# Talk about avoiding reality. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 9, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-avoiding-reality/624615 "2012-06-09T13:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 111
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-avoiding-reality/624615/111 "2012-06-11T22:54:49Z")
Holy burning ears, Batman! I knew there were still some people ragging on me in the Google Doodle thread, but i didn’t realize until just now that the incident had spawned a whole new thread of its own. Nor did i realize, until reading this thread, that **Quasimodem** had decided to take a break from the boards, apparently as a result (partly or primarily) of our confrontation. I had previously decided to bow out of the Google Doodle thread, because it seemed clear to me that everyone had made up his or her mind about the incident and that there was pretty much nothing i could say that would change what anyone thought about my actions there. My first inclination was to do the same with this thread, but there are a couple of things i would like to say before leaving the issue alone altogether. The first thing i’d like to do is reiterate that the insult i directed at **Quasi** was done in response to what i felt were insulting remarks directed at me, and at others who disagreed with **Quasi** ’s opinion. More importantly, it seemed to me that **Quasi** was posting clearly and lucidly in that thread, and even if i didn’t care for the content of his posts, the posts themselves followed a line of reasoning that is quite common in the United States, especially among the older generation and among conservatives. As i said in the Google Doodle thread, there is a strong current of “honor the military at any cost” in America, and this often comes with a large side-order of indignation directed at anyone who dares to criticize the military in any way. This was a thread about an internet widget, and i wasn’t interested in being accused of historical ignorance or insensitivity to military sacrifices just because i didn’t care that Google failed to put a D-Day doodle on its homepage. As i also said, i was accused of being a “friend to Saddam” when i expressed opposition to the Iraq War, and i’m sick of this sort of 100% Americanism that is sometimes used as a bludgeon in American political debates. If i had believed that **Quasi** ’s posts about the issue were colored by an episode of dementia, and that he was simply ranting, i would have let it go. But it’s precisely because he seemed to be well aware of the argument that he was making that i decided to give it back. It’s worth noting, too, that while i have been aware for some time of **Quasi** ’s condition, i don’t follow him around the board, and i don’t follow his blog, so i don’t keep track of how bad (or not) it actually is. Out of curiosity, i looked up (using Google and the SDMB search engine) every instance i could find where i had been in the conversation with **Quasi** over the past year. I found four threads, and in every one of those he was completely lucid and as capable of making an argument as anyone else around here. Here they are, if you’re interested. [People who pretend to not understand boarding groups for airplanes.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=641894&page=2) [Well, Apparently I Have A “Diesease”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652101) [Lockerbie bomber dies.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652446) [I pit the Olympics. This is the final straw.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=652346&page=2) In three of the four cases, **Quasi** and i interacted directly. Here’s our discussion in the Lockerbie bomber thread, which **Quasi** himself started: > [@Lockerbie Bomber Dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockerbie-bomber-dies/622529/8): > > Sorry. I know you guys like cites. It was a news story and those are all the specifics I remember. I think it was Homeland Security that picked this up from a spy. > > Quasi > [@Lockerbie Bomber Dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockerbie-bomber-dies/622529/10): > > I’m not doubting your honesty **Quasi**. I’m sure you did see such a story. I am, however, rather skeptical about how likely such an incident would be, and how much of a threat this sort of thing actually poses. > > Basically, i disagree with your assertion that America has relaxed its vigilance too much. I’ve seen no evidence that it has. > [@Lockerbie Bomber Dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lockerbie-bomber-dies/622529/12): > > Well, compare Frankfurt, Germany’s airport to our own, and you’ll see a huge difference. I don’t want to get into the pat-down/body scanner thing, but having landed at Frankfurt many times, I’ve seen pairs of soldiers patrolling the hallways with their Uzis very regularly since Sept. 9, 2011. I understand also that Frankfurt is a hub which will see more of the dangers we will, but we sure have had some close calls. > > [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/09/al-qaeda-bomb-master-hides-devices-in-pets-and-personal-electronics-us/](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/05/09/al-qaeda-bomb-master-hides-devices-in-pets-and-personal-electronics-us/) > > Thanks > > Q And here’s **Quasi** ’s post in the carry-on luggage thread: > [@People who pretend to not understand boarding groups for airplanes.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-pretend-to-not-understand-boarding-groups-for-airplanes/612686/61): > > I have a little 22" carry-on suitcase and when I fly, it’s pretty much _always_ international. I belong to this loosely-formed Rick Steves “One Bag Club”, and absolutely all I need for a 10-12 day trip fits into that thing, so no checked baggage fee for me. I also have a courier bag that goes under the front of my seat where I keep all the stuff I may need during the flight. > > So I’m all legal, got my boarding pass, the correct seat and all I have to do is settle in, right? > > Wrong. No room in my overhead compartment (again, not that I need it), but part of that space is _mine_, dammit. _Somebody_ got on board with one of those over-size things and they caused everything to be shifted toward the front/back of the airplane. Oh yeah, what’s that announcement about “some of your bags may have shifted during the flight”? Bullshit. There’s no damn _room_ for them to shift! 🙂 > > I try not to be a Nazi about it, but it sure is a wrong way to begin a Trans-Atlantic flight. > > Q And his post during our exchange in the Olympics thread: > [@I pit the Olympics. This is the final straw.