# Isamu, if you could not insult the entire US because of 1 person, that would be great **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854 "2009-02-14T19:44:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/1 "2009-02-14T19:44:11Z")
A very mild Pitting, this is, but I wish to make a personal comment about another poster and where else is it gonna go? [In another thread of mine](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=506529) about a sexual harassment complaint which I think to be bullshit, Isamu writes: > [@](#): > > My thoughts? Your whole country is fucked. If this woman has a position in your company where she has to interact with people, your company is also fucked. Really. When I asked just what that meant, s/he continues: > [@](#): > > If I have to spell it out then there is no hope of you understanding it. So a pointless exercise. But you seem, from your initial post, to know that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. In fact your thread title says “full of shit” in it. Your instincts are correct. What else is there to say? and two posts later adds > [@](#): > > Numbers are irrelevant. Think about what factors came in to play to make you have to spend valuable time responding to this “stupid” complaint. If you have no knowledge about how things work in other countries then I’ll just give you a pass, and hope you’ll forgive my ‘slander’. **Isamu** , I find it difficult to believe that the sentiments you express in these posts was in any way genuine. The incident I spoke of is just too small, too minor to elicit such a response from anyone who is not already disposed to irrationality. It seems more likely that you are attempting to elicit an outraged and irrational response from any American posters; in other words you seem to be trolling. I could, of course, be wrong. But just in case, please be careful not to linger overlong out of doors in the pre-dawn hours. It is all too easy to miscalculate and find oneself petrified. Ciao! ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/2 "2009-02-14T19:49:46Z")
My favorite part was the third grade “if you have to ask, you’re never going to know” thing he threw in there. ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/3 "2009-02-14T19:54:32Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > My favorite part was the third grade “if you have to ask, you’re never going to know” thing he threw in there. Isn’t that one of the first rebuttals they teach in Debate 101? Considered the ‘trump card’ of the debating community. Rarely used but highly effective. Not to be confused with the “I can’t hear you la la la” technique. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/4 "2009-02-14T20:00:06Z")
Hasn’t s/he also insulted the entire nation of Denmark? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/5 "2009-02-14T20:01:22Z")
Is trolling something that has become acceptable on this board, because it seems to be happening a lot without a whole lot of response from mods. I only say this because when a poster comes in, hijacks a thread and in doing so inflames just about everyone in the thread, being called a troll repeatedly, you kind of expect authority to step in and say something. Even if that’s just cut it out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/6 "2009-02-14T20:02:39Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Isn’t that one of the first rebuttals they teach in Debate 101? Considered the ‘trump card’ of the debating community. Rarely used but highly effective. Not to be confused with the “I can’t hear you la la la” technique. I prefer the Cartman stratagem. “screw you guys I’m going home” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/7 "2009-02-14T20:03:21Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Hasn’t s/he also insulted the entire nation of Denmark? Yeah, couldn’t even get the continent right. **Skald** ’s in Memphis, right? And that’s in Egypt. Dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/8 "2009-02-14T20:04:07Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Hasn’t s/he also insulted the entire nation of Denmark? You know s/he was alludinng to Hamlet, right? You’re just kidding, right? Because otherwise I have to kill myself in grief for America. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/9 "2009-02-14T20:06:01Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Is trolling something that has become acceptable on this board, because it seems to be happening a lot without a whole lot of response from mods. I only say this because when a poster comes in, hijacks a thread and in doing so inflames just about everyone in the thread, being called a troll repeatedly, you kind of expect authority to step in and say something. Even if that’s just cut it out. I don’t know that anyone’s reported him. I certainly didn’t. On the off chance that he was being sincere, he might have gotten in trouble for hate speech, and I have some philosophical issues with that. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/10 "2009-02-14T20:08:32Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > Isn’t that one of the first rebuttals they teach in Debate 101? Considered the ‘trump card’ of the debating community. Rarely used but highly effective. Not to be confused with the “I can’t hear you la la la” technique. That is the traditional school of thought. There has been some debate in more scholarly forensic quarters, though, that both of these techniques are in turn trumped by the “I know you are, but what am I?” approach. Crude, provincial, you may decry, but effective in its own right and gaining acceptance among the intelligensia. It is related closely to yet another method, entitled “I"m rubber and you’re glue”. Please make a note of it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/11 "2009-02-14T20:55:03Z")
