# Pitting Honeybadger

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 7, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183 "2018-03-07T15:40:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 48

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**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/941 "2024-02-21T22:36:47Z")

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Should be another thread, but why do some colors get called different colors when they’re lighter? Or, rather, when they’re mixed with white to become a tint of the color).

And, no, NOT nitpicking about names like seafoam or cerulean…

.

But the average person will say _light green, light blue, light red…_ oops, no, can’t say that, it’s _“pink”!_ And of course, light black is _grey._

.

eta: And dark orange gets a whole different classification…

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/942 "2024-02-22T01:48:23Z")

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> [@digs](#):
>
> Should be another thread, but why do some colors get called different colors when they’re lighter? Or, rather, when they’re mixed with white to become a tint of the color).

It’s completely subjective, and even cultural. For example:

> **[Why So Many Things Are Described As Blue in Japanese](https://ottowretling.medium.com/why-so-many-things-are-described-as-blue-in-japanese-1db0835dc046)**
>
> Is it blue or green?

> In the old days, there were only four primary colors in the Japanese language; blue, red, black, or white.
> 
> These four colors were used to describe all shades of color. Anything pink, orange, green, yellow, etc. would have been described as a shade of either blue, red, black, or white. The color **blue** used to include what is now called purple, gray, and green.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/943 "2024-02-22T02:21:31Z")

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> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> > In the old days, there were only four primary colors in the Japanese language; blue, red, black, or white.
> > 
> > These four colors were used to describe all shades of color. Anything pink, orange, green, yellow, etc. would have been described as a shade of either blue, red, black, or white. The color **blue** used to include what is now called purple, gray, and green.

The 青 = blue/green thing is well known, but color me a little skeptical about some of this, absent some more formal reference to expert historical linguists. Doesn’t this sound a bit like an instance of the “language X doesn’t have a word for Y” trope, or the closely related “language X has 100 words for Y”? It seems to me that without living speakers, it’s really hard to know whether people really _conceived_ of yellow as just a shade of blue/red/black/white.

I speak some Chinese but no Japanese and I’m no more than a dilettante amateur linguist, but I’ll see what I can find tomorrow.

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/944 "2024-02-22T02:35:59Z")

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I defend Honeybadger because I don’t like bullies. I have stood up against bullies my entire life. In fact, that’s how I met my wife. She was being bullied by a couple of men at a baseball game, and I stepped up and told them to get stuffed.

And make no mistake: You ARE bullies. You punch down at individuals from a position of being part of the dominant group. You don’t stop at just correcting people, but you continue to mock them and publicly discuss their failings and lack of intelligence or whatever. You think it’s funny to be as offensive as you can be. You delight in causing anguish in your political enemies for the crime of not thinking the way you do.

Someday someone is going to leave here after a pitting session and harm themselves. I’ve seen enough suicide-by-mod to kmow the anguish you have delivered to many people on this board.

Those of you who delight in this behaviour should be ashamed of yourselves.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/945 "2024-02-22T02:37:38Z")

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> [@Riemann](#):
>
> The 青 = blue/green thing is well known, but color me a little skeptical about some of this, absent some more formal reference to expert historical linguists.

I do find it repeated frequently but finding scholarly research is difficult. Which could suggest that it’s bullshit or that I’m bad at searching (or maybe both are true).

Here is a collaborative research study on Japanese colors, but it covers how colors are treated in **modern** times.

[https://phys.org/news/2017-03-evolution-japanese-vocabulary-years.amp](https://phys.org/news/2017-03-evolution-japanese-vocabulary-years.amp)

And yes, the blue/green thing is still common.

My main point though wasn’t about specifics, but rather that the colors we distinguish are clearly a social construct and can vary by culture. Why light red is “pink” and its own distinct color when light yellow isn’t, there is no objective reason as far as I can tell. It’s just at some point someone made that choice and it has been passed down.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/946 "2024-02-22T02:39:01Z")

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> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> Someday someone is going to leave here after a pitting session and harm themselves.

This is pretty low even for you.

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/947 "2024-02-22T02:41:18Z")

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> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> the colors we distinguish are clearly a social construct and can vary by culture

Yes, certainly true, and (hoping not to sound too pretentious) it’s so counterintuitive that it helps you realize just how much other stuff that we assume is normal and natural might be arbitrary.

