# IMHO **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 12, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311 "2000-07-12T14:13:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/21 "2000-07-13T19:20:51Z")
VAHermit…Wrap yourself in that damned Kentucky Battle Flag until it stifles your redneck ass. I didn’t say a damned word about your “Heritage Not Hate” sticker in this thread. But if the shit kicking shoe fits then I think you aught to wear it Bubba. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/22 "2000-07-13T19:23:20Z")
Ok I have to take issue with you now. I have argued with Mr. Zambezi on many occasions. We have disagreed and fought and even resorted to name calling. He is not a bigot. Does he have some small predjudices, I would say so. Is he a bigot? No. Is he wrong in his opinions? yes. There are definetly bigots on the board. Mr. Z is just too caught up in his libertarian philopsphy to know any better. Hah, bet no one saw that coming. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/23 "2000-07-13T19:30:51Z")
> [@](#): > > He’ll argue to the death that he isn’t but if you pull up his posts you will find him arguing all the time that black people are being given special treatment and they just want more. He thinks they just want a hand out from us white folks and don’t even appreciate it when they get one. Did he come right out and voice his opinion in just this way…Hell no! He’s a college educated man and is very good at making what he calls rational arguments. He’s very well spoken. He’s a little like a well schooled politician. But I’ve been picking up on these kind of sutble and not so sutble attitudes all my life. I know when someone is predjudiced. Gotcha. Opposes affirmative action = racist. Thinks that ‘reverse racism’ exists = racist. Believe that the self-proclaimed leaders of the African-American community are more interested in personal power and tilting at windmills than in actually addressing the problems facing the African-American community = racist. > [@](#): > > You don’t have to have a college education to figure out it’s a short distance from making fun of a couple of sissy guys on TV to waiting outside of a gay bar on Friday night so you can beat up a couple of fags. Do you understand what I’m trying to say here? Yep- jokes aren’t funny, and my making jokes comparing Esprix to ‘pork eaters’ (it’s a Biblical thing, see the “Love and Christianity, Part III” thread) means that in a few weeks I’ll be wandering around Dupont Circle with a baseball bat, muttering about the ‘fag agenda’. Thanks for sharing. I’ll do my best to never again evince political opinions or tell jokes that might, possibly, somewhere, offend someone. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/24 "2000-07-13T19:43:23Z")
Needs, I appreciate and agree with your sentiment, but your self-righteousness is matched only by your lack of a sense of humor. > [@](#): > > Ok then…you tell me how funny it is to start a thread about a couple of supposed “sissy guys” getting into a > little bitch slap fight…the thread “Who would win Richard Simmons or Christoper Lowell”… I’m a card-carrying gay guy myself, and I thought the thread was funny. There’s a big difference between poking fun and hate speech. If someone had said Lowell and simmons should be killed, I’d have a big fuckin’ problem. But a contest to see who can out-flame the other is humorous. The Africa thread poster did not advocate sending Black folks back to Africa, he thought Black Americans could go to Africa and Westernize the continent. It wasn’t evil, just naive. Certainly, the legacy of slavery needs to be examined, and it’s better to show someone his error than flame him with indignation. People called me a bigot in the immigration thread I start ed, because I questioned the wisdom of our immigration policies. As far as Christian bashing, only dimbulbs like FriendofGod get flamed. Intelligent Christians like **Polycarp** get a respectful hearing, even from atheists like me. And if a “nigger-hater” thread got started, you can be assured the mods would drop it faster than Bill Clinton’s zipper. What really bothers me is that PC types try to control what others can say or think. If someone is a racist or homophobe, folks can tune him out or laugh at him, but shutting up people who offend you is offensive to the spirit of independent thought. Gotta quote my homie, Voltaire, who said, “I detest what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it.” ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/25 "2000-07-13T19:47:07Z")
\*\*VAHermit…Wrap yourself in that damned Kentucky Battle Flag until it stifles your **redneck** ass. I didn’t say a damned word about your “Heritage Not Hate” sticker in this thread. But if the **shit-kicking** shoe fits then I think you ought to wear it, **Bubba.** [/quote] And that’s not hate speech? Some of my best friends and several family members(on my mom’s side) are rednecks. ---
