# The handy depreciation society **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2001, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885 "2001-02-10T05:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/1 "2001-02-10T05:44:30Z")
Okay, kids, it’s time to flame our most prolific member, **handy**. I don’t have as much time to do the research I’ve been aching to do for this one, but I figured I’d start it with one (of my many, many) reasons, and let the rest of you join in. With that many posts, he must have caused several reasons to flame him. On with the show. In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59303), the flamey made yet another non sequitur of a post in the worst possible taste: he invited a stuck-without-housing Doper to consult with Galludet University, because there “could be an opening.” This, of course, was in reference to the two recent murders on Galludet’s campus, the latest being last weekend. Because of that, an entire dorm was shut down for the remainder of the school year ([Here](http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52132-2001Feb9.html) is the latest _Washington Post_ article on the Galludet tragedy). In that thread, my good friend **Falcon** insisted that handy explain himself, and called him a dumbass. Of course, that’s Pit-behaviour, and why I started this thread, because his actions and response are not deserved of MPSIMS, where the thread resides presently. So, **handy** , get your ass in here and explain yourself. And, everyone else, post and give him things to explain to. Cecil knows he has 1595 more posts to go until 10,000. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/2 "2001-02-10T07:12:43Z")
I, for one, have gotten very tired of handy’s dog and pony show, which seems to be either one of two things. #1: I’ll throw a five line reply into any given thread, usually off the topic, adding absolutely nothing to the subject at hand ( no pun intended( and I’ll bet if he could subtract from the subject, rather than just not adding to it he would.)) And #2: I’m deaf, so y’all don’t dare pick on me, nya, nya. Well, guess what, handy old sport? This is a text based community, and you can read as well as I can. That victem mentality cuts zero ice here. I suggest you take your act on the road, we’re sure sick of it here. I suggest [The Left Behind message board](http://mb.leftbehind.com/cgi-ubb/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro&BypassCookie=true). Go bother them, they at least deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/3 "2001-02-10T07:13:53Z")
Actually, it’s just the opposite. With no girlfriend for quite some time, and no prospects for one anywhere in the forseeable future, I’ve learned to appreciate my handy more and more each day. [sub]what?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/4 "2001-02-10T07:53:18Z")
'bout what he’s good for, Enderw. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/5 "2001-02-10T08:43:53Z")
Hey, it could be worse. He could be JDT. ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/6 "2001-02-10T09:25:34Z")
The only good thing about handy’s posts are that they are, at most, 5 lines long, which makes it very easy to ignore. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/7 "2001-02-10T14:02:59Z")
[My donation to the cause](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=58544). I’m _really_ tired of his hit-and-run posting style. Never mind that he yelled at me my first post and never came back to apologize after **majormd** took him to task ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/8 "2001-02-10T15:02:17Z")
You don’t post at **handy** ’s incredible rate by actually thinking before posting. His style is: see a new thread, take a brief look, post the first thing that comes into his head (usually only a line or two), then he’s gone from that thread forever. Most of the time, it’s just mildly irritating, and not worth a response (which he’ll never see anyway). But the Galludet comment was genuinely offensive. Kinda funny: you’d expect **handy** to be more sensitive on this one, since Galludet’s a college for deaf people. ---
**Author:** ![Caliban](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@Caliban](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caliban)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/9 "2001-02-10T15:05:40Z")
Well, hell. I _like_ handy. He’s like that old friend whom you always know will show up at the party sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/10 "2001-02-10T15:49:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caliban \* > \*\*Well, hell. I _like_ handy. He’s like that old friend whom you always know will show up at the party sooner or later. \*\* Yeah, if that friend has diarrhea and likes to fuck your cat when you’re not looking. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/11 "2001-02-10T15:57:47Z")
Well, apparently handy’s not too thrilled with the Pacific Grove Police Department writing speeding tickets for speeders and thus seems to consider them bad cops. Yet not a word from handy when said cops apprehended an unstable individual who shot (not shot at, but actually shot) one of the cops. The PGPD did not kill the guy, but got him out of his car without loss of life. ---
**Author:** ![Caliban](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecccb3/32.png) [@Caliban](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caliban)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/12 "2001-02-10T16:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Cynical \* > Yeah, if that friend has diarrhea and likes to fuck your cat when you’re not looking. He’s not _that_ bad. He may show up uninvited. He may even stink up the bathroom on occasion. But with the cat I’m pretty sure it’s a “look but don’t touch” kinda deal. ---
**Author:** ![JTR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@JTR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JTR)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/13 "2001-02-10T16:40:37Z")
I would just like to moderate the tone here a little bit. When Matthew Sheppard (sp?), a young gay man, was pistol-whipped, tied to a fence crucifix-style, and left to die, it led to a wave out public outrage against gay bashing. People in the gay and lesbian community were relieved to finally see the larger public finally addressing the issue of gay-bashing. At the same time, however, there was also a lot of frustration and bitterness as well. Gay-bashing had been going on forever, and the public had largely ignored it until something so horrific as Matthew Sheppard’s case came along. So what did that mean for all the other gays who had been murdered across the years–were they just throw-away citizens? And what about the media circus around Matthew Sheppard’s death? Did people really care about him, or was it more the attraction of a freak show? As I said, there was relief in the gay and lesbian community that the larger community was finally paying attention, but there was a lot of bitterness too. Okay, so what’s the story on handy and the Gallaudet reference? Is handy just that insensitive? Or might there be something more there? Here are a couple of considerations that should perhaps be kept in mind: 1. A deaf person is rarely JUST deaf, especially if he has been deaf from birth. For starters, in the latter case, there are usually developmental problems as well, because the infant was deprived of vital input and stimulation (sounds) that other infants get. And that’s just the start of the baggage that