# Octopus is having a meltdown... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2018, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098 "2018-09-28T08:26:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/81 "2018-09-29T01:12:54Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > some of my best friends are women! Please, please tell me he is not serious here. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/82 "2018-09-29T01:31:08Z")
He has a wife too. He specifically mentioned the wife. They watched a movie about women. He’s very well informed about women. So just sit your pretty little self down and let him tell you how it’s going to be. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/83 "2018-09-29T01:43:25Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > He has a wife too. He specifically mentioned the wife. They watched a movie about women. He’s very well informed about women. So just sit your pretty little self down and let him tell you how it’s going to be. > > :dubious: I also read a book that had women in it! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/84 "2018-09-29T03:57:27Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Why do you feel you are owed a particular method of response when your posts are not only not true they are very condescending? And what does Trump have to do with any of this nonsense? **Trump is living rent free in far too many of your heads.** You might have a point there. I wonder if I thought real hard about carbon monoxide if it would kill him… ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/85 "2018-09-29T04:37:15Z")
**octopus** : 1. Your grumpiness seems more comical when juxtaposed with your current avatar. Not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. Just saying. Also you may find yourself more of a target now. 1. Most boards don’t have the equivalent of ATMB. One board said, “These discussions are fascinating, but sometimes you just have to get shit done.” Those who are prolific in ATMB probably have already gotten their point across. So actually methinks ATMB topic bans are probably a good thing, and they should be applied purely based on mod discretion and whim. We’re here to fight ignorance: ATMB is peripheral to that. If you aren’t helpful there, it’s fair to ask/order you to buzz off. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/86 "2018-09-29T05:20:03Z")
@ **octopus** — Here is my effort to explain the problem I have with some of your posts. I’m speaking only for myself. _In the real world there are sharp asymmetries._ Abuse of women is a serious problem. Look at Kavanaugh vs Ford. What was a few laughs for him turned into long-term trauma for her. Multiply by a million. Your attempts to develop a false equivalence — (“My cousin’s barber told me about a man who was sexually harassed. If women need a ‘safe thread’, men deserve one too.”) — are just stupid and/or reprehensible. _ **Sharp assymetries** _, get it? That’s why blacks are allowed to use the N-word and you’re not. You want to reason from an axiom that logic should be blind to race and sex. But that’s not logic. Dogs are different from cats; apples are different from oranges; teachers are different from lawyers. Don’t pretend that all people have equal status or experience. I’m actually one who thinks political correctness has gone too far. We might found common ground (and take the same side in some of these SDMB discussions) if you could replace your unreasonable dogmas with reasonable thought. That’s what I meant about self-awareness. What really struck me about you recently was your telling a black Doper, in effect, “Why don’t you move to another country if you feel discriminated against? I’d just sell a thousand shares of my Apple stock and whip out my dual-citizenship passport to start a new life in Australia if I were you.” Think about how breathtakingly stupid that remark was. And did you _really_ not understand how racist that remark was? Again, that’s what I meant about “self-awareness.” Does this help? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/87 "2018-09-29T05:38:06Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > I also read a book that had women in it! But have you read books women wrote? Do you know how condescending it sounds to say you read a book with women in it? Where you not raised by a Mother? Do you have sisters, aunts, female cousins? Maybe you have daughters? A wife? Do you want them treated as second class citizens or, God forbid, mistreated by a man? In any way? The world changes one person at a time. This could be your time. If the leopard changes his spots, he will find women aren’t gonna ruin his life or take away his rights and privileges. She just wants hers. There is enough room in the world, and on this board for all kinds of people. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/88 "2018-09-29T07:39:20Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Some day you’ll rethink your time here and be rightfully ashamed. You’re projecting again… > [@](#): > > Assuming you develop some semblance of conscience to accompany your professional victimhood. …said the guy currently loudly nailing himself to a cross in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/89 "2018-09-29T08:16:43Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Get over yourself you dimestore Bricker. My my, thats such big words for such a little one. Don’t worry, Nanny will be here soon to change your nappy. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/90 "2018-09-29T10:05:24Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > We’re here to fight ignorance: . it is more the case that the board here is to allow the pretension and the self congratulation around a mere expired newspaper column slogan. but it appeals to certain kinds of pretentions of the self congratulations. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/91 "2018-09-29T10:10:42Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I’ve said it before, but I really don’t understand the octo-hate. > > He doesn’t have the same opinions as everybody else here, sure enough, but even when he says something fairly innocuous no small number of posters here will act as though he has just shit on the kitchen table. It’s fairly off-putting. It’s not the individual posts. It’s a consistent pattern of the same shit over and over again, the same mind-numbing nonsense again and again. > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’ve personally never felt the need to try out the Ignore List feature, but isn’t that pretty much what it’s for? The thing about trolls, or even just people who consistently post stupid shit, is that they’re basically catnip for a forum like this. A lot of people here want to feel smart, and explaining to a stupid person why they’re stupid is an easy way to do that. In fact, the whole reason a troll posts is to _get a response_. And when people respond to trolls, you’re gonna see the responses. Unless there’s a general board-wide consensus to ignore the poster (or someone uses the “Tachy goes to Coventry” feature), ignoring them doesn’t fix the problem - you still end up seeing their posts, and you absolutely still have to deal with the way conversation warps around their stupidity. This was what was so infuriating about **Clothahump** before he got banned (better late than never) - every discussion he turned up in tended to turn into another episode of The **Clothahump** Show, which was the stupidest fucking show ever. This is often a hallmark of trolls. The ignore list _doesn’t help_. Also, **octopus** , when _everyone_ misunderstands what you have to say (I’m not even going to contemplate the idea that the entire forum is lying about you; that’s about as insane as [this fucking gem](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=21195056&highlight=bra%EDnwashed#post21195056) from **Starving Artist** and if you truly believe that maybe you should find a forum that isn’t so aggressively opposed to your existence), it’s a _you_ problem. Maybe you should put in more work to make sure what you’re saying is understood correctly. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/92 "2018-09-29T11:29:42Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > It’s not the individual posts. It’s a consistent pattern of the same shit over and over again, the same mind-numbing nonsense again and again… I’ve noticed that this is particularly pronounced if it is a discussion of sexism, or a thread in which women share their experiences with misogyny or sexual assault. Octopus will come in and do his level best to disrupt the conversation and derail it with trolling. His MO is to post an offensive “joke,” trigger a response and then pull the attention to him and away from the discussion of sexism or sexual assault. It is not an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/93 "2018-09-29T12:32:38Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > And what does Trump have to do with any of this nonsense? Funny you should ask… > [@octopus](#): > > Remember, I am the supposed narcissist that cannot handle disagreement. Yet I post on a board where the majority of people hold views I disagree with and a vocal and organized trolling contingent are not only actively hostile they are very persistent and methodical. If I needed validation or I was approval seeking why would I engage where the environment is so stacked against me? :dubious: With a _slight_ tweaking, I could easily see this as something Trump might bellow to throngs of adoring shitheads in Montana or South Carolina: > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Donald J. Trump** > > Remember, I am the supposed narcissist that cannot handle disagreement. Yet I ran for President in a country where the majority of people hold views I disagree with and a vocal and organized trolling contingent are not only actively hostile they are very persistent and methodical. If I needed validation or I was approval seeking why would I engage where the environment is so stacked against me? :dubious: “Why?” indeed, Mr. President. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/94 "2018-09-29T12:54:23Z")
That is _way_ too articulate and coherent to have ever been said by Trump, so octopus has that going for him at least - he talks English more good than a president do! ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/95 "2018-09-29T13:58:56Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > it is more the case that the board here is to allow the pretension and the self congratulation around a mere expired newspaper column slogan. but it appeals to certain kinds of pretentions of the self congratulations. Welcome back! And please stay this time. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/96 "2018-09-29T14:06:12Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That is _way_ too articulate and coherent to have ever been said by Trump, so octopus has that going for him at least - he talks English more good than a president do! There is that at least. Octo knows words 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/97 "2018-09-29T14:20:11Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That is _way_ too articulate and coherent to have ever been said by Trump, so octopus has that going for him at least - he talks English more good than a president do! Fair enough. Let me take another crack at it. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Donald J. Trump** > > You know what the losers in the fake news are saying, right? You heard this? They say, “Donald Trump is a narcissist! He can’t handle the haters!” Well I’ll tell you what. Donald Trump can handle the haters just fine. I mean, if I was so scared of the losers in the failing liberal media, why would I run for President? And let me tell you - these people are BAD. They will never stop trying to destroy me and this tremendous country. So why would I run for President if all I wanted was for them to like me? They’ll never like us. Sad! But don’t worry, we’ll take care of them! Make America Great Again! ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/98 "2018-09-29T14:29:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Welcome back! And please stay this time. no interest in the never ending tea club debates of if the negro and the musselman is inherently inferior and the pretensions of the high and rarified discussion and the faux politesse. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/99 "2018-09-29T14:30:26Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > @ **octopus** — Here is my effort to explain the problem I have with some of your posts. I’m speaking only for myself. > > _In the real world there are sharp asymmetries._ Abuse of women is a serious problem. Look at Kavanaugh vs Ford. What was a few laughs for him turned into long-term trauma for her. Multiply by a million. Your attempts to develop a false equivalence — (“My cousin’s barber told me about a man who was sexually harassed. If women need a ‘safe thread’, men deserve one too.”) — are just stupid and/or reprehensible. > > _ **Sharp assymetries** _, get it? That’s why blacks are allowed to use the N-word and you’re not. You want to reason from an axiom that logic should be blind to race and sex. But that’s not logic. Dogs are different from cats; apples are different from oranges; teachers are different from lawyers. Don’t pretend that all people have equal status or experience. > > I’m actually one who thinks political correctness has gone too far. We might found common ground (and take the same side in some of these SDMB discussions) if you could replace your unreasonable dogmas with reasonable thought. That’s what I meant about self-awareness. > > What really struck me about you recently was your telling a black Doper, in effect, “Why don’t you move to another country if you feel discriminated against? I’d just sell a thousand shares of my Apple stock and whip out my dual-citizenship passport to start a new life in Australia if I were you.” > > Think about how breathtakingly stupid that remark was. > > And did you _really_ not understand how racist that remark was? Again, that’s what I meant about “self-awareness.” > > Does this help? It wasn’t a racist comment. It was acknowledging reality. Obviously try to fix the problems at home. But if Hitler is in power I’m not staying and I’d advise anyone who could leave to leave. Regardless of how that would be spun, yet again, to be some form of bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098/100 "2018-09-29T14:33:52Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve noticed that this is particularly pronounced if it is a discussion of sexism, or a thread in which women share their experiences with misogyny or sexual assault. Octopus will come in and do his level best to disrupt the conversation and derail it with trolling. His MO is to post an offensive “joke,” trigger a response and then pull the attention to him and away from the discussion of sexism or sexual assault. It is not an accident. Discussing the implications of a rule change or a proposal is not trolling. Trolling is posting here to generate snark elsewhere. If I wasn’t the convenient target of the day someone else would be. It just happens that I don’t think bigotry is acceptable in order to fight bigotry. You all do. Well, when white males start playing the identity politics game you might reconsider. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-is-having-a-meltdown/822098.md?page=6)