# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/61 "2001-02-13T05:10:42Z")
Just to clarify the rationale behind all this vitriol. **Montfort** , what are you complaining about _specifically_ in your OP: That handy told a joke in what you and your “good friend Falcon” consider to be bad taste in MPSIMS ? Is that a summation of your specific flame - is it that serious ? And then Sue Duhnym posts here that things are “way to PC” while Montfort thinks handy isn’t PC enough because he told a joke in bad taste. OK, it’s late here. I’m sure there is something I’m not understanding. BTW, excellent post IMHO by **JTR** ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/62 "2001-02-13T05:35:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dropzone \* > \*\*And will you share? Bleach doesn’t work as well as I might like. \*\* Bleach worked a charm for me, **dropzone**. You can find all the suggested remedies [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=43344). ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/63 "2001-02-13T07:07:55Z")
OOC, has anybody tried his “put sugar out for ants in order to keep them away” remedy? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/64 "2001-02-13T07:09:15Z")
Look at it this way. If Andygirl had made a similar remark about housing at Dartmouth, people would have been shocked and horrified, but then they would have pulled themselves together and asked, “Uh, Andy…you didn’t really mean that, did you?” Handy didn’t get the same benefit of the doubt, because he’s built up too strong a reputation. When the camel’s back breaks, it doesn’t matter how heavy the last straw was. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/65 "2001-02-13T07:19:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Shame on me? I didn’t jump to conclusions: I did a search on “handy” and “BBQ Pit” before starting this thread, to see if anyone else had taken him in here before. Yes, shame on you. If “the most damning evidence against handy is that he refuses to come into this thread to answer the critics”, then this thread shouldn’t exist. “So-and-so won’t respond to such-and-such thread, so he’s an assholic goatfelcher!” What brilliant, shimmering rationale. ---
**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 13, 2001, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/66 "2001-02-13T09:19:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > And then Sue Duhnym posts here that things are “way to PC” while Montfort thinks handy isn’t PC enough because he told a joke in bad taste. I was simply stating why, when other people start pit threads without hesitation for others, people seem reluctant to criticize handy. I don’t think it has anything to do with him being our most prolific poster, rather it is directly related to people unwilling to stand up to a man some see as handicapped. ppldennison got flamed for being curmudgeonly…handy can’t be flamed for being handy-ish? WTF? I do, however, find the rationale for starting this thread rather flimsy. I personally do not find his comment about Gaulledet worthy of more than a slap on the wrist, a mild flame. I believe his other offenses DO warrant a pit thread. I had planned on starting a thread for the past three weeks or so, but was beaten to the punch by Montfort. Due to the criticism on the multiple threads started for Grienspace, I figured that I would air my beef here. If you believe I am wrong, I will start an alternate thread. I will state again, in case anyone missed it, that I feel strongly that handy needs to be aware that his posting stlye is annoying and often offensive. I stand by my opinion, regardless of what any toothpaste-masturbating-pit-denizen says. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/67 "2001-02-13T10:24:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > \*\*OOC, has anybody tried his “put sugar out for ants in order to keep them away” remedy? \*\* Actually, enough sugar will wipe out the entire colony. My mother discovered this when she was a teenager, a bag of sugar tore and spilled all over the floor. Not wanting it to go to waste, and knowing ants like sugar, she swept it up and put it near an anthill in her yard. The next day all the ants were dead. She felt horrible. Forty or so years later there was a fire ant problem in the apartment complex we lived in. I remembered her story and took a couple of cups of sugar and dumped it on the mound. Came back the next day, the larvae and pupae were all scattered out on top of the mound and there were no live ants to be seen. Not sure why it works, but it does. I have a couple of hypotheses - (1) an overdose of sugar drives the ants crazy and then kills them and (2) the ants instinctual need to stockpile all this wonderful food leads them to fill up the chambers where they keep their young, and the young keep getting moved up until they are on the surface, then the ants realize what they did and kill themselves in grief. