This thread is giving me renewed hope for the SDMB.
When pathetic worms like Brain Wreck and Der Trihs spew such ignorant nonsense they should be called out on it by posters of all stripes.
It made me very sad a couple years ago when we had multiple instances of posters calling for the deaths of US soldiers and only a couple of us would stand up to them.
My hat’s off to lissener and other liberal posters who are willing to denounce idiots such as these despite their dissagreement with the war in Iraq. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more of this behaviour.
In the meantime, I’m reporting both knuckleheads to the mods for violating the SDMB policy against hate speech. They should both be banned.
Is there a substantive difference between “I hope people of category X get vaporized by martians” and “I’d be perfectly happy if people of category X get vaporized by martians”?
While the second formulation seems to just barely stay inside board rules, it pretty clearly violates the spirit of the rules. And it goes without saying that it marks the person who says it as an enormously stupid person.
Count me in as another liberal who’d like you to shut the hell up.
The thing that annoys me about this whole issue is that the idiots on both sides are feeding off of each other.
Summary of all politics-related threads -
Left Wing Moron - The Right all all warmongering, moronic, capatalistic sadists!
Right Wing Sane People - Uh…No. You’re an idiot. Here’s some evidence to prove you wrong. Broad brush much?
Right Wing Moron - You’re a fuckwit. This just proves the left are all cowardly, weak, foolish hippies.
LWM - You called me an idiot! Typical right wingers, always trying to shut us up. And look at that second post! That PROVES I’M RIGHT!!
RWM - Jeez, you’re such an idiot. And look at all the left not attacking him. Pathetic hypocrites.
LWSP - Uh…Yeah, we are attacking him. He’s a moron, and he doesn’t represent us.
RWSP - Yeah, dude, calm the hell down. You can’t label all the left by one guy.
LWM - Shut the fuck up, righties.
RWM - ! random obscenities directed at left, ignoring of sane posts
LWM - ! random obscenities directed at right, ignoring of sane posts
LWSP - …
RWSP - …beer?
LWSP - Sure!
Sadly, the only difference is usually which side the first moron to post is on.
*Did you not find this in people who attended college? *
First of all, I went to a state college, mostly populated by young people who had been pretty apathetic about their entire school careers. So no, I did not find this in people who attended college, not at all. I’m sure there are some out there, though.
What about teachers, doctors, social workers, and others who provide a service?
Very admirable of them. I would add food servers, cashiers, and lawn maintenance providers to that list of people who provide a service, too. My hat’s off to everyone who makes an honest living. Not everyone can be a surgeon, but it doesn’t mean you have to be a telemarketer.
What was it that people in the Army believed in that was greater than themselves?
Service. Honor. Country. Being all you can be. I can’t guarantee that everyone felt the same way I do, but most of them seemed pretty honorable to me. Brain Wreck would be an example of someone who completely missed the point. Do you think this is truer of people in the military service than it is of college students or others in general?
Yes. A military recruit is saying goodbye to everything he knows and committing himself fully to an entirely new life wherein he is fully responsible and accountable for his actions. He is likely to have leadership responsibilities before he’s twenty years old. He can not have a change of heart and ask mommy and daddy to come pick him up and take him home, and he can’t skip classes when he feels like it, and he can’t take a few months off to find himself, etc.
*I can’t think of many jobs where people are as physically well-trained as a person is in the military. But I think that being pushed to one’s psychological limits is a dangerous thing. We have too many that are coming back that have been pushed beyond their limits. *
That is a terrible shame. It would help a lot if our soldiers were not having to bear all the costs for this war, being denied the chance to get out of the Army or retire on schedule, and being sent into Iraq in such heavy rotation.
Why do you take such pride in fighting to defend people’s rights and then have so much disdain for those who disagree with you
Let me answer in two parts: 1) I take such pride in serving my country, but I don’t necessarily agree that they should enjoy all the rights they currently enjoy, and 2) my disdain is entirely reserved for the folks like Der Trihs, who unblushingly wish death on American soldiers, and their handmaidens like Brain Wreck, who stop just short of that.
I hope this makes sense. I wasn’t able to figure out how to see the parts of my post you quoted in your post.
Then what’s the difference between “I support the war” and “I want to see tens of thousands of civilians die” ? Should everybody who supported the war be banned ?
Besides the fact that there are no Martians, but the war has killed tens of thousands; perhaps it’s somehow a less severe offense if you actually kill people. :rolleyes:
If we can get away from the Brain Wreck train wreck…
Colour me disappointed. You and this guy are poles apart politically. Last time I checked, America was a free country and he’s free to have opinions with which you disagree. You may not respect his opinions, but you must respect his right to hold them.
Now, this guy has the courage of his convictions and you’re pitting him for stepping up to the line?
I suggest you take a good long look at yourself in the mirror.
bluethree, thanks for your responses to my questions.
I don’t understand those who would wish death on anyone, and I certainly know what it is like to feel disdain for certain people whose powerful choices I disagree with. Would you change the freedom that Der Trihs and Brain Wreck have to express their opinions?
Which rights would you change and why?
I hope this is not too much of a hijack. I am a pacifist, and I admire people of courage. I would like to better understand a military mind. Your response was very civil and maybe you can explain “woman to woman.”