**Author:** ![Needs2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5e925/32.png) [@Needs2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Needs2know)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/26 "2000-07-13T19:56:26Z")
Damn John guess we know where you stand…let’s go back to one of our favorite SDMB tactics here… Self proclaimed African American leaders are more interested in personal power and tilting at windmills than addressing the real issues…Gee! which leaders would that be? SITES!!! PLEASE!!! All African American leaders or just some of them? I’d say that would be true of let’s say…a couple of white guys we’ve been hearing a lot about lately too. Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore are real statesmen. They aren’t in it for the power. Their campains are really addressing the issues too aren’t they? They haven’t been pushing hard on a few of your windmills or talking out of the sides of their mouths. Please don’t insult my good common sense. Reverse Racism…that’s a funny one. I always love that one. White guys whining about a handful of black guys getting a job other than picking up trash on Tuesday mornings. White guys whining because black people might actually get the opportunity to go to college. Wow! We white folks are in big danger of losing out to the 12% of the population that’s black. Affirmative Action that’s a good one too. I’m sure any black fellow that wants to keep his place can work where ever he pleases. Needs2know ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/27 "2000-07-13T20:04:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by goboy \* > \*\* > People called me a bigot in the immigration thread I start > ed, because I questioned the wisdom of our immigration policies. \*\* NO. you were called a bigot for insisting that people speak perfect english before they come to _“your”_ country, for claiming that people that don’t speak english shouldn’t have driver’s licences, for insisting that they shouldn’t have the right to vote, for trying to restrict immigration to mostly wealthy white people. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/28 "2000-07-13T20:12:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore are real statesmen. They aren’t in it for the power. Their campains are really addressing the issues too aren’t they? They haven’t been pushing hard on a few of your windmills or talking out of the sides of their mouths. Please don’t insult my good common sense. Ah, I see. When I said, “Black leaders are looking for power”, you immediately assumed my _actual_ statement was “Black leaders are looking for power, but white leaders are innately good and just and wholesome.” I see why you see racism in so many of us now. > [@](#): > > Reverse Racism…that’s a funny one. I always love that one. White guys whining about a handful of black guys getting a job other than picking up trash on Tuesday mornings. White guys whining because black people might actually get the opportunity to go to college. No, I was more talking about Kevin Shiflet (sp?), the 8-year-old boy in Arlington who was killed by a black man who was looking to kill “racist white kids.” I was more looking at Louis Farrakhan referring to Jews as “bloodsucking parasites”, and espousing the idea that Jewish doctors had created AIDS as a way of exterminating Africans. I was more talking about the attitude that when a black man commits a crime against a white man, the general attitude of the media and civil rights leaders is that race should not be involved; but when a white man commits a crime against a black man, the immediate question is whether the white man was a racist. I was more talking about the fact that for a white person to act differently when around or confronted with African-American youths is considered an immediate sign of racism, even though Jesse Jackson has publicly admitted to being afraid when he is alone on a street and sees young African-American males. > [@](#): > > Affirmative Action that’s a good one too. I’m sure any black fellow that wants to keep his place can work where ever he pleases. Huh? So you’re basically saying that African-Americans only keep their jobs because their bosses are afraid of being sued? That if hiring based upon ‘racial preferences’ was illegal, then no one would ever hire a black man again? Hi, I’m John, and this is the year 2000. Please step out of the Way-Back machine, and take a look around you. ---
**Author:** ![ren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@ren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ren)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/29 "2000-07-13T20:19:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I can spot a self important asshole a mile away. …or, say, in the closest mirror… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/30 "2000-07-13T20:21:28Z")
Well, since N2K is so big on fighting intolerance, let me point something out > [@](#): > > we’re all intitled to our > opinions Well, nobody is intitled to their opinions. But everybody is entitled. And I wouldn’t get all up in arms over threads where you see bigoted attitudes. I could perceive your comments in my “Ask the Mormon Gal” and other comments you have made in regards to Mormons extremely bigoted, ignorant, and hateful. Maybe you should worry about the 2x4 in your eye before you worry about the sliver in someone else’s. (Paraphased Biblical reference) In this thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26500](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=26500) I take offense to many comments you made about the LDS religion, and other religions in general. Including “Mind control tactics” and > [@](#): > > RTA:"$cientology is not a religion like the others, it has never been a religion like the others. It is a con, > a racket, a shell game, a fraud, a joke." > N2K: “RTA…I feel the same way about the LDS church but to publicly say so here will bring me cries of > bigot and persecutor of religons that I don’t understand”. How