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/68 "2001-02-13T12:38:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doobieous \* > \*\*At least IRL Handy is easy to ignore completely… > You just stop writing messages to him on the pad of paper he brings with him. > (hey, it’s the truth…) \*\* This I personally find about as ignorant as calling someone ‘nigger’ Why ? Two things: **One** : Think of the context – a Dopefest. People chatting, several conversations spinning off in all directions, people jumping in and out of the same conversations, few remembering to make an effort to keep their mouths clear and in view so handy can at least read some of what is passing. And then he has the audacity to try and join _somewhere_. **Two** : An utter disregard for difference. What you seem to be saying is: “If you can’t be like everyone else, I’m ignoring you” Discrimination of the worst kind, plain and simple. If it was that much trouble, maybe you should have just called the ‘nigger’ a cab and sent the boy home rather than ignore his notes. Must have been damn inconvenient for you. **Sue Duhnym** – FWIW, I think you are at least coherent in your complaint: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym \* > …handy may not be “handicapped” but needs to be aware, in the same way, that his actions and posting style are annoying, often offensive and therefore inappropriate. If he isn’t told, how can he figure it out and change? > > Providing he’s interested in changing… :rolleyes: > \*\* and you want him to amend it. That may or may not be possible. Why ? Because, one assumes, he’s spent his entire life communicating with the non-signing world with short, quickly scribbled notes (hell, you don’t want to bore people like Doobieous). So, although he might just be one of those result / conclusion / question-answer orientated guys, it could also be that his ‘posting style’ is entirely a product of his deafness. If that is the case, it seems to me another way of saying the same thing is that you want handy to post in the style of a person that hears cos this deaf note style is irritating. How far from Doobieous position does that put you ? Try to imagine what it must be like by thinking of only communicating with the world by e-mail – bloody laborious, time consuming and without that vital verbal tone and timing that’s the key to so much social subtlety. One can also imagine the impact that might have on a style of humour. In the interests of fighting ignorance I’m going to point up one more thing. Sue – I’m not picking on you, you just happened to post a couple of things in this thread on which I have a different perspective: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym \* > My husband’s cousin is also epileptic, but severly retarded, not even in the trainable range (ie, he has a problem with his foot, but they won’t do surgery because they know he’d never learn to walk again)… > > Then he started getting “huggy”. I don’t know if you’ve ever been hugged by a 6’4" 40yo retarded virgin with a hard-on, but I assure you, it was terrifying… > > Standing in the family room chatting, I saw him coming at me from across the room. I stopped him with an outstreached palm and announced to the entire family, “Don’t hug me. I don’t want hugs from you. Don’t follow me around and don’t touch your penis in front of me, EVER AGAIN!!!” > > Mr. Duhnym’s aunt still hates me, but it solved the problem. > \*\* Which part of that was “terrifying” - did he have some history of being a physical threat ? Maybe the virgin thing, the fact that he’s 6’4”, that he’s retarded or that he had a “hard-on” ? Or maybe all this anguish was because you just felt uncomfortable and didn’t know how to deal with a situation outside your realm of experience in a way he might understand. And without humiliating him in front of his whole family. IMHO, “retarded” can come in all shapes and forms – as Doobieous’s post also demonstrates. FWIW, I think this guy has a lifetime of extreme emotional frustration locked away in his head and if he sometimes needs to be reminded of the appropriateness of his actions in the context of a world he doesn’t wholly understand, so be it. For all I know he might not have worked out the difference between sex and showing real affection for someone he clearly cares about i.e. you. But it isn’t necessary to humiliate. So, I’m with Mr Duhnym’s Aunt and it almost makes me weep to think of the hurt she bears with her disabled son because some people don’t understand how best to handle him. God knows what he thinks and how he hurts. As regards the **content** of handy’s posts, yeah, I agree he can be dubious on gender stuff and people rightly pull him on that but he also contributes on the computer questions in GQ and has helped me. He’s posted about 17 times in the Pit since 1999 but he’s also posted 3,000 replies in GQ, which is approximately 2,600 more than the complaining OP, Montfort. I do think he has the interests of the board at heart and I do think his style would be different could he hear. