# Hostile Dialect; A Word, Please. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375 "2008-08-27T01:53:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/341 "2008-08-29T00:46:48Z")
> [@ivan astikov](#): > > Don’t flatter yourself. I’m only addressing you now because you keep responding to my posts. I hate to burst your bubble, but I can’t say I’ve noticed. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > There may be some overlap, but I doubt that average Ren Faire goer has a history degree. I’m > sure I can learn more from a wiki search than I can from watching some man-child in a Halloween costume playing with a fake swo$saying “forsooth.” Interesting. I don’t remember saying that the average Ren Faire goer has a history degree or that you can learn more from man-children than Wikipedia. But I’ll reword it, just in case you decide to stop being so intentionally dense: How do you think the average person with a degree in the history of 14th-century Europe likes to spend his or her spare time? > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > At least Tolkien didn’t wear costumes. :dubious: Really? How do you know? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/342 "2008-08-29T00:52:40Z")
(With apologies to **Terrifel** , who essentially has priority on this observation) I wonder if **Diogenes** has ever gone to a costume party? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/343 "2008-08-29T01:10:43Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] I wonder if **Diogenes** has ever gone to a costume party? [/QUOTE] [That’s him on the right](http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0691/5.jpg). ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/344 "2008-08-29T01:13:02Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] How do you think the average person with a degree in the history of 14th-century Europe likes to spend his or her spare time? [/quote] I doubt the “average” history prof goes around in period drag or attends Ren Faires. None of mine did. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/345 "2008-08-29T01:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] (With apologies to **Terrifel** , who essentially has priority on this observation) I wonder if **Diogenes** has ever gone to a costume party? [/QUOTE] I have not. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/346 "2008-08-29T01:17:47Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Have you ever once in your life thought, “You know, I don’t really know what the fuck I’m talking about. Maybe I should just shut up?” [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t we all be grateful if he did? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/347 "2008-08-29T01:19:16Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I doubt the “average” history prof goes around in period drag or attends Ren Faires. None of > mine did. _checks own post_ Whew! It’s a good thing I didn’t mention the average history professor, then, or else I’d really look like an idiot right now. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/348 "2008-08-29T01:22:26Z")
I notice that now **DtC** is apparently saying (or a least implying) that everyone who even _attends_ a RenFaire is a loser. What depths of idiocy will he plumb next? Is everyone who attends a play a loser? Or maybe everyone who has ever watched a movie with talking animals? eta: to correct coding, so nobody will think I’m a loser. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/349 "2008-08-29T01:24:36Z")
**LurkMeister** , what you don’t understand is that the man is an _authority_ here. He has _seen a picture_, after all. Show him some respect, will ya? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/350 "2008-08-29T01:27:11Z")
I am showing him some respect. As little as possible, which is a lot more than he deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/351 "2008-08-29T01:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] **LurkMeister** , what you don’t understand is that the man is an _authority_ here. He has _seen a picture_, after all. Show him some respect, will ya? [/QUOTE] Hey, now, let’s be perfectly accurate. He’s not just seen a picture, he’s apparently seen an entire episode of _Reno 9/11_. Apparently, it involved Patton Oswalt, which is about as authoritative as you can get. I mean, if Patton Oswalt - _the_ Patton Oswalt - makes a joke about something, that’s pretty much the Word of God on the subject. Which explains why **Dio** is [scared of midgets.](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patton_Oswalt#Miscellaneous) ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/352 "2008-08-29T02:04:40Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I have not. [/QUOTE] Really? You’ve never been to a costume party? I really think that’s kind of extraordinary. No Halloween parties, ever? I’m pretty antisocial myself, but even I’ve been to Halloween parties. Here we have a secular holiday devoted to the tradition of dressing up in goofy-ass outfits and staying up until all hours, and yet you’ve never been to a single one. Surely your friends from your “big metalhead” days must have invited you to at least one? You know, back when you had the long hair and wore studded leather and played in a band? That phase of your life you apparently find so shameful in retrospect that you’ve done a 180 and decided that everyone who dresses funny is a loser? What the hell did you and your metalhead band do on Halloween night, that you somehow avoided playing at any Halloween parties? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/353 "2008-08-29T02:20:21Z")
**Dio** , you’re not even bothering to argue your case anymore. Also, most college professors? They don’t actually discuss their personal lives and their hobbies with their students. Strange but true. What about [these guys](http://www.regia.org/)? Are they a bunch of pathetic losers with no grasp of history? How about extras in fantasy movies? They probably get paid in lunch. Is your entire grasp of “pathetic” versus “acceptable” based on a college degree and getting paid to do fun things? Do people who research medieval dyeing, for example, become cooler if they make money selling hand-dyed goods but LESS cool if they wear a linen dress instead of blue jeans? Gosh, the spectrum of acceptable is SO CONFUSING. Sidenote: while the money isn’t much, I believe cast members at some Ren Faires do get paid. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/354 "2008-08-29T02:37:11Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Yeah, for someone who so commonly ascribes to leftist causes and politics, he’s weirdly conservative. [/QUOTE] It’s not a left/right liberal/conservative thing. Anyone, call him “Jim”, can hold firm strident opinions and maintain: [ul][li]Anyone who disagrees with Jim’s opinions, even slightly, is a wannabe war criminal, rapist, mass murderer, psychopath, etc. This is self-evident, since Jim’s opinions are the only ones that can possibly be reached through logic and reason, and[/li][li]Anyone who expresses an opinion not shared by Jim is a fool, zealot, misguided schlub, sucker, buffoon, etc.[/ul][/li]Dio’s a Jim. So is Der Trihs. So was Reeder. So was chumpsky. So are a number of other posters to varying degrees. So was Dian Fossey, I hear. So was Madalyn Murray O’Hair. So is Ann Coulter. So is Fred Phelps. Letting yourself get riled by them is what they want. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/355 "2008-08-29T02:46:11Z")
That’s ridiculous. I didn’t say anybody was evil, just silly. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/356 "2008-08-29T02:47:40Z")
I dare you to call [Babes With Blades](http://www.babeswithblades.org/) a bunch of pathetic losers. I saw them at a gasp! science fiction convention a few years ago and they put on a hell of a show. And cast members at Ren Faires do get paid. I know some people who work at the Bristol Ren Faire, both as performers and merchants. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/357 "2008-08-29T02:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] That’s ridiculous. I didn’t say anybody was evil, just silly. [/QUOTE] Well, some of us have longer memories than just this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/358 "2008-08-29T02:51:28Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] That’s ridiculous. I didn’t say anybody was evil, just silly. [/QUOTE] And emotionally stunted. And a loser. And a “man-child.” But, fair’s fair, you did not use the word “evil.” Despite that, I think **Bryan** ’s got a pretty good point. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/359 "2008-08-29T02:59:54Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] But, fair’s fair, you did not use the word “evil.” [/QUOTE] Neither did I, actually. No biggie. It wasn’t intentionally left out, though. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375/360 "2008-08-29T04:08:34Z")
[QUOTE=Silver Tyger Girl] It’s silliness. That’s different. Why intentionally misspell anything? [/QUOTE] How is silliness different than foolishness? They are synonyms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hostile-dialect-a-word-please/461375.md?page=19)