# Huerta88 - your handle hurts you **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344 "2006-05-26T17:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/121 "2006-05-27T05:54:30Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] Everyone coming in on the other side basically is saying “well I never heard of it so it can’t be a big deal.” [/QUOTE] Actually, that’s not really what most people are saying at all. Most people are suggesting that, instead of acting like a bunch of usenet morons, we judge a person by the content of his or her posts, rather than actually buying into Neo-Nazi symbology. If we let the bigots have the number 88 for themselves, then they win. If we just treat it like any other number, it may be that people will see it as exactly that. It’s very simple really. ---
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/122 "2006-05-27T07:09:24Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Most people are suggesting that, instead of acting like a bunch of usenet morons, we judge a person by the content of his or her posts, rather than actually buying into Neo-Nazi symbology. It seems that most _everyone_ in the thread is saying that-- the only difference is that some people are saying that in its unaltered state, **Huerta** ’s name gives them pause because of a frequent connection with Neo-Nazis, while others are indeed basically saying this connection doesn’t exist because _they_ are not strongly aware of it. As for myself, I was only dimly aware of the symbolism until this thread-- i.e., I remember having heard of it, but I wouldn’t have made the connection myself. However, the substantial number of posters professing their strong initial reactions to the name makes me believe that 88 is a fairly widely-recognized symbol, at least on the Dope (and isn’t that the primary place that matters with regards to this issue?). It makes more sense to me to believe numerous other people that the phenomenon exists than to ignore it in order to jibe better with my previous understanding. And it’s not due to some sort of Fun With Numerology speculation gone wild that 88 has been deemed somewhat unsavory-- it’s because of the way some people _actually use it_. The whole “I can make any number sinister” argument is a strawman: I can make any cluster of sounds sound vulgar but I’m not going to drop the f-bomb in a church. I think this use of 88 is somewhat analogous to the use of 69. If I saw someone with 69 in their username, I wouldn’t necessarily assume they’re obsessed with oral sex, but I would assume that they, for whatever reason, chose the number cognizant of its association. 88 is definitely overall more obscure than 69, but the result is still exactly the same for the people who have ‘88-dar’. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/123 "2006-05-27T10:47:42Z")
I’d heard the 88 thing before, but I still would never have assumed someone was a neo-nazi just because they had those numbers in their name. My first thought would probably be that he’s a pianist. But what really has me curious is why this was started in the Pit. A sincere question about why someone chose their name, with discussion of how it could be interpreted, seems like a perfectly good MPSIMS topic. On the other hand, if one were _trying_ to stir up shit about someone… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/124 "2006-05-27T10:55:21Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I remember being suspicious about it at first because we’d had a couple of Stormfronters with “88’s” in their user names [/QUOTE] For anyone unaware of all that history - a text search for ‘Millen88’ and username search for ‘Millen89’ will fill you in. ---
**Author:** ![pantom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/34f0e0/32.png) [@pantom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantom)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/125 "2006-05-27T15:34:32Z")
So, this was inspired by that other trainwreck. Hmph. To me, it seems blindingly obvious that the man’s not just racist, but obsessively so. Big deal. His intellect is tiny, so he’s of no consequence to me (as for the intellect of his defenders in that thread in the stats argument with the face person, well, let’s just say that the list of players isn’t exactly surprising). Not the sort of person who keep me up at night. However, this numbers thing is amusing, so, for those who, like me, are passing through on a lazy Saturday morning, I offer: [Six’s Story](http://www.imago.hitherby.com/?p=771), in which the number eight plays a major role. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/126 "2006-05-27T16:12:51Z")
Isn’t it about time **Huerta88** dropped into this thread to explain his/her choice of a handle? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/127 "2006-05-27T16:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Let me try to explain some more, then. This thread arose because of the Duke rape thread, and [url="[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7431318&postcount=827](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7431318&postcount=827)"this post in particular. Not that the post was the first I’d heard of the ‘88’ business directed at Huerta, but it’s what inspired this thread today. And the Sam Kinison thing was exactly what was on my mind – the idea that this ‘88’ business was derailing the cogent points Huerta was making; that some people were writing him into the neo-Nazi corner right away. If there was a better way to air that concern and get a dialog going about it, I’m certainly open to hearing what I should have done. But in view of the number of people who have posted some variety of, “Yes, I’ve thought that,” I can’t accept the claim that this is akin to Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. [/QUOTE] It seems to me that the best thing to do, in this case, would have been to pit the individuals who were making the inappropriate connection between **Huerta** and Nazism. Instead, you put the onus on **Huerta** to change his name (or make some other adjustment) _because other people were misinterpreting it._ Certainly a pit thread directed at the people who were actually behaving badly would have served to alert **Huerta** to the issue. Also a link to the thread in the OP might have been helpful. I have no dog in this fight at all. While I recognize \*\*Huerta’s \*\* handle, I know absolutely nothing about his politics or opinions other than those that have been mentioned here. I am speaking only to the premise of the OP as it was stated. I think you erred in the way you formulated it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/128 "2006-05-27T16:24:26Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Isn’t it about time **Huerta88** dropped into this thread to explain his/her choice of a handle? [/QUOTE] You seem to have skipped page 2. See post #61. