Iran. Keep pushing those buttons.

[Scott_Plaid]

@Starving Artist

And don’t take my posting activity the last few days all that seriously. There are some new posters here who have gotten my goat somewhat, and I’m pretty much just having fun taking them on and getting some things out of my system. I’m sure all of us say things from time to time that we don’t really mean literally and in the overall scheme of things…and I’ve just been indulging in an orgy of it the last few days.

Isn’t there a word for that?

Anyway, you seem to be criticizing posters around here for a (non-existent) lack of commentary about problems in other countries, re: women’s rights. They have replied with posts a -plenty of liberals criticizing the treatment of women in other countries. Well, for what it’s worth, HERE are a lot of past threads which contain liberals criticizing the rite of female circumcision. I am sure you can agree those are examples of liberals replying to the treatment of foreign women.

Oh, and re: Liberals dog piling those poor, helpless republicans, my own hard-to-defend opinion is that Republicans make indefensible, baseless claims, (“Bush is really doing a good job.” “The war is necessary.” “Ceremonial deism makes perfect sense.”) When and if they actually said something that makes sense, liberals tend to agree with them.
Oh, and per the “Don’t touch that button!” joke:

[Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law]

Mayor: Umm… Birdman? Isn’t Avenger a little close to the missile button?

Birdman: Nonsense! Avenger is a trained professional! The coffe button’s right below the missile button! Get… Birdman…Coffee, Avenger!

(Avenger reaches uncertainly for button)

BM: COFFEE AVENGER! COFFEE!

Avenger: Kaw! Kaw!

[/Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law]

[Squink]

Banned at the schoolhouse door: pint-size ghosts and goblins
Halloween gets a makeover at many schools, as religious parents object to the holiday.

Why don’t Starving Artist and his ilk express any outrage over this?
Are they all Halloween hayters?

[Fear_Itself]

@Squink

Why don’t Starving Artist and his ilk express any outrage over this?
Are they all Halloween hayters?

crickets chirping

[World_Eater]

@RedFury

While I agree with everything else contained in your post, I’m afraid I’m going to come awfully close to providing duffer with said quote.

Well a miss is a mile.

Point being, the Iranian asshat should be – and has been, rather universally, a fact that appears to escape the worthless wingnut shrills in this thread – condemmed for his repugnant use of overblown and hateful rethoric in a region already on the brink of complete chaos.

Note, however, that said chaos didn’t happen in a vaccuum – again, a fact that has already been mentioned numerous times in this thread and appears to zoom right bye the Bush zealots in their righteous indignation…which, BTW, only mirrors their frothing opponent’s. Simply put, Bush’s disastrous implementation (IOW, actually going past the rethoric and launching his war of conquest) of the Neocon’s imperialistic policies bear a large part of the burden for the current nationalistic/fundamentalist swell in Iran. That it should come as any kind of “surprise” to people like the OP and his ilk despite the continued warnings from those of us who opposed this madcap invasion only shows how dettached from reality they really were. Which, in itself, is hardly a surprise to this side of the equation, but rather a dreadful confirmation of what we already knew.

Namely that these people continue to operate under the delusion that they can “create their own reality.” The frightening problem being, that with extremists on both sides of the equation, they probably can! Even if said reality comes wrapped in a mushroom cloud, for it will only comfirm a self-fulfilling prophesy: hatred begets more hatred. Not seeing who the Good Guys here are.

Couldn’t have said it better.

Are we past the point of no return?

Sadly, yes.

[Starving_Artist]

@Scott Plaid

Isn’t there a word for that?

No. There is a group of words for it, though. It’s called overstating one’s position. This I admit to being guilty of the last few days, and it was this I was referring to in segment of my post that you quoted.

[SteveG1]

If we are going to jump off on tangents, I will toss in a few comments of my own, per the holiday thing.

As one born and raised Catholic, I can probably say I am a christian (sort of). So, if I say to the far right religious “Keep your nose out of my religious and/or nonreligious business” I mean just that. If I say “Observe whatever you want however you want, but give me the same freedom” I mean just that. It isn’t about taking Gawd away from you. It’s about leaving me alone. There’s nothing atheist/liberal about it. It isn’t about being hypersensitive, it’s all about “Leave me alone”. If I want to partake in some Hallween silliness, I don’t want some do-gooder interfering. It isn’t Satan worship. It isn’t corruption. It’s one day of silly costumes and giving away candy without ending up on some perp watch list. I don’t want a Falloween or Harvest Festival. I want goofy outfits, candy and monster movies. But no, some people have a problem with that.

I like Christmas. I tell people merry Christmas. I like the church ceremonies, Santa Claus, gift exchanging, even the sappy music and the Norelco commercials. I like the big fancy mangers in front yards. To me, saying Happy Holidays is a non-issue. It is just a convenient and maybe lazy way to include Christmas, New Years, Chanuka, Kwanzah and all the others in one short phrase. It has nothing to do with “taking away” anything. If a neighbor wanted to put a lifesize statue of Moses carrying the Commandments on his lawn for his holy days, I say do it and enjoy.

