# I pit over-the-top Anti-Trump hysteria **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 5, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735 "2025-08-05T18:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 98
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2128 "2026-04-28T17:09:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > No, it wasn’t. That might have been what you were trying, but what you actually achieved was… different. Again, I’m asking you to show me the specific post or posts where I did this. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2129 "2026-04-28T17:11:31Z")
I don’t like that hoop. Got any others? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2130 "2026-04-28T17:13:59Z")
> **[Tone policing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_policing)** > > A tone argument (also called tone policing) is a type of ad hominem aimed at the tone of an argument instead of its factual or logical content in order to dismiss a person's argument. Ignoring the truth or falsity of a statement, a tone argument instead focuses on the emotion with which it is expressed. This is a logical fallacy because a person can be angry while still being rational. > The notion of tone policing became widespread in U.S. social activist circles by the mid-2010s. It was widely d... ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2131 "2026-04-28T17:17:52Z")
Does this mean you feel the word hysteria was the problem? If so, I’ll ask you the same question I’ve asked others. Do you feel any use of the word hysteria is offensive? Or do you feel there are situations when hysteria is an accurate description of what’s happening? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2132 "2026-04-28T17:18:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > No it’s not. You started by speaking of “hysteria”. It’s right there in the title of the thread. > > So are you saying any use of the word hysteria is offensive? That word is usually offensive, yes. It’s based on the idea that women are irrational and overwhelmed by emotion due to malfunctions of the uterus. It’s still usually used to insult women. And you are using it to tell those of us with concrete fears about this administration that we are being irrational. And some of my fears have already come to pass. It’s getting harder and harder for trans people to get treatment, for instance. Legal immigrants and even legal visitors to the US have been thrown into inhumane prisons with a distinct lack of due process. Some have been shipped to inhumane prisons overseas without due process. Minority communities have been raided for no particular reason, and children have been threatened by armed Federal agents. I could go on. So yes, i reject the framing of my fears as “hysterical” for a number of reasons. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2133 "2026-04-28T17:19:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Again, I’m asking you to show me the specific post or posts where I did this. You want me to show you a post where you _didn’t_ communicate a particular message? ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2134 "2026-04-28T17:19:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So are you saying any use of the word hysteria is offensive? It’s not offensive when people use it to mean ‘extremely funny’, but otherwise, yeah. The degree of offense varies depending on context, but I can promise you that if you are calling people ‘hysterical’ in a political context, you will earn enmity. ETA: People will not always tell you that you have earned their enmity, because they will expect you to react poorly to it. But they will lose respect for you. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2135 "2026-04-28T17:20:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And you are using it to tell those of us with concrete fears about this administration that we are being irrational. No, I am absolutely not saying that and I have never said that. There are plenty of reasons to have concrete fears about this administration. I listed some them in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2136 "2026-04-28T17:21:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > You want me to show you a post where you _didn’t_ communicate a particular message? You said I achieved something different. Show me the post where I did that and tell me what it was I achieved. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2137 "2026-04-28T17:22:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > And you are using it to tell those of us with concrete fears about this administration that we are being irrational. > > No, I am absolutely not saying that and I have never said that. You did that in the title of this thread. I will say again, > [@puzzlegal](#): > > If you want to say that you pit anti-Trump marketing that’s based on extrapolation, rather than based on what he’s already done, go for it. I think that thesis would have generated a very different discussion, and a more productive one. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2138 "2026-04-28T17:27:17Z")
> [@Frilly\_Heck](#): > > It’s not offensive when people use it to mean ‘extremely funny’, but otherwise, yeah. The degree of offense varies depending on context, but I can promise you that if you are calling people ‘hysterical’ in a political context, you will earn enmity. Okay, so lets get back to your use of the phrase “suck them off” to describe me hypothetically speaking with people who have offensive views. Did you intentionally use that phrase as a slur against gay people? Were you implying that gay sex is offensive? Do you feel that your use of that phrase invalidates everything else you’ve written in this thread? Do you feel using the word “hysteria” is more offensive than using the phrase “suck them off”? Do you feel I intentionally used the word hysteria as a slur against women? Do you feel that my use of the word invalidates everything else I’ve written in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2139 "2026-04-28T17:31:19Z")
