So, in this other threada newcomer tried pitting **Helena330 **for being a man-hating feminazi™, while himself displaying a blatantly misogynous attitude and insisting that women-hating comic book villains are a good source for relationship counseling. It didn’t go well for him, and he took quite a beating, with MOST responders taking Helena’s side and pointing out to the OP just how misguided and illogical his arguments were. Most, but not all.
Clothahump stuck his head into the thread to offer up his familiar anti-liberal sentiment.
Since the “logic” of the OP included arguing that women should be fucked and discarded before they can steal a man’s money, quoting the Green Goblin as a source of wisdom, I responded with the following.
Clothahump, rather than acknowledge the first point, simple retorted
And so I offered this.
In that thread, the OP himself actually did an about-turn, acknowledged his fault and apologized. Nevertheless, the poster was banned and the thread was closed, so there’s no hope of getting a reply from **Clothahump **there. Hence this new thread, wherein I would again like to ask **Clothahump **to respond to my post above.
I realize that to most Dopers this probably seems like wishing for a brick wall to bang my head against, but what the heck.
Clothahump, if you value reason and honesty, then please accept my invitation with a reasoned and honest response. And, as you seem to despise name-calling, I again promise to refrain from name-calling and ridicule in this thread.
I honestly have little hope, but at least some hope, that you might surprise me by helping me to see a better side of you.
Taking you at face value that you’re not just looking for a pile-on, what’s the point of this thread? Why would you care what Clothahump thinks about anything, or whether or not he’ll give a reasoned and honest response to your questions?
Clothahump has been posting here for more than a decade, most of his content being poorly-sourced, counterfactual anti-liberal screeds and drive-by insults, and yet, after all this time, seems utterly baffled that there might be name-calling in the Pit. Furthermore, his chosen method of demonstrating the unfairness of such name-calling is…to indulge in incessant name-calling.
I wish the OP best of luck, but IMO expecting “reason and honesty” from Clothy is something of a fool’s errand.
Well, right off the bat, that’s a mistake. Writing about Clothahump is a waste of time and effort, and doing so longishly just means more waste. He loves your scorn, uses it to define his identity and “prove” he’s on the right track. There isn’t any evolutionary pressure on him to self-improve or self-educate, so he’ll remain happy in his little trolly niche.
No, not looking for a pile-on, and hoping that doesn’t happen.
My intent is as I stated at the end upthread, to see if Clothahump can show a side of himself that I have not yet seen and actually engage in some honest discourse.
This probably seems futile to most, and my observation of Clothahump’s behavior over the years does not give me much hope, but I’ll leave the door open nonetheless.
To be truly honest, this is more of a challenge than an invitation. It seems to me that Clothahump’s modus operandi is to jump into threads with a boilerplate “Liberals are close-minded, dishonest morons; and that’s a fact!” then point at every retort with “See! Just as I said!” and then duck out before addressing any attempts at honest debate. In his last response to me he suggested that
So, I’m putting this out to leave him no excuse. If he is truly doesn’t like name-calling and doesn’t like poking Liberals with a stick, as he claims, then this is his opportunity to leave that behind. If he truly values logic then this is his opportunity to prove it.
I realize I’m probably not doing anything that hasn’t been attempted by others before, but I really would like to see his response to my questions.
I confess, i am curious myself. I have seen Clothahump deride liberals for failing to engage in reasonable debate, but i only ever seem to see him do nasty little drivebys, calling names.
Understood. But the question is why you would care if he can or can’t do this. There are billions of people out there and Clothahump is just one of them. Why is it important to know whether this one guy, that you have no apparent connection to, can or cannot engage in some honest discourse?
Not to take a position on what Clothahump is or is not capable of, but I don’t think the invitation is all that. You’re not in control of this thread, even if you started it. Even if you live up to your end of the bargain, you’re likely to be drowned out in a wave of name callers. Engaging in reasoned and honest debates with one guy while simultaneously dealing with many name callers is a challenge (and certainly not remotely comparable to engaging in it with those name callers on your side). So I don’t know if it’s a valid test of what someone would be capable of in the absence of name calling altogether.
Well, then I’m answering my calling. And thank you.
Clothahump or me?
(I’d accept “Yes” as a response.)
Perhaps not the best use of my time (I could be writing to family instead!), but not a total waste, even if he doesn’t respond.
For one, writing these things out, though time-consuming, helps me to put my own thoughts in order.
Argument is not my strong point, so I see this as necessary exercise.
As to your suggestions on what this board means to Clothahump in terms of how he defines himself, I suspect this is true. But then it’s true also for me. I have my own biases and tend to seek out things that will help me reaffirm rather than challenge my beliefs. I realize this tendency can become a trap that leads to close-mindedness, which is something I’ve fallen into in the past and am often in danger of falling into again.
I’ve mentioned this before, but Clothahump is actually the one who prompted me to join the board after years of lurking. At that time I felt the irresistible urge to respond to someone being unbelievably wrong on the internet, and he continues to amaze me with what I consider to be distilled wrongness. I’m curious to know if it’s just trolling, or a need to feel superior to a strawman opposition, or if he has some vindicating background experience that has shaped his worldview and attitude into such an unfortunate state.
People are interesting creatures. Clothahump is, I think, a very different person than me, with an immensely different world view. That makes me curious.
Well, of course I can’t control what others post here, and since I’ve chosen to keep it in the Pit, I realize there’s a high risk of it just becoming another pile-on or dung-flinging party.
Regardless of that, I intend to engage Clothahump with honesty and civility if he chooses to accept the offer. Anyone else who chooses to join in will post as they will.
That doesn’t seem to address my point, which that bottom line it’s not likely to be a fair test of whether or not he’s capable of it.
But you do raise up another good question. If your intention was to have a discussion without name calling etc., why did you start the thread in the Pit? It’s almost like you’re inviting a pile-on by others, with you yourself remaining above it all.