I think most liberals, conservatives, and moderates would say they feel the same way I do. Do what you want, but leave us alone. That’s not an attack. That’s not an attempt to abolish religion or take anything away.

On the one hand, a certain group wants to take a few holidays and force them into THEIR narrow mold. When it doesn’t go their way, they scream about oppression, persecution and the “theft of Gawd”. Because you never know. There’s just a chance that somewhere, someone might be having a good time. Can’t have that, can we.

That’s all I got. Not much of a rant, but it’s been a long day.

[duffer]

@mhendo

Ah, the real reason for this thread becomes clear. It’s not about Iran at all. It’s about how all the crazy leftists and liberals on the SDMB, by their conspiratorial silence on this issue, are tacitly supporting the reactionary regime in Iran. And of course we also believe that the only person in the world who should be criticized for anything is George Bush.

Seriously duffer, get the fuck over ourself.
.

I was wondering where this all went wrong. So I went back to see what exactly caused this shitstorm. Here it is.

mhendo, I want to assume this was a misunderstanding, but that didn’t work out so well in my last encounter with a Doper. So I don’t know what to think.

Now go read the OP again. I didn’t bring up Bush. You did. You’re the one that brought him into this. I wasn’t the one that started railing against the left in my OP. You started down that road.

When I said I was disappointed in being the one to bring this up, it was a swipe at damn near everyone here. Left and right. You turned it into some diatribe I had against liberals. And, of course as is expected, the attempted pile-on began.

I was ranting against a leader calling for the destruction of Israel (there, got the spelling right, at least) and lamenting that the lowest scum, me, was the only one to rant against it. The floodgates just opened after that. Even with my clarification later. Ignored by most.

Now we’re arguing Christmas. And some think I’m a “race-baiter”. What’s the point anymore?

[Frank]

@duffer

Now we’re arguing Christmas.

I’ve got capital punishment pencilled in for page 6. Does that work for you?

[mhendo]

@duffer

Now go read the OP again. I didn’t bring up Bush. You did.

Go back and read your post #4, dickhead.

@duffer

Eh, never mind. Even without going that far it seems Bush is still worse. Where the fuck is the outrage around here about a head of state calling for the extermination of Isreal? What the fuck validity is there in this stance from Tehran? Why the fuck does it take little ole me to bring this up on the vaunted SDMB?

Who brought up Bush again?

Not only was it you, but you did it specifically in a context in which you implied that people who would be ready to jump all over Bush were also not willing to bring up the Iranian President’s comments.

Given that your mention of Bush in post #4 was the first in this thread, i expect you to retract your statement that it was me who brought up Bush.

[duffer]

Retracted. The rest stands

[mhendo]

@duffer

When I said I was disappointed in being the one to bring this up, it was a swipe at damn near everyone here. Left and right. You turned it into some diatribe I had against liberals. And, of course as is expected, the attempted pile-on began.

You’re a fucking liar. No way in the world was your diatribe a generalized jab at everyone, left and right. You specifically criticized people who didn’t bring this up in the same paragraph in which you implied that those same people would be happy to jump all over Bush.

And who is it that criticizes Bush? It’s the left and liberals. So it’s completely reasonable to infer that this is who you were directing your outrage at.

You also said:

@duffer

The fact that so many here think Bush is worse than a leader advocating and outright calling for the end of Isreal says a lot about fighting the percieved ignorance.

Again, equating opposition to Bush with support for, or indifference to, the regime in Iraq.

Seriously, are you stupid enough to think that people can’t go back and look at what you wrote on page 1 of this thread? Or are you simply so stupid that you’ve already forgotten your own statements?

[mhendo]

@mhendo

…the regime in Iraq.

That shold, of course, be Iran.

[duffer]

You win. I wasn’t really mad about the issue, I was just trying to slam liberals. We all know that when a Doper is really pissed about something, they always avoid intentionally or unintentionally making reference to anything elose in any way.

Of course, I already long ago apologized for the perceived intention of the OP as a slam on the left directly and tried to clarify further my intent was an expression of anger towards the annhilation of Jews, but where’s the fun in that for you? :rolleyes:

[Hostile_Dialect]

As a pinko liberal, I hereby condemn both Bush and Iran. I believe militant fundamentalist leaders (I’m not referring to Bush here, BTW) have their own circle of hell reserved for them.