are making comments like the ones you made in that thread any different from people making fun of Richard Simmons. Your remarks towards someone’s religion is no less bigoted as MrZ’s remarks towards someone’s race. You can sniff out hate anywhere huh? Well,maybe you should so some soul searching and sniff out your own. I don’t claim to love everybody. But I certainly don’t go around saying things like “All Catholics are idiots. I mean, come on! Their religion is a lame excuse to line the pockets of the Pope.” and then turn around and take offense when someone, no matter how naively, says “Well, maybe Blacks should go over to Western Africa and colonize it.” Do you see how both comments are saying something derogatory about a group of people? Do you see how they are similar? You attack religions, someone else attacks races. That doesn’t mean you are not a bigot. It means you are different kind of bigot. But of course, in the world you are living in, imperfect tolerance=bigotry. And people are only allowed to be bigoted towards races, not religions. Quite frankly I am tired of seeing your moronic posts clutter this board. You have never contributed anything worthwhile to any conversation as far as I can see, and now you are attacking people for voicing their opinions on a public message board, not only attacking them, but calling them bigots. You are the bigot here Dear. And you owe an apology to andros. And everybody else YOU have offended with your asinine comments, (There have been a lot since you began posting.) Black people and homosexuals are not the only people in the world who can take offense to small-minded, stupid statements. And you have had your share of small-minded stupid statements. I bet all of us have. The only difference is, we’re not being hypocrites about it by calling everybody else out, but not owning up to our own problems. And I’ve also noticed you take offense to the term “reverse racism” Newsflash for you Dear, blacks are just as racists as whites. And Hispanics are just as racist as blacks and whites. And all colors are equally as outspoken about their hatred. So don’t jump all over white people’s asses for being racist, and exclude all the racist minorities. My BF’s mother is black, his father is Hispanic. You think that was an easy union for them? No, because his father’s family were racist towards Blacks and his mother’s family was racist towards hispanics, and that’s not an isolated problem. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/31 "2000-07-13T20:25:32Z")
We shouldn’t hijack this thread, so any further discussion should take place in Great Debates. A quick retort: > [@](#): > > NO. you were called a bigot for insisting that people speak perfect English before they come to “your” country Lie. I said that immigrants who come here should learn English. Never said “before”, never said “perfect”. You are a liar. > [@](#): > > For claiming that people that don’t speak English shouldn’t have driver’s licences, That’s accurate. If you can’t read road signs, you’re a danger to yourself and others. > [@](#): > > for insisting that they shouldn’t have the right to vote, That’s a lie. I said ballots should be in English only. Any citizen can vote, fool. > [@](#): > > for trying to restrict immigration to mostly wealthy white people. That’s another lie. I defy you to find one single post where that was said. Since this is the Pit, I can tell you that you’re so stupid, you make a box of rocks look like Stephen Hawking. Not only are you a dumbshit, you are a lying dumbshit. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/32 "2000-07-13T20:25:52Z")
**Needs2Know:** You are about as intelligent as a paper clip. Are you saying that reverse rasicm doesn’t exist? Wasn’t there just recently an incident at a McDonalds somewhere where a black man walked in and said to a black customer, “Don’t worry, I’m only here to kill the white people”?? I’m almost positive I heard that on a radio station however, I could be wrong. A true example of reverse racism: A young black woman was at an intersection in a car with her white fiance. Along side them, a car pulled up and shots were fired. That young black woman (who was driving the car) was shot in the head and killed. Why? Because a white man didn’t think it was right for a “nigger” to marry a white man. (I saw the trial for this case on Court TV. Check the website if you want a reference, it should be there.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/33 "2000-07-13T20:29:53Z")
Silver\_Fire said: > [@](#): > > A true example of reverse racism: A young black woman was at an intersection in a car with her white fiance. Along side them, a car pulled up and shots were fired. That young black woman (who was driving the car) was shot in the head and killed. Why? Because a white man didn’t think it was right for a “nigger” to marry a white man. (I saw the trial for this case on Court TV. Check the website if you want a reference, it should be there.) Huh? Okay, explain to me (very slowly, because I must be dense not to understand) how a white man killing a black woman (whom the white man called a “nigger”) is “reverse” racism. Sounds just like regular racism to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ptahlis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@Ptahlis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptahlis)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/34 "2000-07-13T20:33:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Needs2know \* > \*\*Ok then…you tell me how funny it is to start a thread about a couple of supposed “sissy guys” getting into a little bitch slap fight…the thread “Who would win Richard Simmons or Christoper Lowell” \*\* I don’t really know about that thread, as I haven’t seen it. (Who is Christopher Lowell BTW?) Nevertheless, it _could_ be extremely funny, depending on how it’s presented. > [@](#): > > \*\* > …or what about the poster that makes some ignorant statement in the “Slavery is over Get Over it thread” about them all going back to Africa. (Another poster actually had to tell them it had been tried before. Never mind that I heard that kind of ignorant shit my whole life living in the South.) \*\* I guess you mean the question posed by G. Nome that I will quote: > [@](#): > > - > > I don’t mean this to be racist in any way (though it’s probably humorously naive): What would be wrong with a United States of Africa? A lot of black Americans lead far from perfect lives, a huge percentage of young black males are in prison. Is there any interest among black communities in reclaiming their African heritage - becoming a civilising force among Africans who are constantly at war with one another? If there was a black American territory in Africa (full of Silicon Valleys and country clubs) black prisoners could be extradited from the U.S.A. American power would be extended over two continents. I have heard that South Africa is a paradise for black English immigrants. Do blacks Americans find it impossible to re-establish links with their pre-slave pasts? - Did you ever happen to look at the profile and see that G. Nome is from _New Zealand_? Did you ever happen to consider that maybe he is asking an actual question about how American blacks regard Africa of today because he _really doesn’t know?_ Perhaps, were you less eager to paint everyone with the bigot brush you might have admitted the possibility that this might be someone other than a cartoon KKK ignorant cracker. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Give me a break here! Not to mention that in the same thread you’ve got silly people stating that black people do go to prison more often! Gee whiz! Guess you have access to the internet but didn’t bother to read the report that came out recently (and was highly publicized) that said there are more black people in jail because the predominately white judicial system is stacked against them. Naw! they should just GET OVER IT! \*\* Now you’re just revealing that you haven’t read the thread very well. “Get Over it!” applies to slavery, _not_racism, and even after reviewing the thread, I cannot find where anyone makes the assertions described above. Even if they were in the thread, there is also a strong case made by others that poverty is a more serious determiner of judicial outcome than race. Wherever the truth lies, the fact that different reports reach different conclusions means that _there is room for debate._ > [@](#): > > \*\* > Or maybe the niggers can quit complaining when the Jews stop whining about the holocaust. (Another post in that thread) See where that kind of stuff leads! Take a look at some of that and see the kind of brilliant conversation these threads inspire! \*\* First of all, the post you are paraphrasing was written by capacitor, who is _black_, in defense of his right to continue to make slavery an issue today. (Also, so far the only person I have seen use the word “nigger” on this board is **YOU** and the people quoting you, so why don’t you knock it the fuck off.) He is drawing a _parallel_ that he sees between the two situations in order to make a point. If this offends you, then what the hell do you have for skin lady? Tissue paper? You seem a wee bit sensitive to be reading the Great Debates if something like _that_ is going to throw you into a fit of outrage. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I really don’t care what some of you people think of me. I have never professed to be an expert on anything important. But I do know a bunch of “closet bigots” when I see them. I can spot a self important asshole a mile away. So called normal, middle of the road, educated people who don’t have any compassion or understanding for anyone who is different than them. Terrified that the white, heterosexual male might loose his grip on world domination. People who are secretly scared to death that someone with a different skin color, religion or sexual orientation might destroy their way of life. And what kills me is they use all their educated eloquence to make their sad little fears sound justified! \*\* _ **Now** _ I see what the problem is here. You’re insane. And psychic. Here I thought that only the Shadow knew what evil lurks in the hearts of men, but apparently _you_ have an inside line on all the secret motivations, the petty fears, and the vast unspoken conspiracy to which those that disagree with you belong. Ok. You got me. I confess! I _am_ terrified that my grip on world domination is weakening, and I have missed three meetings of the Oppressive White Heterosexual Male World Domination Consortium and Hair Club for Men meetings this year! > [@](#): > > \*\* > Would any of them ever give an inch and admit that we are all just people and we all have something worthwhile and valuable to offer. \*\* All of us N2K? Are you sure? Someone said there were an awful lot of bigots on this board. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Naw! There’s even a homosexual on this board that is defending the ridicule of what he thinks are fellow homosexuals. Just because he says they haven’t “come out of the closet”. What are they supposed do, a special episode like Ellen? That did her a world of good didn’t it, she was has-been by the next season. \*\* So let me get this straight. Do you think that there can’t be any jokes made about people’s behavior at all, or only minority people? Are you saying that Jay Leno, Chris Rock, the entire cast of Saturday Night Live, and the writers of Will and Grace are indictable as well? Or is it just posters on this board that you have a problem with?People tell jokes about other people. They laugh at behavior they see as foolish. Sometimes it is meant cruelly, sometimes it isn’t. I haven’t read the thread you are referring to, but your overreaction to and misstatements about the Slavery thread, coupled with the fact that a homosexual is joining in the fun in the Richard Simmons thread leads me to believe that the odds favor you being a hypersensitive, humorless, stick-up-your-ass bitch about it. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I don’t care if Christopher Lowell and Richard Simmons have got flames shooting out of their asses, they are people and their sexual orientation is their business. It doesn’t have anything to do with the job they are doing. \*\* Which job is that? Richard Simmons is a celebrity weight loss guy. I have never seen anyone say “Ha Ha! You’re gay!” to Richard Simmons, although I _have_ seen both Leno and Letterman giving him a hard time about his “flaming” ways. He not only laughed along with them but participated in it himself and has returned as a guest multiple times. I seem to remember Nathan Lane was a target for sly jokes even before he came out of the closet. It has everything to do with their “job” if part of their job happens to be maintaining a celebrity status. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Damn! If they were deaf, blind or handicapped in any way would we be making fun of them then? \*\* Those are totally different examples. From your description of the thread, the two guys in question are being made fun of because of what they _do_, not because of any kind of defect. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Lighten up they tell me, we’re just poking a little fun at a couple of old queens. Guess he’d be singing a different tune if the guy poking fun had a shaved head, swastika tattoo and a half dozen buddies with baseball bats just like him laughing along too. Ha! Ha! Jokes on you Queenie! \*\* Maybe you should lighten up then. Of course it would be different if the Neo Nazi skinhead were telling the joke. Intent matters! If I call my buddy a dumbass, he knows that my intent is to chide him in good humor. If I call the guy who cut me off in traffic a dumbass, he knows it’s because he did a shitty thing and I’m pissed. The problem seems to be here that while other folks can recognize the difference, _you_ apparently cannot. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Want to hear more or is that enough for you? When people don’t understand each other that’s one thing. Let’s fight ignorance and talk about it. But I’ve never seen a single asshole on this board admit they were ever wrong about anything, even when they were. \*\* Firstly, I have seen people admit it when they have been wrong. Where the hell have you been? Or do you just think that anyone who admits it is excluded from the asshole category? Or is anyone who still maintains their original belief in opposition to your own automatically labeled an asshole? > [@](#): > > \*\* > And I’ve seen other posters of presumed good intelligence que up and defend them because we’re all intitled to our opinions. \*\* Oh Heavens! Not people with… opposing opinions! How _dare_ they! Why should we allow that sort of thing to continue. We should all just rely on N2K to tell us what to think! > [@](#): > > \*\* > What that tired old saying…Opinions are like assholes and everybody’s got one. Well from one asshole to another, this one is mine, there are some ignorant asshole bigots on this board! > > Needs2know > \*\* If that’s the way you support your statements, then color me unconvinced. (Note to N2K: “Color me \_\_\_\_” is a colloquial expression that is roughly equivalent to “I am \_\_\_\_”. It is in no way a statement of racial prejudice or an officially sanctioned phrase of the Evil Heterosexual White Male Overlord Society.) Your OP seems intended to stir the pot. Well, it’s stirred. You were asked to make some sort of specific accusation and still fudged around with general statements (and ignored the most racially inflammatory post in the slavery thread, Prism02’s first post.) Let me try again with this. If you have accusations to make, then post them. Put a link to the thread down and point out the racist comments. I have no doubt at all that you should be able to find examples of racism and bigotry if you look, but I do have doubt that you could find them in significant numbers, and frankly, I think you see a lot of shit that isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/35 "2000-07-13T20:48:02Z")