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/69 "2001-02-13T13:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > \*\*OOC, has anybody tried his “put sugar out for ants in order to keep them away” remedy? \*\* Just what the hell do ants have to do with getting stains out of my sink? In the future, please try to stay on topic, **KKBattousai**. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/70 "2001-02-13T14:07:46Z")
London Calling- A-fuckin-men! ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/71 "2001-02-13T14:17:27Z")
**L\_C** - I’ve been sitting here trying to think of a tactful way of pointing out **Doobious’** callous prejudice. Now I see that the correct thing would have been to simply call her/him on it. I’ve been trying to think what it was exactly in **Sue’s** post that made me shudder. It has now been highlighted for me. I’ve been trying to think of the best way of pointing out that a lifetime of trying to get the world’s attention when they can ignore you simply by turning away _must_ affect everything you do, from posting style to content. Now I see how it is done. Thankyou. pan ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/72 "2001-02-13T15:35:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE Bo Diddly \* > \*\*Yes, shame on you. If “the most damning evidence against handy is that he refuses to come into this thread to answer the critics”, then this thread shouldn’t exist. > > “So-and-so won’t respond to such-and-such thread, so he’s an assholic goatfelcher!” > > What brilliant, shimmering rationale. \*\* Obviously, I had no idea that handy would ignore this thread when I started it. I suppose I could ask a moderator to close it, but I won’t. This is still a valid and thriving discussion. I can only hope that handy deems it worthy of his posts. I never called handy an “assholic goatfelcher.” I started this thread because I had a bone to pick with him, not just about the Galludet comment. That was, if you read my OP, the only example I was giving at the time. I invited others to air their complaints about handy in this thread, and I see that some have. So, to return to the top, I saw handy’s “explanation” of his original Galludet comment, and I’m still not satisfied with it. He stated it was based on a fact, which was later proven wrong (see **dcnewsman** ’s post in the MPSIMS thread). Did handy stop by that thread again? Nope. Did he come in here to explain his actions? Nope. Is he an assholic goatfelcher? Nope. Is he someone I have very little respect for? Yep. ---
**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 13, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/73 "2001-02-13T17:54:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by London\_Calling \* > Which part of that was “terrifying” - did he have some history of being a physical threat ? Maybe the virgin thing, the fact that he’s 6’4”, that he’s retarded or that he had a “hard-on” ? \ > > So, I’m with Mr Duhnym’s Aunt and it almost makes me weep to think of the hurt she bears with her disabled son because some people don’t understand how best to handle him. God knows what he thinks and how he hurts. I’m in the middle of making breakfast for my daughter but will take time to answer this part because it pisses me off. Did you miss the part when I said he is SEVERLY RETARDED? This man communicates with 5 words, and I’m not exaggerating (sp?). If you were followed around at family functions by a man who has 7 inches (in height, funny people!) on you, who mostly grunts to get his message across, fondles himself in your presence and likes to rub his erection against you, you would be terrified, I venture. You mean to tell me that you would be more tolerant of that? :rolleyes: Yeah sure. As for his mother, she dumped him in an institution (not a fancy group home like my SIL…a REAL institution) when he was 3 and only picks him up for holidays. He hasn’t stayed a night with his mother since he was three. This is the same woman who has disowned her grandchildren by her other son because, “They’re related to that woman who divorced my Tommy.” She wasn’t embarrassed for HIM, she was embarrassed for HERSELF. Go ahead, have compassion for the bitch. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/74 "2001-02-13T18:01:04Z")
Just to throw this out there: I don’t think I’ve ever read anything from **handy**. I honestly can’t recall seeing a single post from him. Odd. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/75 "2001-02-13T21:58:02Z")