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/948 "2024-02-22T02:42:23Z")

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> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> Those of you who delight in this behaviour should be ashamed of yourselves.

New low in trolling and stolen victimhood.

You’re a shitty performance artist.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/949 "2024-02-22T02:42:58Z")

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> [@Riemann](#):
>
> Yes, certainly true, and (hoping not to sound too pretentious) it’s so counterintuitive that it helps you realize just how much other stuff that we assume is normal and natural might be arbitrary.

Absolutely, it’s one of those things where you can kind of climb down a mental rabbit hole and freak yourself out if you wanted to.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/950 "2024-02-22T02:44:44Z")

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No, it really isn’t.

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/951 "2024-02-22T02:47:31Z")

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No, I’m calling it like I see it. Do you really think online harassment and bullying is no big deal? Have you not heard of people harming themselves after being bullied online? Why would you tthink it’s any different here?

For all you know, the target of your latest hilarious pile-on could be someone who just lost their job and their wife left them, and they need to get away from their problems a bit so they go to the SDMB to talk a little politics and forget their troubles and run into a buzz saw of hateful people just looking for a new victim on the ‘other’ side.

You never know what people on the other side of the screen are going through. You don’t know them at all. That’s a really good reason to not tear them apart for yucks, just because you can. Maybe they won’t self-harm, but just drink more. Or maybe you enrage someone and they take it out on their family. Or they decide to hate your side even more, and the world gets a little worse.

You don’t get a pass on the consequences of your actions just because you can’t see them. And if you don’t think your actions have real consquences in the lives of your victims, I can tell you that’s not true.

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/952 "2024-02-22T02:48:47Z")

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This is “The Jews are the real Nazis” act isn’t it?

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/953 "2024-02-22T02:50:31Z")

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OMG! Will _no one_ consider the poor assholes?

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/954 "2024-02-22T02:52:12Z")

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> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> You delight in causing anguish in your political enemies for the crime of not thinking the way you do.

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>
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**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/955 "2024-02-22T02:55:29Z")

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> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> I defend Honeybadger because I don’t like bullies. I have stood up against bullies my entire life. In fact, that’s how I met my wife. She was being bullied by a couple of men at a baseball game, and I stepped up and told them to get stuffed.

Sam, I very much appreciate the support. I want to assure you that I am fine. i don’t take things personally. I do agree with you about the bullying but as an adult I also realize that is just the personality of this site, I can take it or leave it. On one hand I kind of understand the desire to maintain the high academic level but I also believe a little more tolerance would improve the list of regular contributors. .

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/956 "2024-02-22T03:01:37Z")

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> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#):
>
> Sam, I very much appreciate the support. I want to assure you that I am fine.

Honeybadger, I hate to interrupt the kumbaya session, but as a wise man once said

> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#):
>
> He’s not talking about Honeybadger.

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**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/957 "2024-02-22T03:03:16Z")

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> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> No, I’m calling it like I see it. Do you really think online harassment and bullying is no big deal? Have you not heard of people harming themselves after being bullied online? Why would you tthink it’s any different here?

Because what happens here are anonymous people disagreeing with each other. Actual online bullying looks very different and frankly it’s disgusting that you’d compare what happens here to a **real** problem that causes true harm.

I mean, I never really saw you as an actual troll until just now. I pegged you as someone who was too credulous about bad sources, unwilling to admit you were wrong, and at times hoping people don’t notice when you bend the truth. This is straight up trolling though. I mean, this is shit that **should** get you banned. And I’ve never before said you should be banned to my recollection. This is absolutely shameful. If you were capable of shame, you should absolutely be feeling it now.

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**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/958 "2024-02-22T03:24:14Z")

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Sam? You’re a right-winger. The accurate threat is ‘_Stop bullying me or I’ll shoot up a school/synagogue/gay nightclub_’.

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**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/959 "2024-02-22T04:06:54Z")

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> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> Because what happens here are anonymous people disagreeing with each other. Actual online bullying looks very different and frankly it’s disgusting that you’d compare what happens here to a **real** problem that causes true harm

Not to mention, all the victims I’ve ever known didn’t cause the bullying with their actions. Not once, and certainly not over and over and over and over and …

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2024, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-honeybadger/810183/960 "2024-02-22T04:17:09Z")

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> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> OMG! Will _no one_ consider the poor assholes?

Perhaps we _should_ request a wellness check on Sam? Is this a call for help?

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