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/129 "2006-05-27T16:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Oh, come on, these hoary old urban myths? Are any numbers okay to use anymore? Snopes is your friend: > **[How 311 Got Its Name](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/311-not-okkk/)** > > Is the popular rock band '311' associated with the Ku Klux Klan? Honestly, we can’t use 81 anymore, according to Loach. I suppose 38 is out too because 38 is twice 19 and S is the 19th letter of the alphabet and that makes SS, ooh, evil Nazis! We’ll also have to stop using 72, since H+I+T+L+E+R = 8+9+20+12+5+18 = 72, and 141,269 is no longer acceptable because that spells Nazi. [/QUOTE] I was just quoting a poster from my workplace. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/130 "2006-05-27T16:40:05Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] It seems to me that the best thing to do, in this case, would have been to pit the individuals who were making the inappropriate connection between **Huerta** and Nazism [/QUOTE] Making an assumption that the name ‘Huerta88’ definitively indicates Nazi glorification would be inappropriate - but has anybody actually done that? I thought the OP phrased a difficult question with tact: [QUOTE=Bricker] Huerta88, I invite you to consider that your name may be causing an unnecessary distraction. How you might go about mitigating that distraction, should you even choose to, is obviously up to you. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/131 "2006-05-27T17:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=pantom] So, this was inspired by that other trainwreck. Hmph. To me, it seems blindingly obvious that the man’s not just racist, but obsessively so. Big deal. His intellect is tiny, so he’s of no consequence to me (as for the intellect of his defenders in that thread in the stats argument with the face person, well, let’s just say that the list of players isn’t exactly surprising). Not the sort of person who keep me up at night. [/QUOTE] Posted again because I can’t say it any better. I’d advise that folks in this thread check the one referenced to earlier to get a better idea of why the nazi connection isn’t too far of a stretch. 88 may in fact be a jersey number (or whatever the excuse was), but you can’t blame anyone for being suspicious based on the shit he was posting. And the fact that **Bricker** actually agrees with **Huerta** should be noted by those who think the former is a hellava guy. As much as I hate to say this (and I know he doesn’t give a fuck…OTOH I’ve never cared about the opinions of jackasses), I don’t have an ounce of respect left for him–a guy who’s supposedly a lawyer–after reading those last few exchanges and the OP in this thread, especially the part about **Huerta** having well-reasoned posts. The guy crossed the line big time in that thread, and yet **Bricker** continues to pat him on the back. It’s sickening. The whole thread is an embarrassment to the StraightDope and it’s mission statement. It should have been closed pages ago IMHO. As for the obscurity of “88” and the Nazi connection…can’t we just agree that if you’re going to choose that as your moniker, you need to be aware of the possible connotations? It seems that about half the posters here know about the double meanings of the number. What that says to me is that if I want to use 88 in my username–especially when coupled with a “H” name–I need to tread carefully when discussing anything dealing with race. I don’t know why this warrants a debate. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/132 "2006-05-27T17:31:02Z")
88 also means “Love” (or some such things – forget exactly what) for radio amateurs. [And here’s a Swedish neo-nazi ice-cream called 88](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nogger_Black) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/133 "2006-05-27T20:03:41Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I’d advise that folks in this thread check the one referenced to earlier to get a better idea of why the nazi connection isn’t too far of a stretch. 88 may in fact be a jersey number (or whatever the excuse was), but you can’t blame anyone for being suspicious based on the shit he was posting. [/QUOTE] Do you have a link? I’ve looked back through this thread and can’t seem to find a link to the thread you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/134 "2006-05-27T20:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] I remember being suspicious about it at first because we’d had a couple of Stormfronters with “88’s” in their user names. [/QUOTE] I remember that episode, too. It seemed like every day for a month we had a new Stormfronter trolling this MB. It was really ugly. Like \*\*jsgoddess \*\*says, if you have encountered some of these NeoNazis online, it’s not something you easily forget. Just spend a few minutes over on the Stormfront message board and you’ll get a nice little taste of that culture. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/135 "2006-05-27T20:30:56Z")
[QUOTE=foolsguinea] :rolleyes: Yeah, as if English-speaking neoNazis regularly take Spanish-sounding names. [/QUOTE] Not regularly, but it does happen. I can’t remember the exact username, but one of the “Stormfronters” we had here used an Hispanic username-- that’s part of the whole trolling bit. I’ll call myslef Pablo or something like that, claim to be Hispanic and see if I can rile these guys up with some White Supremisist hatred. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/136 "2006-05-27T20:31:14Z")
**mhendo** , here’s the [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=366822). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/137 "2006-05-27T20:53:00Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] **mhendo** , here’s the [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=366822). [/QUOTE] I glanced thru the thread. Can you quote the posts that you’re talking about? Seems to me he’s basically saying she’s an alleged victim, not a victim. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/138 "2006-05-27T21:00:35Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I glanced thru the thread. Can you quote the posts that you’re talking about? Seems to me he’s basically saying she’s an alleged victim, not a victim. [/QUOTE] He also told **you with the face** that she wants to be raped like a slave. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/139 "2006-05-27T21:11:24Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] He also told **you with the face** that she wants to be raped like a slave. [/QUOTE] Where? Can you link to the specific post? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344/140 "2006-05-27T21:19:08Z")
**Choie** quoted that post back in post 47 of this thread. I’m not sure who the “they” who haven’t learned anything are (is it **you with the face** , black women in general, or someone else?). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huerta88-your-handle-hurts-you/358344.md?page=8)