Ok folks, it’s time for me to weigh in. This post will be direct. It will be abrupt. And it will be my definitive word. I will not post a follow-up in this thread nor will I in any way engage anyone in a debate in this thread.
Ahem…
First, I want to complement Anthracite, friedo, Zumba, Spritle, and others for their level headed assessments. Especially gratifying is their failing to instinctively find something “dark and sinister” in something so benign as a signature.
Several of you have shown no common sense and have taken a confrontational tone. Your public accusations warrant rebuttal and you deserve berating. I shall oblige.
Let’s start with Guinastasia. Exactly what were you thinking? Or were you? You come to the Pit, a forum reserved exclusively for cussing, swearing, arguing, complaining, and confronting those with whom you have a beef, and accuse me of attacking homosexuals. Tell me, are you nuts? Are you fucking nuts? In the more than a thousand posts that I’ve submitted to the SDMB have you seen any indication that I’m bigotted, homophobic, or in any way descriminatory against anyone on the basis of race, sex, nationality, height, hair color, or shoe size? The only “group” that I recall generalizing in a negative fashion is the leeches on our society. If you have connected the dots in such a way that by inference you equate homosexuals with leeches, that’s your problem. It’s not my belief nor have I made any such statement.
You claim that your question is not “pit worthy”, but that certainly didn’t stop you from posting your message here. A message, I might add, that is a thinly veiled attempt to make you look considerate while painting me with the broad brush of intolerance.
The last sentence of your OP starts If I am wrong. (The only way one can be wrong is to have already formed an opinion.) Well you were wrong. In several ways. I am not the one showing intolerance, you are. I am not the one that took a complete stranger to the pit and made warrantless accusations, you are. I am not the one with an alleged “problem” requiring an answer, you are. And the only one that showed a complete lack of respect (your word) to another by initiating a public lynching is you.
Since joining the SDMB about 6 months ago, I’ve used a number of signatures. All of them had a humorous thread.
[ul]
[li]This job is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job you would have received raises, promotions, and other tokens of appreciation.[/li][li]Never rassle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it.[/li][li]When the going gets tough, the tough get duct tape.[/li][li]Only a genius or a fool would make such a move. SouthernStyle, being both, had no choice.[/li][/ul]
These are a sampling. Until posting my current signature, the only individual or group that can be associated with ANY of them is the author – me.
pldennison – We’ve crossed paths several times in other threads and I’ve always considered our exchanges to be fair and thought provoking. Have you suddenly become so thin-skinned that just the use of the word “homosexual” causes you to put on blinders? I don’t recall ever reading one of your threads where you belittle Richard Pryor for making millions by using the word “nigger”. Nor do I recall one of your threads ever taking Robin Williams to task for using “God Damn”, George Carlin for saying “fuck”, anyone on this board for telling a “blond joke”, etc. Exactly what prompted you to jump on the “me too” bandwagon here?
Exprix – I read your post and I desperately want to read it as an explanation for why others may be taking exception. But the more I read it and try to interpret your writing, the more that I am convinced that you too, want to paint a few strokes with that broad brush of intolerance. Since I don’t espouse a liberal ideology I must be a bigot? I use the word “homosexual” and am not homosexual so I must be phobic?
Get a clue. Get real. Get a life.
DavisMcDavis - Not taking you to task here, this is just a comment. I did find humor in your reworked version. Just as I’d have found humor if you’d reference blacks instead of Jews or several other scenarios. I can picture a standup comic using any of these jokes in a routine. Chris Rock may not be able to pull it off, but Rodney Dangerfield certainly could.
Folks, there is humor in my life. Every day. At 6’7", 250#, I hear every “dumb jock” joke that goes around. The funny part is, I got my size after leaving high school so I had a completely different take on things in my youth. At 15 I was one of the school “geeks”. An IQ in the “gifted” range and a National Math Test score to back it up. I was the brunt of every “smart” joke you can imaging. I was despised by those “average” because it came easy to me and beat up the the jocks, just because they could do it. My wife is a 5’4", 125#, size 5 blonde. WE are quite a sight and take a lot of kidding. SHE is blonde and spends every day living down the stereotype.
People, I can laugh at myself. And I will laugh at you. Whether it be a stereotype that you try to live down, or your assinine public display of intolerance, I will laugh. Now if you want me to laugh with you, say something funny. If you want me to laugh at you, keep going as you are.
sig omitted by choice.
I will respond to well mannered e-mail.
