I Pit the Pit today (Nov 3)

The BBQ Pit
#1

I am disappointed in the Straight Dope Message Board members, and in human nature in general. I am disappointed and aggrieved that any feel so bitterly that they would moan and complain and bitch about having lost this election, so vociferously and in such a petty way. This is, for better or worse, our system of election. I am ashamed to be a member of a message board where some feel so gleeful in victory that they must do the Happy Dance and verbally abuse anybody in the opposition. Many of your opponents are, for better or worse, your fellow countrymen (and -women).

I think less of many of you for this. The President’s acceptance speech today was about re-uniting the country—something which both parties should have aspired to do fifteen months ago, but never mind—but here we have only vitriol and gloom on the left, and gleeful hate on the right.

The election is over, bar the few who count the last ballots until the final bell. We must now deal with the new term and the new developments that result, good and bad for some; bad and good for others.

Silly me. I had hoped that when the election was done the partisan sniping would end. It seems to have only begun. I think I’ll wander back to the boards around Christmastime to see if anybody has begun to pretend to be polite.

#2

How can you pit the pit?
Isn’t that some kind of paradox?

Jerry: Kramer, just calm down, where are you?
Kramer:I"m at the corner of first and first… How can a street intersect itself? I must be at the nexus of the universe!

sorry, your title just reminded me of this :wink:

#3

Granted, the response has been a bit excessive. But really, am I only allowed to be pissed off and frightened and angry and outraged every four years when there’s an election on tap? In between Presidential elections I should keep my mouth shut and not hold an opinion? I was angry, frightened, and disgusted before the election, and I’ll probably be angry, frightened, and disgusted often in the next four years.

This time, however, I intend to do a lot less talking about it and a lot more doing about it, personally.

#4

Zsofia, I haven’t heard any concrete plans, votes, policies, schemes, invasions, taxes or cuts therefrom, or anything else today that would warrant attacking someone else personally for their political choices. All that has happened was that the election results were announced. I won’t say that people have no right to express dislike for the outcome of the election, but need it be so personal? Need we attack one another now that it’s over? I am deeply disappointed in everybody today who thought this was necessary, acceptable, civil, or appropriate.

Attack the policies, yes, when they are announced. Rally your fellow voters and do something about a policy you dislike, even better. But attack people, personally and hurtfully? Gloat? Mope?

The President had the (possibly belated) graciousness to try to re-unite people following the election. His supporters cannot see fit to follow his lead; and his detractors cannot admit how far below his example they have sunk.

#5

Well said, Fish.

#6

Ummm…I think his detractors have some different ideas about what his idea of “uniting” is and his motivations for calling for this.

#7

You’re definately right about the personal attacks and overly emotional response, absolutely. And intellectually I know that, and I haven’t taken part in it (it makes me very weary.) But I do understand it, emotionally. I wish it wasn’t like that, but I’m giving it a mental pass in the same way that when somebody dies you don’t hold anything the widow might say against her for a while.

If it’s still like this in a month, then I pit it, sure. But right now I understand that it’s the aftermath of a very emotional several months here and in real life. I just wish there was more being said about what can be done, on either side or for both, besides moving to Canada or telling other people to move to Canada. Give it some time.

#8

THe President has said many things in speeches that turned out to be lies. I’ve been gone for a couple of days, but I could give a shit if you think less of me. (I went up the Giant Forest, for perspective)

#9

And I would be one of them, but there is still no reason to attack Bush’s supporters with personal hatred if I disagree with him.

#10

And possibly calculated. I suppose it ultimately rests on whether one believes George Bush the Lesses is a man of sincerity and goodwill.

I think I will not say any more.

#11

It is certainly disappointing to see SDMB members being abusive to each other.

Nevertheless this is a scary result to us here in the UK.

You talk about Bush ‘uniting’ the country.
But he was elected by appealing solely to the Christian Fundamentalist Right (e.g. banning gay marriage), claiming that Iraq was necessary in the ‘War against Terror’, while getting huge donations from companies (which does not bode well for ecological issues).

