# I pit Bricker for admitting he plans to make posts that are "clearly and utterly unreasonable" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080 "2014-12-01T22:24:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/81 "2014-12-02T16:53:44Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I can point to many instances of my correcting or scolding conservatives on this board. Yes, you can. But that isn’t the standard you set for **iiandyii** , is it? You want him to lambast ALL liberals who do things you don’t like. Well, I want you to lambast ALL conservatives who do things _I_ don’t like, or you’re being an unreasonable twit and not worth talking to. When you’ve achieved whatever you think the correct moral stance is or whatever, based on the totality of your rejection of like-minded people with poor tactics, lemme know. 😃 No? You’re not gonna do that? Then why the fuck should **iiandyii**? :dubious: ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/82 "2014-12-02T16:55:31Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Then I would submit the OP should earn the same ridicule… Knock yourself out, sport. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/83 "2014-12-02T16:57:02Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yes, I should adopt the liberal tactic and lie about it, claiming my arguments are pristine? > > (See what I did there? That’s not the liberal tactic. That’s the Lobohan tactic, the elucidator tactic, the BobLibDem tactic. But they receive scant criticism for their continued use of the tactic; why should I be denied it?) So now you admit that they are criticized when they do these things you disapprove of, just not enough for your liking. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/84 "2014-12-02T17:04:53Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If something is wrong, should those who agree with you do it? If something is wrong, should you object when someone who disagrees with you does it? > > Regards, > Shodan I was going to ask something along the lines. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/85 "2014-12-02T17:13:51Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Bryan says he had no obligation or inclination to object when folks who share his positions make collosally poor arguments. I agree, there is no obligation to do so. This is like how people pick up litter in their neighborhood to make the place nicer for everyone - they don’t have to and have no obligation to do so. It does make the place more pleasant though. > > Everyone has limited time, chooses to respond to what is interesting to them, and has no obligation to self or community police by calling out poor arguments. It’s nice when we all pick up litter though. Your use of “inclination” is presumptuous, but it’s your litter analogy that is really misplaced. If anything, a thread is MORE littered (ie cluttered with irrelevant debris) if the posters start addressing bullshit arguments instead of just ignoring them. If you want the threads free of “litter”, you should call for the Mods to DELETE unworthy posts, which I understand is common on other boards. Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/86 "2014-12-02T17:14:40Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > More significantly, you’re ignoring the extent to which even a minority with pitchforks and torches can change the dynamic of the entire discussion, and weigh it in favor of their side, especially when more thoughtful allies on their side provide some intellectual heft. The more thoughtful responders benefit twice, both from having their opponents denigrated and again by themselves appearing all the more thoughtful for not engaging in it themselves. For the win. EXACTLY. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/87 "2014-12-02T17:15:40Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > So now you admit that they are criticized when they do these things you disapprove of, just not enough for your liking. :rolleyes: So according to the weight of commentary here, I should ignore this incredibly retarded observation? ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/88 "2014-12-02T17:19:32Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So according to the weight of commentary here, I should ignore this incredibly retarded observation? Now **Bricker** , that sideswipe was uncalled for and out of line. We don’t say retarded; we say handicapable. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/89 "2014-12-02T17:23:05Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > For the win. > > EXACTLY. THAT’S your “win” condition? You’re even more pathetic than I thought. Get off this board, you hothouse orchid. -just a suggestion. I have no and am claiming no authority beyond my own personal opinion that you are a wuss. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/90 "2014-12-02T17:23:20Z")
Look, the guy is a known quantity, he’s almost a brand name. You buy a pound of hamburger, you are not going to get chopped sirloin. Myself, I gasp with wonder often at his capacity for intellectual gymnastics and the way he can offer the rational in place of the reasonable, to argue that so long as something is _possible_, it is therefore _reasonable_. “Well, objectively considered, a sow’s ear is comprised of various organic elements such as proteins, collagen and others. Silk is also a biological product, composed of elements that are quite similar in many respects. Therefore, the only distinction between a sow’s ear and a silk purse is the configuration and presumed purpose…” It’s all right, Ma, let the boy rock 'n roll. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/91 "2014-12-02T17:25:25Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Look, the guy is a known quantity, he’s almost a brand name. You buy a pound of hamburger, you are not going to get chopped sirloin. Myself, I gasp with wonder often at his capacity for intellectual gymnastics and the way he can offer the rational in place of the reasonable, to argue that so long as something is _possible_, it is therefore _reasonable_. > > “Well, objectively considered, a sow’s ear is comprised of various organic elements such as proteins, collagen and others. Silk is also a biological product, composed of elements that are quite similar in many respects. Therefore, the only distinction between a sow’s ear and a silk purse is the configuration and presumed purpose…” > > It’s all right, Ma, let the boy rock 'n roll. … and at the other end of the pig. Hi, **'luci**. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/92 "2014-12-02T17:26:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Your use of “inclination” is presumptuous, but it’s your litter analogy that is really misplaced. If anything, a thread is MORE littered (ie cluttered with irrelevant debris) if the posters start addressing bullshit arguments instead of just ignoring them. If you want the threads free of “litter”, you should call for the Mods to DELETE unworthy posts, which I understand is common on other boards. Good luck with that. So, what’s determines whether something is a “bullshit argument”? