions flagrant. I wasn’t uncomfortable with the term. I can see where I could do it myself. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/22 "2005-10-14T19:56:00Z")
Askia, I could explain why Graham should be banned for using that word, but first I want you to go out and rent “Big Trouble In Little China”, and pay particular attention to what Egg Chen says in the third act. Then reread “Moby Dick”. Get it now? Trust me on this. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/23 "2005-10-14T19:57:26Z")
[PC] Hey, is it really fair to mock him when he can’t reply? [/PC] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/24 "2005-10-14T20:40:34Z")
I’m not mocking Graham. It’s just that I think “Big Trouble in Little China” is a vastly underappreciated minor masterpiece of a movie and that Askia should see it. Man, I love that movie. “What’s that, magic potion? Good, thought so. What do we do, drink it? Good, thought so.” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/25 "2005-10-14T21:14:02Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > I said it before, and I’ll say it again. > > “Snigger.” > > Hey, it was funny. > > I’m not sure that it is anymore now that he’s actually been banned. > > Without jeopardizing the awesome double standard I enjoy in my occassional use of the n-word on these boards, I have to say that – in an of itself – I’d hate to see the day come where using the n-word be cause for an automatic banning on the SDMB, especially in a first offense, and especially in a phrase like “society’s nigger” – where it’s used more for shock value in a kind of glib manner than anything especially hateful. But you can kind of see where the dude was headed in his other posts, and it’s not exactly the wrong call, just somewhat, IMO, premature. I prefer to give people enough rope to where they hang themselves and make their transgressions flagrant. > > I wasn’t uncomfortable with the term. I can see where I could do it myself. I’ve always admired your good nature. You don’t realize it, but you’ve been instrumental in helping me to get over a lot of my own sensitivity towards prejudices against Christians and Indians. I’m learning that the less it bothers me the less it bothers me. Besides, when I examine myself, I find bigotry of my own — not towards race, but towards people with attributes like stupidity or worldviews like socialism. Just wanted to let you know that you’ve made a difference in one person’s life by your example. Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem like Graham said anything more offensive than Mullinator did in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6684155&postcount=7): “She seemed as likely to succeed at this as a black chick on The Bachelor.” And I’m pretty sure Mully isn’t a racist. Besides, even if Graham is, so what? Stuffing one’s ears with one’s fingers does not extinguish those ideas. Let them express their opinions in the light of day, where we can argue against them. I agree with Sobran, who said, “The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honour you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself.” ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/26 "2005-10-14T21:30:23Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > I prefer to give people enough rope to where they hang themselves … no. I don’t think I can just let this one go. Even if he hollers. Sorry, I come from a bad family. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/27 "2005-10-14T21:35:26Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > I agree with Sobran, who said, “The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honour you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself.” What a load of horse-hockey! ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/28 "2005-10-14T21:39:58Z")
Kind of a pity: I always saw him as a harmless loon rather than genuinely offensive, but I do think that the Straight Dope wasn’t really the place for him. That said, it does seem like a pre-emptive banning, though, since people have done a lot worse and been warned a lot more often before being banned, and I’m rather uncomfortable with the idea of banning people because they don’t fit in. Any chance he can get his money back? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/29 "2005-10-14T21:51:19Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > no. I don’t think I can just let this one go. Even if he hollers. > > Sorry, I come from a bad family. I never understood this one. Even if you’ve got his toe, isn’t the rest of him free? If he isn’t in a roaring mood, you are in a lot of danger. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/30 "2005-10-14T22:14:17Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > At least I stopped annoying everyone with my sig line. 🙂 I don’t know that we ever established that anyone apart from me was irritated by that, since you were so perversely acquiescent about the whole thing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/31 "2005-10-14T23:00:32Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > What a load of horse-hockey! No, I assure you that it’s true — I do indeed agree with him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/32 "2005-10-14T23:05:11Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I witnessed the racism also, but was two incidents worth a banning? ☹ This guy had, or was pretending to have, some serious problems that I don’t blame the Reader for wanting to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/33 "2005-10-14T23:14:57Z")
I figure he was toast after the Castenada thread and the mods were waiting for him to rack up enough of the inevitable technical infractions to ban him as soon as possible. I don’t blame them for that exactly, since I think that’s probably what I’d have done myself. I still think a refund might be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/34 "2005-10-14T23:21:11Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > No, I assure you that it’s true — I do indeed agree with him. Cool. That means our record of disagreeing with one another stays at 100%. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/35 "2005-10-14T23:26:37Z")
**Liberal** , you see the banning as an attempt to silence someone. I see it as the actions of a thoughtful host. One of the partygoers continues to engage in inappropriate behavior after being advised to cut it out. The thoughtful host then shows said partygoer the door, and firmly directs him out. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/36 "2005-10-14T23:33:35Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > I figure he was toast after the Castenada thread and the mods were waiting for him to rack up enough of the inevitable technical infractions to ban him as soon as possible. I don’t blame them for that exactly, since I think that’s probably what I’d have done myself. I still think a refund might be nice. Agreed. I’m not entirely sure it was fair, but I do think he really needed to leave. As **Miller** said in the pit thread: > [@](#): > > There also might have been liability issues stemming from the treatment someone so out of touch with reality might receive here, and how he might react to it. I don’t like the thought of how **Graham** might have reacted to people’s treatment of him here. Having to tiptoe around someone because they’re crazy also tends to disrupt the boards. And thanks, **Skipmagic** , for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/37 "2005-10-14T23:49:47Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I see it as the actions of a thoughtful host. One of the partygoers continues to engage in inappropriate behavior after being advised to cut it out. The thoughtful host then shows said partygoer the door, and firmly directs him out. Your analogy falls down by virtue of the fact that he has paid to attend this party, and doesn’t get his 15 bucks back at the door. I confess to being a little irked at the disingenous nature of the reasons given in the OP for his banning, when it certainly seems as if he was quietly disappeared for being a loon who irritated some people - who, incidentally, were never forced to read or reply to any of his posts. Such behaviour from a poster may be, well, irritating, but doesn’t seem to contravene any board rules I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/38 "2005-10-14T23:57:24Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > I confess to being a little irked at the disingenous nature of the reasons given in the OP for his banning, when it certainly seems as if he was quietly disappeared for being a loon who irritated some people - who, incidentally, were never forced to read or reply to any of his posts. Nobody’s forced to read or reply to anyone’s posts. Should we ditch the whole “don’t be a jerk” idea? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/39 "2005-10-15T00:17:02Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I see it as the actions of a thoughtful host. One of the partygoers continues to engage in inappropriate behavior after being advised to cut it out. The thoughtful host then shows said partygoer the door, and firmly directs him out. Sooner or later, I have the feeling he would have started a GD thread about how his theories of race relations is right/pissed in the punchboal. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235/40 "2005-10-15T00:19:30Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Besides, even if Graham is, so what? Stuffing one’s ears with one’s fingers does not extinguish those ideas. Let them express their opinions in the light of day, where we can argue against them. I agree with Sobran, who said, “The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honour you can bestow on him. It means that you recognize his superiority to yourself.” I really must disagree with you here. Graham was all kinds of nutty and had all kinds of shots from the mods in the Carlos Castaneda thread. Seemed like a mod had to step in on every page. As for arguing against his ideas, he was the one with his fingers in his ears when it came to that. You had to follow a step by step programs to even get him to respond to you. This was less “silencing a man” and more telling a rowdy drunk “you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/graham-wellington-has-been-banned/326235.md?page=3)