# The fingerwaggin' BigT **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 9, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187 "2017-08-09T18:48:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/41 "2017-08-10T16:16:47Z")
> [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](#): > > That said, **Bit T** , it’d probably be helpful if you edited your posts for brevity. It’s possible that we’re seeing the edited versions. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/42 "2017-08-10T16:24:05Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Do you have any idea how much you say “I”? Your problem isn’t that you’re sanctimonious, it’s that you’re utterly self-obsessed. Your moral proclamations from your basement pulpit aren’t comments on how other people talk to one another, they’re a constant update of your infatuation with your own thoughts, such as they are. So. You are accusing him of having internalized Trump’s personality? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/43 "2017-08-10T16:54:18Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Do you have any idea how much you say “I”? Your problem isn’t that you’re sanctimonious, it’s that you’re utterly self-obsessed. Your moral proclamations from your basement pulpit aren’t comments on how other people talk to one another, they’re a constant update of your infatuation with your own thoughts, such as they are. Uh… he _is_ discussing himself, and his own posting style, in a thread that was started by someone else which is also about him. Using this thread to argue he talks about himself too much seems… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/44 "2017-08-10T17:41:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > One way I judge whether a particular reaction to a poster is justified, is to see who is driving it. When it comes to the **BigT** hate, I see several posters I would classify as “Giant, throbbing, haemorrhoidal sphincters” joining the pile-on, so that immediately would make me want to take his side. > > On the other hand, **octopus** is for him, so maybe the sphincters are onto something… Well, unlike the sphincter brigade, octopus is objective. Aside from an annoying bit of unearned certainty and a bit too much of a potty mouth, BigT is alright. For the most part. Now that iiandyiiii… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/45 "2017-08-10T18:41:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Still, when I see someone acting like an asshole, I want to be able to call them out. Shouldn’t we have the same right to call out **BigT** on his assholeish behavior? Some of see his pontificating that way. This is the Pit, after all, a big 365 day a year Festivus where we get to air our grievances with each other. There may be some of you who disagree with this Pitting, but it doesn’t make it less valid in the eyes of those who get annoyed by his behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/46 "2017-08-10T18:55:11Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > One way I judge whether a particular reaction to a poster is justified, is to see who is driving it. When it comes to the **BigT** hate, I see several posters I would classify as “Giant, throbbing, haemorrhoidal sphincters” joining the pile-on, so that immediately would make me want to take his side. > > On the other hand, **octopus** is for him, so maybe the sphincters are onto something… Are you sure you don’t want to join his side as a show of moralizing blowhard solidarity? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/47 "2017-08-10T18:55:17Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Well, unlike the sphincter brigade, octopus is objective. Aside from an annoying bit of unearned certainty and a bit too much of a potty mouth, BigT is alright. For the most part. Now that iiandyiiii… Go ahead and finish your thought… ---
**Author:** ![Trafalgar\_Laura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trafalgar_laura/32/2907_2.png) [@Trafalgar\_Laura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trafalgar_Laura)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/48 "2017-08-10T18:59:04Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Shouldn’t we have the same right to call out **BigT** on his assholeish behavior? Of course! And other people have the right to call you an asshole in turn. And then you can call them assholes. It’s assholes all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/49 "2017-08-10T19:31:54Z")
> [@Trafalgar\_Laura](#): > > Of course! And other people have the right to call you an asshole in turn. And then you can call them assholes. It’s assholes all the way down. That’s certainly how **BigT** sees things. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/50 "2017-08-10T19:36:36Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Are you sure you don’t want to join his side as a show of moralizing blowhard solidarity? If we’re picking sides, I’ll take his Jiminy Cricket over your Arlo Givens any day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/51 "2017-08-10T19:48:00Z")