I think what particularly depresses me is the ‘War against Terror’. It ‘justifies’ Guantanamo Bay, the invasion of Iraq and the Patriot Act.
If Ashcroft proposes some restriction on civil rights (cf Ted Kennedy getting on a plane), any opposition will be labelled ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘supporting terrorism’.
If there are protests, then you will be told that there is secret intelligence information about an impending terrorist attack (from the people who brought you WMDs in Iraq :rolleyes: ).

Why does Bush need to unite the US anyway?
This election showed there is just enough of a majority for Bush to continue, provided he keeps his core support.
As for the cost (billions of dollars), now is the time for businesses and wealthy backers to be repaid.
What does it matter is the poor lose out? They didn’t vote for Bush.

#12

He said basically the same thing after the 2000 election. Hell, he even had everyone in the States and most of the world united behind him after 9/11. Yet he managed to disenfranchise half of America and piss off most of the world with his heavy-handed and arrogant “Go it alone / Us or Them” policy.

It is not up to us to unite behind him now, it is up to him to add substance to his (IMHO) hollow words of graciousness.

#13

No doubt, TwoTrouts, there are some of his detractors (including myself) who would be suspicious of his motives in talking about unity. I have already pointed out that such talk should have begun months ago, by both sides, prior to such a divisive campaign; and privately I have wondered that if unity were so important, why has it taken our President four years in office to do anything about it?

There are many good reasons to be upset about the election results, but I can think of none so powerful that they justify attacking people who aren’t.

#14

Personally I think there are plenty of reasons to attack Bush, and also his supporters, even if he had no obvious direct control over them.

Does anyone doubt that the Swifty vet liars were Bush supporters?

Does anyone doubt that the numerous other attempted charactor assassinations on Kerry were anything but Bush supporters ?

Now Bush could easily have publicly and forcibly disowned them, he could have condemned them and would probably have looked a better man for doing so, but he didn’t.

What was all that nonsense about Kerry being very rich, I don’t see Bush or his supporters eating stale three day old bread anytime soon, this was an irrelevance.

Bush was not man enough to denounce this petty dirty campaign, and it’s this nasty little campaign that has been most divisive and made the whole thing so personal.

Its the horrible greedy little individuals who turned things so bitter, they are the ones who have made reconciliation so much more difficult, but given Bush’s transparent lies about Iraq, its hardly surprising that he didnt have the balls to take control over the morality of his campaign.

You now see that reflected in this message board, well you voted for this style of politics, you approved the party that was the most sordid, least morally responsible, and the irony is that a large part of Bush’s vote came from the ‘moral majority’.

You’ve got the president you deserve.

The only problem is this, your budget deficit will have to be brought under control, and there is the distinct impression that this means world interest rates will have to rise to cover US borrowing, there may well be a recession in the US, as it is things are not looking good on balance of trade, and this means that your fiscally irresponsible muppet you deem to dignify with the title president, will end up driving much of the rest of the worlds economies into recession.

I never voted for your idiot president(being a UK citizen), but his stupidity will have an intimate effect upon the lives of millions, so dont be at all surprised when US citizens with their customary economic arrogance, their fucking self righteous belief in their own system of world leadership means that your kind will be much less welcome around the world, in far more stable nations than the Iraq in which you are busily constructing a frail puppet state.

#15

casdave, I didn’t vote for Bush. I’m sorry you think it’s necessary to attack me because I live in the country where he was elected. I suppose I’ll bow out now and let the Hate Hijack continue.

#16

Is it too much to ask that if the thread title is an obvious vent, or an obvious gloat, that those of the opposite opinion refrain from posting if they can’t be gracious or at least non-inflammatory?

I mean, if you want to gloat, then go right ahead. But do you have to deliberately do it in a place where you know you will inflame others? Same thing goes for mourning/venting.

#17

Somehow lost my last line. It was “I’d like to respect at least some of you in the morning.”