The comment was over the top, but there is a modicum of truth to it. Something _is_ fucked when “Men in speedos on a personal screen saver in a coffee shop” is taken seriously as a sexual harassment complaint. It is kind of like the guy who sued for $26 million dollars because the dry cleaner ruined his pants. You, me, and everybody else with brains knows that the complaint needs to be dismissed immediately and that everyone should point and laugh at the complainer. But something in our society (and I highly doubt it is just our country) has driven all sanity out the window and forced otherwise busy and important people to have to focus their valuable time on it. I wouldn’t say “America is fucked” because of it, but something is wrong, and it isn’t just a single incident. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/12 "2009-02-14T21:18:45Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > The comment was over the top, but there is a modicum of truth to it. > > Something _is_ fucked when “Men in speedos on a personal screen saver in a coffee shop” is taken seriously as a sexual harassment complaint. It is kind of like the guy who sued for $26 million dollars because the dry cleaner ruined his pants. You, me, and everybody else with brains knows that the complaint needs to be dismissed immediately and that everyone should point and laugh at the complainer. But something in our society (and I highly doubt it is just our country) has driven all sanity out the window and forced otherwise busy and important people to have to focus their valuable time on it. > > I wouldn’t say “America is fucked” because of it, but something is wrong, and it isn’t just a single incident. I still think s/he was trolling, but you have a point. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/13 "2009-02-15T11:49:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I still think s/he was trolling, but you have a point. He. Not trolling **Skald** , that’s not what I do. Getting worked up about idiocy though, yes, I’m guilty. Sorry about the tone I used. But if I sounded dismissive in my few posts, it’s because, well, sometimes you either get it or you don’t. I don’t want to waste time being nitpicked by people who don’t get it. For what it’s worth, and for the record, I don’t think that saying a country is fucked is the same as insulting all the inhabitants of that country. In fact I said something like “America is fucked”, not “America **ns** are fucked”. Still further (and I don’t want to press the issue but…) saying something is “fucked”, means, to me, that it’s in serious trouble. I certainly didn’t intend to insult the entire US population. I think most people know this. With the preponderance of things that America gets right, the few things it gets so horribly wrong make me angrier than I otherwise would be. And this single incidence of complete workplace douchbaggery that you reported was a kind of straw that broke the camels back. Having lurked here for many years I’ve seen many similar accounts and I draw, what I think are, appropriate conclusions. As always, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/14 "2009-02-15T11:55:09Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > He. > > Not trolling **Skald** , that’s not what I do. Getting worked up about idiocy though, yes, I’m guilty. Sorry about the tone I used. But if I sounded dismissive in my few posts, it’s because, well, sometimes you either get it or you don’t. I don’t want to waste time being nitpicked by people who don’t get it. That goes against everything that this board is about. You either fight ignorance or you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/15 "2009-02-15T13:29:38Z")
Our president is Barack Hussein Obama. Put that in your Canadian pipe and smoke it. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/16 "2009-02-15T13:34:37Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > I prefer the Cartman stratagem. > > “screw you guys I’m going home” Shit, thats become my whole life process algorithm these days 🙂 Obviously i do a lot of leaving… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/17 "2009-02-15T13:35:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That goes against everything that this board is about. You either fight ignorance or you don’t. cite? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/18 "2009-02-15T13:58:04Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > cite? Well that’s the theory anyway. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/19 "2009-02-15T15:55:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Well that’s the theory anyway. And, like evolution, _it is **not** a fact!_ - Fans self with Chick tract \* ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854/20 "2009-02-15T16:22:03Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Having lurked here for many years I’ve seen many similar accounts and I draw, what I think are, appropriate conclusions. How are women treated in the workplace in Japan? [Here’s a study](http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm) ranking 130 countries according to how well women are treated relative to men. The United States is 27th on the list. Japan is down at 99. That’s about as low as Kuwait. If you’re a man living somewhere where misogyny is the norm, I can see how American sexual harassment laws might look bizarre … . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isamu-if-you-could-not-insult-the-entire-us-because-of-1-person-that-would-be-great/485854.md?page=2)