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/93 "2014-12-02T17:28:48Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > … and at the other end of the pig. Hi, **'luci**. Plop plop plop. So long, **FG** … ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/94 "2014-12-02T17:30:08Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > 2 observations. > > I don’t think this is unique to Bricker. You’ll notice that a lot of the higher decibel posters get constantly accused of “derailing” threads, and this is because it’s SOP for them to attract a disproportionate amount of the responses to threads. You, I, and Bricker can only control how we post and react. When Bricker ignores or simply glosses over an intelligent point by a poster, in favor of responding to some dumbass insult, it only adds to the problem, not solves it. It’s like a bunch of 2nd graders screaming for attention, when Bricker gives it to them, it only exacerbates the problem. Because he’s now the second grader screaming for attention too. > [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > More significantly, you’re ignoring the extent to which even a minority with pitchforks and torches can change the dynamic of the entire discussion, and weigh it in favor of their side, especially when more thoughtful allies on their side provide some intellectual heft. The more thoughtful responders benefit twice, both from having their opponents denigrated and again by themselves appearing all the more thoughtful for not engaging in it themselves. As a (mostly) thoughtful poster who, I like to think, has some intellectual heft, I despise the masses of 2nd graders who may agree with me politically, and they don’t make it better, they make it worse. In large part because it gives people like Bricker the opportunity to ignore the actual points someone makes, and instead focus on making the idiots look idiotic. Sure, it’s easy pickings for Bricker, he gets to make fools look like fools, but it does nothing to forward any discussion. It just lets him pretend he’s oh so much smarter than the dumb kids in class. Bricker’s the 4th grader who screams and yells just like the 2nd graders and blames it on the them for making the playground loud. Sure, he could ignore them and go play with the 5th graders, but where’s the fun in that? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/95 "2014-12-02T17:30:13Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > I was going to ask something along the lines. The answer seems to be much the same as usual - “I can ignore cheap shots aimed at you - why can’t you ignore cheap shots aimed at you?” Object strenuously when **Bricker** does it. Ignore when **Der Trihs** and **Lobohan** and **ElvisL1ves** and **BobLibDem** and **elucidator** and **Hentor the Barbarian** and **Fear Itself** and **iiandyii** do it. That’s fair. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/96 "2014-12-02T17:45:24Z")
Something to note, Bricker isn’t losing the argument in the voter ID thread because he’s being piled on. He’s losing it because his argument, that “as long as the law was enacted legally, neener neener, and IDs are easy to get for the poor, so who cares if they’re too lazy to get them to vote” is a shitty argument. He’s been shown that there are like ten cases of in-person voter fraud, and millions of people who don’t have an ID. He advocates voter ID, as enacted by the GOP as the solution to the problem of distorted elections, but the solution as written vastly distorts elections more than the handful of in-person voter fraud cases. His problem is that Bricker can’t count. He wants to cut off an arm to cure a hangnail. He has crafted the Bricker Pity Party narrative in order to explain that he’s losing the argument. And he’s taken to lying about other people’s positions, like mine for instance. Bricker isn’t the victim here, he’s the guy who is rationalizing his losing the fight. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/97 "2014-12-02T17:49:36Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So, what’s determines whether something is a “bullshit argument”? Well, I know what arguments _I_ generally consider bullshitty and I gather Bricker knows what _he_ considers bullshitty (otherwise he wouldn’t be complaining that liberals are failing to police other liberals for bullshitty arguments), but if you want a universal definition, all I can do is suggest you look up lists of common fallacies and form your own opinion. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/98 "2014-12-02T17:52:25Z")
Bricker being a dick, news at 11 :rolleyes: Its easy to see why he uses it and considers insults a “weapon”. He knows he’s not going to convince us since reality is on our side, so therefore to get his little conservative rocks off, the next best thing he can do is insult liberals. Somewhere, near the bottom of the list, scribbled in crayon and after the entry about women’s clothes causing rapes is written “Admit I’m wrong and change my beliefs to fit the facts” ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/99 "2014-12-02T17:53:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Your use of “inclination” is presumptuous, but it’s your litter analogy that is really misplaced. If anything, a thread is MORE littered (ie cluttered with irrelevant debris) if the posters start addressing bullshit arguments instead of just ignoring them. If you want the threads free of “litter”, you should call for the Mods to DELETE unworthy posts, which I understand is common on other boards. Good luck with that. I am presuming inclination based on your posts. I’m using this definition: _urge to act or feel in a particular way; a disposition or propensity._ If you object, I will withdraw the descriptor. I think the litter analogy is particularly apt. We should all ignore bullshit arguments. However, if we leave the litter unaddressed it brings down the quality of the neighborhood. Maybe people will stop littering on their own but it doesn’t seem to be happening, IMO. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080/100 "2014-12-02T17:54:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Something to note, Bricker isn’t losing the argument in the voter ID thread because he’s being piled on. > > He’s losing it because his argument, that “as long as the law was enacted legally, neener neener, and IDs are easy to get for the poor, so who cares if they’re too lazy to get them to vote” is a shitty argument. He’s been shown that there are like ten cases of in-person voter fraud, and millions of people who don’t have an ID. > > He advocates voter ID, as enacted by the GOP as the solution to the problem of distorted elections, but the solution as written vastly distorts elections more than the handful of in-person voter fraud cases. > > His problem is that Bricker can’t count. He wants to cut off an arm to cure a hangnail. > > He has crafted the Bricker Pity Party narrative in order to explain that he’s losing the argument. And he’s taken to lying about other people’s positions, like mine for instance. > > Bricker isn’t the victim here, he’s the guy who is rationalizing his losing the fight. This is a tidy and accurate summary and I praise you for presenting it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bricker-for-admitting-he-plans-to-make-posts-that-are-clearly-and-utterly-unreasonable/706080.md?page=6)