# Protocol question **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 19, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248 "2005-03-19T01:09:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/61 "2005-03-19T03:29:35Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > See here’s the thing. You have not established (as I asked you to in the previous post) that the divorce is illegal. You seem to be suffering from selective cognition. > Really. Read **Max’s** post again. He explains it very well (your ham-handed rebuttal notwithstanding.) All I want to know is why lying about the reasons for getting a divorce, with the hidden intent of obtaining additional benefits from the state, is OK. Why can’t anybody answer this simple question? ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/62 "2005-03-19T03:30:45Z")
Because desperate times call for desperate measures. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/63 "2005-03-19T03:30:35Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Is in the same place where it says it’s ok to hurl insults at people you don’t know, simply because you disagree. > > Look it up - it’s there. The relevant rules are [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=127729), and it turns out that in this forums I can heap endless oodles of profane abuse upon you, so long as I don’t slip into hate speech, which means I’m not to mix in racial slurs and whatnot as I metaphorically void my bowels in your direction. And I’m wasting my 10,000th posts to tell you such, you great flaming asshole, whch I mention simply for the hell of it. Putting that aside, though, the issue you _claim_ prompted you to start this thread; to wit: > [@](#): > > I’d like to read the poster the fucking riot act, sick husband or not. > > I don’t think it’s appropriate to do it in the general forum. > > Do I just keep my mouth shut (which I know is always my best choice); do I invite the OP over to this forum for further talks, or ? > > Newbies need to know. It turns out you’re perfectly free to read the “fucking riot act”, as long as you do so in the forum suited to that purpose, i.e. the Pit. Choosing to do so, however, conveys absolutely not one fucking shred of protection from people who choose to read the “fucking riot act” to YOU. If you can’t handle that, you should fuck off and find a kindler, gentler forum, like [boards.greatflamingassholes.com](http://boards.greatflamingassholes.com), where you can be among your own kind. It’s possible that last sentence constitutes an act of hate speech directed against the great flaming asshole community, but I’ll let a moderator judge that, as you should let the moderators judge what is or is not approriate “in the general forum.” I’m not sure if mooching guests like yourself have access to the “report this post” button, but if you do, feel free to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/64 "2005-03-19T03:31:12Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > All I want to know is why lying about the reasons for getting a divorce, with the hidden intent of obtaining additional benefits from the state, is OK. > > Why can’t anybody answer this simple question? Once again, read **Max’s** post. Where have you established that anyone has lied about a reason for a divorce? It is a simple question. ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/65 "2005-03-19T03:32:22Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > I find this interesting… > > And from [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=307545&page=3) thread in post #109: > > \*bolding mine > Fascinating. Ooooh I’ve been cut to the bone, you’ve exposed all my hidden demons and secrets. Problem is - I don’t lie to the state to get my music. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/66 "2005-03-19T03:33:26Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Tell me why I should be forced to subsidise her husbands poor health, without my consent. > > Tell me, I’m waiting. Because it is using your tax dollars for a good cause. I believe that helping a person in need, no matter what work-around solution it takes, is far more noble than spending tax dollars to fund the military-industrial complex. Or whatever money-waster the politicians can come up with that ends up killing people. ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/67 "2005-03-19T03:33:31Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Once again, read **Max’s** post. Where have you established that anyone has lied about a reason for a divorce? It is a simple question. No one has, we are talking about things that MAY happen, and as a result, I posted a response as to why it MAY NOT be a good idea. Lying is always a BAD IDEA. Why can’t you grasp this? ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/68 "2005-03-19T03:34:33Z")
> [@TwoTrouts](#): > > Because it is using your tax dollars for a good cause. I believe that helping a person in need, no matter what work-around solution it takes, is far more noble than spending tax dollars to fund the military-industrial complex. Or whatever money-waster the politicians can come up with that ends up killing people. This is the person I was talking about when I said blue state socialist. Sorry for the pre-announcement. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/69 "2005-03-19T03:38:19Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Seems when you all get backed into a wall with the cold hard light of FACT, you hurl insuts. For instance, when it is shown that there is no such thing as a “divorce contract”, and you are did…what? Proved that there is? Or made spurious allegations? Does, in fact, this contract exist only in your mind? > [@](#): > > All I want to know is why lying about the reasons for getting a divorce, with the hidden intent of obtaining additional benefits from the state, is OK. Who says they have to lie? Do you have proof that, in the state the op lives, any questions whatsoever will be asked about a divorce? > [@](#): > > OK by me, I’m just using my trial time to weed out the dickheads. In other words, you are abiding by the letter of the law to get what you want. So, in the case of the OP you pitted, you would do exactly what she is doing. We don’t have to guess at this; you have actually come out and said, in no uncertain terms, that you would exploit the letter of the law in order to get what you want. Your pleas to being ripped off fall flat, because it is not a matter of conjecture as to whether you would do it, because you said you would. And you did it to save, what, 15 bucks? Your not only a scoundrel, but a cheap one to boot. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/70 "2005-03-19T03:39:25Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > All I want to know is why lying about the reasons for getting a divorce, with the hidden intent of obtaining additional benefits from the state, is OK. > > Why can’t anybody answer this simple question? Where did the OP claim she was going to **lie**? I might try something like this if, (god forbid) I was in similar circumstances, but I wouldn’t **lie** about it, I would discuss it first with a lawyer and then with the appropriate people in the benefits office, making it very clear what I was doing and why. I would never lie. Provided the OP follows a similar path–gets legally divorced but makes no attempt to conceal the fact that the relationship is continuing–is it still morally wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/71 "2005-03-19T03:40:08Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > No one has, we are talking about things that MAY happen, and as a result, I posted a response as to why it MAY NOT be a good idea. > > Lying is always a BAD IDEA. > > Why can’t you grasp this? I grasp it very well. Why do you say anyone is lying? I direct you to **Max’s** post for a third time. If you had a mother that loved you, and I threatened to torture her and then kill her ( a threat that you had every reason to believe was legitimate) unless you lied to the Girl Scouts at the door and said you wanted three boxes of cookies when you only wanted two, would lying be a BAD IDEA? To recap. You have a mother. She loves you. You must lie to save her from agony and death. What would you do? And where are you getting your music these days? ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/72 "2005-03-19T03:40:08Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Unfortunately, you ended up doing neither. Aha, I see. You have no desire to actually discuss something with me, you just want to answer every post that disagrees with you as “Nyah nyah, I can’t hear you.” I don’t think I’m going to bother with you again. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/73 "2005-03-19T03:40:32Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Seems when you all get backed into a wall with the cold hard light of FACT, you hurl insuts. For instance, when it is shown that there is no such thing as a “divorce contract”, and you are did…what? Proved that there is? Or made spurious allegations? Does, in fact, this contract exist only in your mind? > [@](#): > > All I want to know is why lying about the reasons for getting a divorce, with the hidden intent of obtaining additional benefits from the state, is OK. Who says they have to lie? Do you have proof that, in the state the op lives, any questions whatsoever will be asked about a divorce? > [@](#): > > OK by me, I’m just using my trial time to weed out the dickheads. In other words, you are abiding by the letter of the law to get what you want. So, in the case of the OP you pitted, you would do exactly what she is doing. We don’t have to guess at this; you have actually come out and said, in no uncertain terms, that you would exploit the letter of the law in order to get what you want. Your pleas to being ripped off fall flat, because it is not a matter of conjecture as to whether you would do it, because you said you would. And you did it to save, what, 15 bucks? You’re not only a scoundrel, but a cheap one to boot. ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/74 "2005-03-19T03:41:52Z")
> [@bashere](#): > > For instance, when it is shown that there is no such thing as a “divorce contract”, and you are did…what? Proved that there is? Or made spurious allegations? > > BLAH BLAH BLAH > > And you did it to save, what, 15 bucks? Your not only a scoundrel, but a cheap one to boot. You clearly don’t have a clue, and I’m not going to repost the last 40 responses I’ve made in this thread just for you. Do you know how to read? ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/75 "2005-03-19T03:42:54Z")
> [@Nocturne](#): > > Aha, I see. You have no desire to actually discuss something with me, you just want to answer every post that disagrees with you as “Nyah nyah, I can’t hear you.” > > I don’t think I’m going to bother with you again. Good - as I’m damn sure you are a write off. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/76 "2005-03-19T03:44:45Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > I’m not a fucking lawyer. I don’t think anyone was in any danger of thinking you were. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/77 "2005-03-19T03:46:49Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I grasp it very well. > > To recap. > > You have a mother. > She loves you. > You must lie to save her from agony and death. > > What would you do? > And where are you getting your music these days? If it’s her time to go, I’d let her die. If it was not her time to die, there are any number of options I could pursue to get her the help she needs; none of them involve stealing from the government. If I ran to the end of the road, and my my mother was still not cured, then it’s time for her to die. You seem to think that just because life CAN be preserved it SHOULD be. Not so, my friend. One has their allotted time in the sun, and then the torch passes to the next set. Get over it. You WILL die. ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/78 "2005-03-19T03:47:09Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > This is the person I was talking about when I said blue state socialist. Got me! Was it that obvious? I don’t know why I bother to post in threads like this. I could hit you with every reasonable argument, or hold a gun to your head, and neither action would change your mind! ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/79 "2005-03-19T03:47:46Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > You clearly don’t have a clue, and I’m not going to repost the last 40 responses I’ve made in this thread just for you. > > Do you know how to read? So, backed up the wall with jack shit to support your allegations, you resort to insults. Which is actually fine, but, really “do you know how to read”? That’s it? That’s what you’ve got? “You clearly don’t have a clue”? Really, it looks like it took me nothing at all to prove your sense of entitlement is…misplaced. ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248/80 "2005-03-19T03:48:10Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > I don’t think anyone was in any danger of thinking you were. :rolleyes: I’m about as sick and tired of your pull up a lawnchair and insult responses as any human could possibly be expected to be, Abbie. How about you just SHUT THE FUCK UP for a change? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/protocol-question/295248.md?page=5)