> [@Frilly\_Heck](#): > > It’s not offensive when people use it to mean ‘extremely funny’, How is it any more or less offensive? It still etymologically derives from the same exact same source. I think the offensiveness of the term is overexagerated in this thread, but using it to mean “funny” is exactly equal in offensiveness. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2140 "2026-04-28T17:32:03Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You said I achieved something different. Show me the post where I did that and tell me what it was I achieved. Towards what end? If I point out a particular post where I think you came across in a bad light, are you going to reflect on your communication style, or are you going to pick another fight over it? The history of this thread suggests the latter is the more likely outcome, and what’s the point of engaging in more of that? Also: > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Did you intentionally use that phrase as a slur against gay people? Were you implying that gay sex is offensive? As a queer person, there is nothing in the phrase “suck them off” that implies any sort of hostility or disrespect to queer people, and it’s in really bad taste for you to hijack legitimate concerns about homophobia as a shield against your behavior in this thread, particularly since one of your tactics in this thread has been to invalidate the extremely valid concerns actual queer people have had about their future under this administration. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2141 "2026-04-28T17:32:18Z")
I don’t think a thread titled something along the lines of , “i favor sucking off [the following people]” would have gone well, either. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2142 "2026-04-28T17:36:22Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > You did that in the title of this thread. No, I did not. I said that people who are going around saying that Trump is planning on committing genocide, restoring slavery, and/or starting a nuclear war are being hysterical. I do not regard those as concrete fears. As I said in the OP, Trump and the Republicans are committing crimes, destroying democracy, illegally arresting people, gutting civil rights, and ruining America’s standing in the world. Those are concrete fears. Going around telling people Trump is doing those things is not hysteria. Do you disagree? Do you feel that genocide or slavery or nuclear war are concrete fears about things Trump is doing? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2143 "2026-04-28T17:38:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I said that people who are going around saying that Trump is planning on committing genocide, restoring slavery, and/or starting a nuclear war are being hysterical. I do not regard those as concrete fears. We can read the fucking title, asshat. It is right there at the top of the page: “I pit over-the-top Anti-Trump hysteria”. ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2144 "2026-04-28T17:40:24Z")
Offense is always subjective, and context always affects it in ways that cannot be guessed from denotation and etymology. I am relating what I know to be commonly true based on experience. ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2145 "2026-04-28T17:42:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, so lets get back to your use of the phrase “suck them off” to describe me hypothetically speaking with people who have offensive views. > > Did you intentionally use that phrase as a slur against gay people? Were you implying that gay sex is offensive? > > Do you feel that your use of that phrase invalidates everything else you’ve written in this thread? > > Do you feel using the word “hysteria” is more offensive than using the phrase “suck them off”? > > Do you feel I intentionally used the word hysteria as a slur against women? Do you feel that my use of the word invalidates everything else I’ve written in this thread? No and no, no, yes, no, and kind of ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2146 "2026-04-28T17:43:10Z")
Do you think the guy I was protesting with, who replaced the "E"s in “detention camps” with swastikas was being hysterical? I’m guessing you do. I think that’s a nasty and untrue characteristic of him. I also think it made the sign less effective. Because of how marketing works. But I’m not going to insult him about it. Because we do need everyone who is on our side. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735/2147 "2026-04-28T17:43:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > As a queer person, there is nothing in the phrase “suck them off” that implies any sort of hostility or disrespect to queer people, and it’s in really bad taste for you to hijack legitimate concerns about homophobia as a shield against your behavior in this thread, particularly since one of your tactics in this thread has been to invalidate the extremely valid concerns actual queer people have had about their future under this administration. I disagree. The phrase “sucking them off” was used to describe doing something offensive. That’s a homophobic usage. I also disagree that I have in any way invalidated the valid concerns gay people have about their future in this administration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735.md?page=97) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-over-the-top-anti-trump-hysteria/1021735.md?page=99)