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-olympics-this-is-the-final-straw/622440/69): > > Thanks for all the cites, **mhendo**! > > Okay, one more comment and I’ll leave it y’all’s capable hands. > > Maybe it’s time to “re-invent” the Olympics? Subsidize Greece with some funds, let them put people to work improving what they have and mount a massive ad campaign along the lines of “Greece! now the permanent home of the Olympics!”, or some such drivel. > > Solving 2 problems at the same time? Their sucky economy and relieving other countries from the burden and cost of hosting them? > > As you can tell, I’m not really good at logistics. That’s why I’m friends with YOU guys!😃 > > Quasi All of these posts show, to me at least, no signs at all of dementia or any other mental problem. He made fine posts, and engaged clearly and knowledgeably in multiple discussions. I’m not arguing here that **Quasi** ’s disease is somehow less serious than people are making out; i’m simply arguing that what i’ve quoted here is typical of MY experiences with **Quasi** , and that these experiences determined how i saw him as a poster, and how i responded to him when he said something that irked me. I knew of his problems, but it always seemed to me that they had little effect on him here on the Dope. Yes, i knew there had been a couple of blow-ups, but **Quasi** is far from the only person who has ever had one of those on these boards. My point here is not to change people’s minds about whether i was over the top in my posts to **Quasi** in that thread. Even some people who have defended me have said that they thought i should have been more temperate, and i respect their difference of opinion on the matter. My point is simply to note that i was dealing with him based on my understanding of his competence, as demonstrated in my interactions with him. More importantly (to me, at least), my point is also to rebut accusations like this: > [@Google's doodle today will obviously recognize D-Day, right? Wrong. It's about drive-ins.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-doodle-today-will-obviously-recognize-d-day-right-wrong-its-about-drive-ins/624277/169): > > I also think that word choice was intentional, needlessly cruel, and says much about the character of the asshat that used it. and this: > [@BigT](#): > > No one will not ever get a pass from me for what mhendo did. He knew that Quasi wasn’t understanding what was going on. He decided to do what he could to make him feel bad anyway. That’s the mindset of a bully–take the person who is disadvantaged and single them out. He admitted that he was given pause before he did it, which means he knew it was wrong, but then he rationalized it away so he could do it anyways. The fact that he thinks what he did was right is the reason I felt the need to call him on his shit. These posts not only take issue with my actions, but claim to know what was going on in my mind. They criticize what i did (which i can live with), but also argue that i did it precisely because i knew that **Quasi** was in trouble, and that i wanted to hurt him becaue he’s a defenseless old man with a mental disease. If beating up on an old guy with dementia is something that i so clearly enjoy, i wonder why i had all of those cordial exchanges with **Quasi** in the threads quoted above? I mean, his condition has been known around the boards literally for years now, and yet i waited until last week to spring my dastardly, bullying trap. Not only that, but i had friendly conversations with him just a few weeks before, in order to lull him into a false sense of security. I even disagreed with him about airport security, and yet did so in a friendly manner, just so he would be further tempted to think of me as a reasonable person. If you believe all that, i have some swampland in Florida you might be interested in. I’ve laid out, as clearly as i can, my thought processes. Those who believe that i deliberately set out to target **Quasi** probably won’t have their minds changed by my explanation, even though one person grasped my thought processes pretty much perfectly: > [@Google's doodle today will obviously recognize D-Day, right? Wrong. It's about drive-ins.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googles-doodle-today-will-obviously-recognize-d-day-right-wrong-its-about-drive-ins/624277/172): > > Well, from reading **mhendo** ’s subsequent explanations, it seems to me that his thought process went something like, “That post is ridiculous. I’m going to call that guy a stupid douchebag…wait, no, it’s Quasi. He has Alzheimer’s. I should probably go easy. Wait, no, I’m not going to treat him like a child. He says he doesn’t want that. I’m going to treat him like I treat everyone else! I’m going ahead with my douchebag post.” Exactly. I recognize that the post itself was intemperate. But i’ve been here for over ten years now, and anyone who has had interaction with me in the pit knows that i can be intemperate at times. I’ve called plenty of people on this message board worse names than i called **Quasi** , and included in that number are plenty of people whom i respect and like. I’ve had insult-laden run-ins with **John Mace** , **Bricker** , **RickJay** , **Shot From Guns** , **Silenus** , **constanze** , **DiosaBellissima** , and a bunch of others. In any cases, i actively like the people that i’ve insulted, and in others i don’t know them that well but have nothing against them. As i said in the other thread, i tend not to let these things carry over from one discussion to another, unless i have constant run-ins with an individual over a period of time. My point here is that the insult i threw at **Quasi** was, like most of the ones i throw, something done in the heat of the moment that would be just as quickly forgotten. I tend to treat the insults i receive in exactly the same way; i burn about them for a while, but don’t let them prevent me from polite interaction with the person in other threads. It was not some calculated, nefarious attempt to bully a helpless old man, no matter what motives others might impute to me. I’m not going to apologize for what i said or did. If i have one regret in this whole incident, it’s that it seems to be the main reason for **Quasi** deciding to take a break. I regret this particularly because of what i said in the last paragraph: for me, this was just a typical Pit confrontation that was never designed to go any further, and that would not have changed in any way my normal, cordial relations with **Quasi** in other threads. I like and respect him just as much as i did this time last week, and i hope he comes back. I still disagree with him about the need for a D-Day Google Doodle, though. That’s my say on this matter, and i see no need to weigh in further on it, so i’ll leave it there. Oh, except for one thing… > [@BigT](#): > > Because of **mhendo** , Quasi may die earlier than he was supposed to. Jesus Christ on a Cracker, you are fucking retarded. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-about-avoiding-reality/624615)._