comes with deafness. The public is largely ignorant of these things. Most people think deafness is like missing a foot. (you’re missing a foot? get a prosthetic. you’re deaf? learn to lip read.) But it’s not that easy. Deafness is a profound disability, and the public is largely unaware of that. 2. Gallaudet is not JUST a school for the deaf. I’ve been told in the past that in the hearing-impaired community Gallaudet is a highly controversial subject, and even a lightening rod for debate and criticism. I won’t bother going into all the debates surrounding the school, but there are a number of them: The methods by which it teaches the students; the types of students that attend and the additional disabilities they bring with them; who can attend and who can’t; the administration–should they themselves be hearing-impaired or not?; treatment of the school in the media; and the very location of the school–warehousing vulnerable kids in a crappy neighborhood in D.C. with a high crime rate. As I understand it, the hearing-impaired community is very aware of Gallaudet and all its significance, and is also very sensitive to the deaths of students there and how the media deal with it. So I think that accusing handy of insensitivity probably misses the mark a bit. If handy communicates at all with the larger hearing-impaired community, he is probably far more aware of the real issues surrounding Gallaudet and the deaths there than we are. There’s no doubt that handy crossed the line and made a really tasteless joke. But to take him to task and accuse him of mere insensitivity is to take the easy route. Personally, I would prefer to suspend judgment and just ask him WHY he made the comment. Bitterness? And bitterness at what–the school itself? --or at the public for its treatment of the school, or the tragedy, or the deaf community? I don’t expect him to answer. That’s not his way. And I don’t particularly like his drive-by style either. But he has a post count of almost 10,000. And although he tends to be a hardass on things, he generally toes the line of basic human decency as much as anyone. The fact that he has chosen this issue to exhibit this level of obtuseness tells me that there’s something more than mere insensitivity at stake. Given all that, I would like to counsel other posters against excoriating handy for insensitivity and just take it on faith that there’s probably a larger story there, even if handy never takes the time to tell it to us. Maybe I’m being overly soft and sentimental here on both the issue and on handy himself, but I think handy deserves a little more consideration (and fewer insults) from us on this one, at least until we know more about his thinking behind this particular comment of his. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/14 "2001-02-10T17:17:15Z")
Just four examples out of the many: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47653](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47653) In this one, **Poysyn** is concerned about her mother’s upcoming hysterectomy in the wake of her father’s recent death. **Handy** says: > [@](#): > > We discussed HPV too on the board. They are related in that HPV, human pappilloma virus, is the often > cause of hysterectomy surgeries. Im sure the doc did a test for HPV. Nice of him to imply an STD to an already worried daughter. WTG handy! :rolleyes: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39385](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39385) Here is a thread I started to celebrate my status as HIV negative. **Handy** once again pops in with: > [@](#): > > Don’t really have any reason why i would have it but HPV is a whole nother thing for me to think about. Just as nasty as HIV #16 & 18 & actually more dangerous too, when you find out that 5,000 women a year have cervical dysplasia… sigh Thanks “doctor”! :rolleyes: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=25400](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=25400) Here, we have a newbie freaking out about just noticed bumps on the back of their tongue. You got it… **handy** ’s response: > [@](#): > > tongue warts? Probably just that. HPV, human papilloma virus, which causes warts, search for ‘HPV’ at [webmd.com](http://webmd.com) So sensitive! :rolleyes: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=21088](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=21088) Here, **Ayesha** is discussing her Hep C and how sex isn’t even considered a risk factor. Once again, **handy** compassionately turns the talk to STDs: > [@](#): > > Hep C & HPV #16/#18 are the newish diseases Im reading about. They aren’t new, as like NEW, but they are ones that new testings seem to detect. I want you to comfort me when I’m feeling down, **handy**! :rolleyes: **handy** , being deaf is no excuse for being a bad reader, start doing more of it and try, really _try_, to show some fucking compassion! Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/15 "2001-02-10T17:21:00Z")
This is not meant as a “pile-on”, but I’ve let him know that he pisses me off on several occasions, the most recently here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=57907](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=57907) Notice that he never posts after being confronted with his crappy netiquitte- he just slinks away. Extremely annoying. Zette ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/16 "2001-02-10T17:37:39Z")
I like **Handy** being around, we all say things we regret or are maybe controversial. ---
**Author:** ![JTR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@JTR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JTR)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/17 "2001-02-10T17:39:24Z")
Just to clarify: I won’t deny that handy misfires once in a while. If someone takes 10,000 shots at a target, more than a few of the bullets are going to miss the target or worse. Furthermore, as I said in my earlier post, I don’t like his drive-by style either. It’s taken for granted that any poster with a high post count will piss off enough people to warrant a Pit thread just by virtue of stepping on enough toes across time. (I just recently had one devoted to me–my first! :)) However, I think that starting a Pit thread using _the Gallaudet post in particular_ as a starting point was unfortunate. At the very least, let’s give that particular one post a little extra leeway and consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/18 "2001-02-10T17:53:41Z")
[Mango] Can you grab the wind and put it in a jar? Can you tell the wind to blow tomorrow? Can you yell at the sun and say “Hey you! Stop shining!”? **No!** Such is **handy** … [/Mango] ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/19 "2001-02-10T18:11:14Z")
Well, he defends himself regarding his rude comment in this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1122366#post1122366](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1122366#post1122366) And I can’t make **any** sense of it at all. I seriously do not understand why he doesn’t get spoken to about some of his board behavior. I can easily ignore his threads, but when he butts into a discussion with incorrect facts, assumptions, and rude behavior, it’s inexcusable. (See the thread I mentioned in my last post for a perfect example) Zette ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/20 "2001-02-10T18:27:33Z")
I mean just because his picture is in the dictionary next to the definition of “gadfly” … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885.md?page=2)