**pepperlandgirl** , she has apologized to me above, but thanks hon. Other than that, I don’t have much to say that you and **John** haven’t said, except to point out the value of support your beliefs. [n]Needs2know\*\*, many, if not most of us who post here are followers of the Way of Cecil. His sworn duty is to combat ignorance. That means research, and discovering the Straight Dope. Now, I sure wouldn’t bother with him at all if his columns went along the lines of “this is that way it is, take my word for it.” On the contrary, he does footwork, phonework, empirical testing, and then provides the data and sources to us, the readers. He is, in effect, a skeptic. Shoudl we, then, abandon his example and accept everyone’s words at face value? When you tell me there are bigots registered at the ol’ SDMB, my reaction (after “no shit”) is to see examples of what you are seeing as bigoted behavior. I want to be able to draw my own conclusions, rather than just blindly agreeing with you. Citations (or cites, a bastardization of the verb, “to cite”) are simply references to authoritative sources. At their best, a solid citation is to original data (rather than sources citing the data, which is alos valid). If I say, “secondhand smoke is bad,” I can then cite the studies performed by x, y, and z researchers, and the data they produced. It doesn’t help my argument any to state my claim and then say “oh, go find it yourself.” In this case, the most authoritative data are the posts to which you refer. If you were to provide them to us, specifying which ones you felt were racist, we would likely be much more patient with you and would be able to discuss it (and perhaps disagree) civilly. Now, if it’s simply an opinion, we still need to know upon what you base that opinion. If your opinion is soundly based and you can say not only _that_ you believe something, but _why_ (with examples), again, civil discourse is much more likely to ensue. That being said, **Needs2Know** , I disagree with your assertion that “Many threads are started here just to ridicule [Christians].” Please, could you point some of those out to me, so I can understand why you feel that way? ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/36 "2000-07-13T20:48:16Z")
oh poor little bigot goboy. The best he can ever do is resort to backpeddling on his statements. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by goboy \* > \*\*I believe English should be the sole language used for public business. You can speak whatever you like at home, but if you can’t also speak English, you can’t vote or get a driver’s license. \*\* and then after I claimed that he didn’t want non-english speakers to vote. > [@](#): > > \*\* > That’s a lie. I said ballots should be in English only. Any citizen can vote, fool. \*\* also most people who can’t speak english can drive perfectly well. I drove in france and understood the roadsigns fine. they are pretty simple. Yet goboy claims that those who don’t speak english very well are so stupid they can’t even understand how to drive in our country. Pretty bigoted if you ask me. and then there was this. > [@](#): > > for trying to restrict immigration to mostly wealthy white people. That’s another lie.\*\* [/QUOTE] I never said that you posted those words. But, the effects of what you want are just that. You expect every imigrant to know english. Guess what the only way to do that would be togarauntee they knew english before hand. By doing so you would be excluding all but wealthy white people. So watch who you call a liar you bottom feeding bad excuse for an american. I am seriously ashamed to have people like you in this country. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/37 "2000-07-13T20:51:52Z")
Dammit, **oldscratch** , **goboy** , take that kind of shit to the Pit! . . . oh. Carry on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/38 "2000-07-13T21:01:51Z")
Hey andros. shuthefuckup. 😉 Also I posted a somewhat related thread over [here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30705) It has been a fun couple days. remind me why I like the board. Next thing you know Olentzero and I will get in a fucking flamewar. ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/39 "2000-07-13T21:50:47Z")
OK Needs2know, here I am. I am the evil homophobe who started the [Simmons Vs Lowell](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=30443) thread. In case you hadn’t noticed, I apologized to you once in that thread, and I’m not going to do it again, in fact, I take it back. How fucking dare you call me a bigot! It was a fucking thread in IMHO, not GD. You don’t know me from a hole in the wall, and you have no idea what I’m like. You didn’t even have the balls to name me, but you did have the nerve to call me a bigot. Fuck you. If it upset you to the point that you were compelled to make numerous posts about how unfunny it was, and then start a Pit thread about it, you are the one with serious problems, not me. I never once made a negative comment about homosexuals on this board, nor do I intend to. You, on the other hand, decided I was a bigot and a homophobe on the basis of one silly post, and pointed it our numerous times. Well, now you, ‘Little-Miss-Do-No-Wrong,’ have personally offended me. Funny how that works, isn’t it? Rose ---
**Author:** ![kellibelli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e480ec/32.png) [@kellibelli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellibelli)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2000, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311/40 "2000-07-13T22:01:15Z")
Dont sweat it Rose, you are worth a thousand of her. Nobody else thinks you are a bigot. Kelli [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imho/25311.md?page=3)