I also believe that Allah is not pleased by Ahmadinejad (sp)‘s comments. I also believe that Ahmadinejad secretly knows this. I also believe that he doesn’t care because it means more money and power for him, screw anyone else who gets in the way. It’s easy and convenient for people in power to pour salt on their nations’ wounds and get people inflamed about shit. It works for them: people get angry, kill Jews, and forget all about how well they’re being fucked by the people they trust. And then we march in and try to toss shit up and blow out windows and kick down doors, and in the process we just pour more salt on the wound and make people angrier.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

@SteveG1

If we are going to jump off on tangents, I will toss in a few comments of my own, per the holiday thing.

[comments snipped]

That’s all I got. Not much of a rant, but it’s been a long day.

It all sounds just fine to me. Other than not being Catholic (lapsed Congregationalist), that’s how I see it.

[duffer]

@mhendo

Seriously, are you stupid enough to think that people can’t go back and look at what you wrote on page 1 of this thread? Or are you simply so stupid that you’ve already forgotten your own statements?

I’m really fucking tired of this. You keep up the childish insults even after I have recanted, apologized for a cheap shot and tried to clarify. You wonder why it’s so easy to just go off on a tangent? It’s because people like you see the username and just go into attack mode. No matter the reasoning behind a statement nor the explanation of any given statement. What the fuck is the point?

Keep up the insults and anger. I’ve said often enough that I didn’t mean, and shouldn’t have implied, that the left supports Iran nor another Holocaust. There’s little point in saying it anymore if you haven’t gotten it through your head.

Again. I retracted saying you started this personally and apologize for attributing my words to you. I’d ask what more you want, but that’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned.

[Scott_Plaid]

duffer, I think you must have meant to quote Starving in the above post, not mhendo.

[mhendo]

@duffer

I’m really fucking tired of this. You keep up the childish insults even after I have recanted, apologized for a cheap shot and tried to clarify. You wonder why it’s so easy to just go off on a tangent? It’s because people like you see the username and just go into attack mode. No matter the reasoning behind a statement nor the explanation of any given statement. What the fuck is the point?

Huh?

In Post #167, you accuse me of derailing the thread into a “left vs. right” issue based upon the “fact” that i was the person who brought up Bush in this thread.

Then, when i point out that it was you who brought up Bush, you concede that is true (in post #170), but add that “the rest [of your accusation] stands.”

It beggars belief that you could make an accusation based on a piece of evidence, and then, when shown that the evidence you relied on is wrong, retract the piece of evidence and still stand by your accusation.

@duffer

Keep up the insults and anger. I’ve said often enough that I didn’t mean, and shouldn’t have implied, that the left supports Iran nor another Holocaust. There’s little point in saying it anymore if you haven’t gotten it through your head.

I got that fine. I was merely responding to your accusation that it was me who derailed this thread with left versus right politics.

Actually, i’m willing to believe that your OP was not originally intended as a slam of liberals and leftists. It didn’t make any comment about those things, and was pretty much just a pitting of the Iranian President and his comments.

But then, half an hour later, when only two people had responded to your post, you respond to Gorilla Man’s post. In doing so, you bring up Bush and imply that those who oppose him are the same people who aren’t really very concerned about the remarks by the Iranian President.

That’s what caused the political shitstorm in this thread. I realize that you have retracted your implications, which is all well and good, but, retracted or not, it was those implications that caused the “derailment” of this thread.

That, and the blithering idiocy of Starving Artist.

@duffer

Again. I retracted saying you started this personally and apologize for attributing my words to you. I’d ask what more you want, but that’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned.

Me too.

[Zoe]

Starving Artist, you know that I’ve always been fond of you despite our political differences. Our conversations that have not been about politics have been much fun and much less defensive.

I look at some of these arguments and I will tell you what doesn’t make sense to me. Your sentences are so well constructed. Usually to be able to write sentences like that, someone has to do a lot of reading of good material. That person is a pretty smart cookie. He wouldn’t have to have the same material explained to him over and over and over again.

An example would be the truth about “Happy Holidays” and why it is used as a substitute for “Happy Hanukkah.” We had “Happy Holidays” on Christmas cards back in the Forties. It’s nothing new. But all of this has been explained to you before and I thought at the time that you understood. You seemed to. Now you don’t understand again?

And I know that you know that liberals are active internationally. Even the efforts to secure trials for those held captive at Guantanamo Bay are indicative of our concern for justice for all – not just Americans. What is it that we are all about if not human rights?

I think that respect has been shown to Sam Stone here. But the other person you mentioned was unable to answer the most basic questions relating to a claim that he made. I have personal reasons why I do not treat that claim casually.

I hate to see you reduced to doing the same thing – a casual kind of pretense It’s just so unnecessary – especially for you.

I will not forget your kindness to me. But every time you insult those “liberals,” you are insulting the most basic truth about who I am and what I am about.

[Robot_Arm]

@Zoe

But all of this has been explained to you before and I thought at the time that you understood. You seemed to. Now you don’t understand again?

Um, you might want to check the dates on the thread.