Let me suggest revising **BigT’s** status from “harmless” to “mostly harmless.” I don’t find **BigT** ’s lengthy posts _entirely_ harmless, because so often I agree with his central point. He does damage when he makes “the good side” look moralizing and pompous. Having also been the target once of a BigT lecture, it annoyed me (as much as any on-line discussion can annoy me, which is “for all of two minutes after I step away from the computer and find something else to occupy myself with”) that I responded substantively to his complaint, and he never bothered to answer. Which was probably okay, since it would have been pursuing something of a hijack anyway. Still, an acknowledgment of some sort would have been nice. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/52 "2017-08-10T20:10:10Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Are you sure you don’t want to join his side as a show of moralizing blowhard solidarity? A sphincter speaks…it’s like something from Cronenberg’s _Naked Lunch_. And no, I’m not[rubbing powder on your lips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV5VikGvrnI), **pup**. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/53 "2017-08-10T21:33:31Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > That’s certainly how **BigT** sees things. BigT doesn’t think everybody is an asshole, I suspect he thinks everybody has some good in them and is a decent person at heart. If only they would listen to his words and follow his guidance towards the light. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/54 "2017-08-10T22:10:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > One way I judge whether a particular reaction to a poster is justified, is to see who is driving it. When it comes to the **BigT** hate, I see several posters I would classify as “Giant, throbbing, haemorrhoidal sphincters” joining the pile-on, so that immediately would make me want to take his side. > > On the other hand, **octopus** is for him, so maybe the sphincters are onto something… > [@octopus](#): > > Well, unlike the sphincter brigade, octopus is objective. Aside from an annoying bit of unearned certainty and a bit too much of a potty mouth, BigT is alright. For the most part. Now that iiandyiiii… A sphincter says what? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/55 "2017-08-10T22:59:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > A sphincter speaks…it’s like something from Cronenberg’s _Naked Lunch_. And no, I’m not[rubbing powder on your lips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV5VikGvrnI), **pup**. Tell ya what,\*\* Dribs\*\*, go back and read through your own posting history. It won’t be difficult, I have no doubt that you are your own favorite author. Now earlier, **BigT** was noted to make a lot of “I” statements. Note how often you make “Of course, I” statements followed by what a paragon of virtue you consider yourself. BigT may actually be the less egocentric of you two. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/56 "2017-08-10T23:49:12Z")
**Big T** isn’t dumb. He’s sometimes got interesting things to say about the board or about politics or whatever. Sometimes I agree with him, and sometimes I find his POV horrifying, like when he says juries should ignore the law and find someone guilty if they feel that they are guilty. But whatever. It’s the incessant lecturing and moralizing that is annoying. And if being annoyed with that makes me a “bully,” well I don’t know what to say, except that you shouldn’t be annoyed with anyone again ever if that’s your stance. But here’s why it annoys me. Being a moral person means you are out in the world making choices. Maybe money is tight and you have to forgo something you really want to do. But then you are walking behind a man and a $100 dollar bill comes out of his pocket. You could really really use that money and no one would know if you scooped it up. But you run up to the guy and say, “Here, you dropped this.” Maybe you’re at a job and are worried about your manager’s opinion of you. Then he comes up to you and praises you for something and you know most of the credit should go to you’re coworker. Instead of taking the praise you make sure they get the credit. I should say I’m not a saint. I’m not a monster either. But I’ve made some bad choices. I don’t begrudge **BigT** for retreating from the world. I’ve had my own experience with mental illness and I know that you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do. But if you remove yourself from the game, you have no right, no right at all, to sit in pious sanctimonious judgement of people who are playing. That’s what annoys me. **BigT** has some things to say, but he really needs to tone down the finger wagging. Or not. But if he doesn’t, I think people are completely within their rights to be annoyed by it and to tell him off. I don’t think it makes them bullies. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/57 "2017-08-11T00:23:43Z")
Thread TL;DR > [@bucketybuck](#): > > The fingerwaggin’ BigT I don’t have any problem with him. When he starts going on (and he do go on) I move to the next post. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/58 "2017-08-11T00:32:17Z")
I can’t tell whether the OP is supposed to be intentionally ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Tee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Tee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tee)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/59 "2017-08-11T00:39:37Z")
I don’t have a problem with you either BigT, and I’m sorry about the sphincter chorus. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187/60 "2017-08-11T01:22:36Z")
The sphincter chorus? Was that composed by Verdi? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fingerwaggin-bigt/793187.md?page=4)