# Smapti is Pitted **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 21, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907 "2014-05-21T08:14:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/301 "2014-07-17T17:35:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I am a lifelong Democrat and it is personally my belief that we could solve a lot of the problems that exist in America today if President Obama were to exercise his authority under the Patriot Act to declare the Republican Party a terrorist organization, and instruct law enforcement to deal with it appropriately. A heavy-handed tactic like this is likely to have the backlash effect of greatly \*increasing \*support for the Republican Party. Furthermore, it would be a virtually impossible task for law enforcement. There are many millions of Republicans in America. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/302 "2014-07-17T17:44:25Z")
There is also the minor detail that the Republican party, despite its innumerable faults, is not----strictly speaking----a terrorist organization. I think we should at least have that on the table while we’re deciding who gets to enjoy a carefree life in our brave world of continuously monitored freedom and who gets sent off to die in **Smapti’s** gulag. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/303 "2014-07-17T18:28:40Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Dammit, this is what I get for prematurely declaring something “stupid statement of the month”. :smack: Although you were wrong, **Smeghead** , I didn’t have to wait until page 7. Patience, grasshopper. The day is yet young. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/304 "2014-07-17T20:35:08Z")
So… Hulu has cut a deal to make every single episode of South Park available for free through the summer. I’m taking the opportunity to get caught up on the newest season. And I have discovered something. **Smapti** is not a coward, nor a fascist, nor an idiot. He’s [Butters](http://southpark.cc.com/clips/wax1rk/hey-government-its-me-butters). ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/305 "2014-07-17T20:52:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Furthermore, it would be a virtually impossible task for law enforcement. There are many millions of Republicans in America. There’s all those FEMA camps. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/306 "2014-07-17T22:20:36Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > There is also the minor detail that the Republican party, despite its innumerable faults, is not----strictly speaking----a terrorist organization. Is there any group that has done more harm to this country in the past five years? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/307 "2014-07-17T22:30:26Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Is there any group that has done more harm to this country in the past five years? That’s not the same thing as terrorism, and you know it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/308 "2014-07-17T22:34:04Z")
This has to be a put-on. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/309 "2014-07-17T22:45:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And the French were on the right track until they succumbed to the cult of personality and let Napoleon take over and destroy all the progress they’d made. Actually, Napoleon took over on a “law & order, exceptional times call for exceptional measures” ticket that should sound \*extremely \*familiar to you. > [@](#): > > Once those cancers have been removed from the body politic, then we will be able to fully enjoy the fruits of democratic society. Ah, yes. When only the right people get to vote, that is the very definition of democracy. All animals are equal but some are more equal than others, eh ? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/310 "2014-07-17T23:05:44Z")
So where are we? _La Terreur_ was a good thing. Republicans are literally destroying America. _1984_ had a happy ending. Authoritarianism is the only path to freedom. Wha’d I miss? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/311 "2014-07-18T00:37:00Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Ah, yes. When only the right people get to vote, that is the very definition of democracy. All animals are equal but some are more equal than others, eh ? The right to vote comes with a responsibility to vote rightly. Those who are not properly educated harm our society by voting. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/312 "2014-07-18T00:53:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The right to vote comes with **a responsibility to vote rightly.** Those who are not properly educated harm our society by voting. In other words, vote for liberals? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/313 "2014-07-18T00:56:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > In other words, vote for liberals? Totalitarian liberals. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/314 "2014-07-18T01:39:54Z")
Eh, don’t bother. We know how you’re _supposed_ to vote, so we’ll just fill in the ballot for you. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/315 "2014-07-18T02:37:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > In other words, vote for liberals? > [@74westy](#): > > Totalitarian liberals. > [@Steve\_MB](#): > > Eh, don’t bother. We know how you’re _supposed_ to vote, so we’ll just fill in the ballot for you. The point of voting is to decide who will best serve the public good, not whether the public good should be served or not. Conservatives oppose the public good, therefore they are unqualified to hold office in a free society until they learn better. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/316 "2014-07-18T02:41:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Conservatives oppose the public good This is entirely subjective, and no more valid than the opinion of a conservative who claims that liberals oppose the public good. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/317 "2014-07-18T02:44:06Z")
> [@andros](#): > > _La Terreur_ was a good thing. > Republicans are literally destroying America. > _1984_ had a happy ending. > Authoritarianism is the only path to freedom. - It was a good start towards crushing the aristocracy and establishing a new egalitarian order. Had Napoleon not subverted the revolution in the Nam of his own dreams of personal power, the world would be a better place today. - Not just America. The end result of the GOP’s current policies will result in the end of all life on earth, which many of them welcome because they think their god will reward them for bringing it about. - Winston Smith conquers his petty dreams of rebellion and learns to be a productive member of society, the state saves the life of a dangerous subversive, and world peace is finally within reach. It’s a happy ending. - Without authority to back it up, freedom is nothing more than a meaningless abstract that collapses as soon as your neighbor decides to take if from you. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/318 "2014-07-18T02:46:08Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > This is entirely subjective, and no more valid than the opinion of a conservative who claims that liberals oppose the public good. The public good can be objectively defined and laid out. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/319 "2014-07-18T03:16:15Z")
You’re like a cartoon villain. A caricature. If this message board were a novel, people would be complaining about how the Spamti character is so unrealistically over-the-top. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907/320 "2014-07-18T03:34:14Z")
> [@andros](#): > > So where are we? > > _La Terreur_ was a good thing. > Republicans are literally destroying America. > _1984_ had a happy ending. > Authoritarianism is the only path to freedom. > > Wha’d I miss? It was the “_1984_ had a happy ending” thing that led me to question **Smapti** ’s sincerity. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smapti-is-pitted/688907.md?page=17)