LOL, Thinksnow! 😃 1. I’ve read this whole entire thread and I’m with **Spoofe** : > [@](#): > > I still maintain my position that handy is a stand-up guy. The majority of the posts here are “he doesn’t help a lot” and “he’s blunt”. > > Big fuckin’ deal. Half of the posters here fit that criteria. 1. So I still like Handy. 🙂 2. The Better Half, once upon a time, put bleach in the bathtub and it ate holes in the finish, which are now nice little rust spots–probably because he left it soaking there overnight. Do not allow the bleach to soak. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/76 "2001-02-13T22:13:40Z")
> [@](#): > > LOL, Thinksnow! The thing is, I’m serious. I honestly do not recall ever reading anything from him. I’m sure I must have, but I’ll be pickled if I can remember _ever_ seeing anything from him. I’d do a search, but \ where to begin?! ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/77 "2001-02-13T23:25:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I never called handy an “assholic goatfelcher.” I started this thread because I had a bone to pick with him, not just about the Galludet comment. That was, if you read my OP, the only example I was giving at the time. My God, you’re dense. All right, Monty-boy, I’ll spell it out clearly for you, since I have a thing against dancing in circles… Explain this comment: > [@](#): > > I think the most damning evidence against handy is that he refuses to come into this thread to answer the critics. And now explain, taking that comment into focus, why this thread exists. If somebody chooses to not take part in what some may consider “baiting” (that comment that I quoted was baiting, big-time), how can that be construed as “damning evidence”? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/78 "2001-02-13T23:30:16Z")
Well, **thinksnow** you could just search for him by username and brace yourself for the sheer number of threads that come up. (Sorry, if this knee-jerk “how to search” thing is unnecessary; my facetiousness meter’s broken today.) As for the content of handy’s posts, I’m going to have to disagree with **L\_C** , as I’ve found his posts, including and especially many of his computer related ones, to be barely on topic, and often illogical or generally unhelpful (let’s pretend that’s a word) courses of action or, as in the case of the ant/sugar thing, of dubious wisdom. (I’m surprised that they actually killed ants, btw. Nobody, even handy, suggested that would happen. Maybe they were ant diabetics?) And as for his posting style being influenced by his deafness, this still doesn’t explain, IMO, the rudeness exhibited in the posts I quoted. I mean, yes, there is a fair amount of sarcasm on the boards, but they are generally reserved for posters who have exhibited a lack of netiquette or, on some occasions, common sense. handy just seems to go off on whomever does not provide as much information as _he_ desires, despite that other well-meaning dopers have absolutely no trouble offering advice based on the same OPs. Just plain ol’ rudeness if you ask me. (Yeah, yeah, I know nobody did. Big deal.) ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2001, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/79 "2001-02-13T23:42:42Z")
Oh, and **dropzone** my ants don’t have a god damn thing to do with your sink except for the fact that you could shove them both up your fucking ass with a stick of dynamite and a dead, diseased gerbil, and I wouldn’t give a shit. On another unrelated note, I’ve heard that rat poison is a wonderful cure for indigestion. I recommend you try _that_ as well. [sub] _sigh_ I know, that was pretty weak for my first pit rant. I just don’t have it in me today. Fuck, I might as well go buy **dropzone** a bouquet of fucking daisies… :rolleyes: [/sub] ---
**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:** [February 14, 2001, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885/80 "2001-02-14T04:09:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \* > \*\*_sigh_ I know, that was pretty weak for my first pit rant. I just don’t have it in me today. Fuck, I might as well go buy **dropzone** a bouquet of fucking daisies… :rolleyes: > [/sub] \*\* There, there. It wasn’t that bad. I’m sure you’ll get better with practice. If you want to keep practicing on me, that would be fine. But I _would_ rather have the daisies. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-handy-depreciation-society/53885.md?page=5)