# There's a serious problem in Doperville **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032 "2003-03-13T04:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/1 "2003-03-13T04:11:25Z")
I find it ironic that some dopers will come out of the woodwork to get their digs in when they don’t agree with or find something that another doper has said to be reprehensible, but you get barely a peep out of them when a guy is having a tough time making it through life to the point that he’s wishing he had a gun in the house. :eek: Here’s what I mean; I started a thread here recently, the notorious **punk ass racist** thread, and within 3 hours it had 45 posts, not counting my own, of people defending who I pitted and ridiculing me for doing it, yadda yadda yadda. Cool, I don’t have a problem with that at all, but I can’t help but think why [**Payne N. Diaz’s**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=169137), who posted a rant about how he feels so bad about his life that he wishes he had a gun in the house, has only 9 replies after being around for more than 9 hours. What’s wrong with this picture? I think it’s kind of sad. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/2 "2003-03-13T04:33:17Z")
It gets more replies because a) **Dewey** is better known, at least to me, and I wanted to see why he was being Pitted. b) There’s nothing I can say on a message board without seeming patronizing and/or indifferent to someone with a genuine problem. c) I don’t spend nearly as much time in MPSIMS as I do here. d) The more views a post gets, the more responses it will draw as a result. e) You are a one-trick-pony, so everyone tore you up for what they knew was gonna be there before they even read it. f) By starting this thread and trying to make us feel guilty about piling on you and your trainwreck of a thread, you’ve just damaged what little credibility you have left. I hope I covered all the reasons. Feel free to add your own, everyone. And **EasyPhil** , try not to be so transparent next time. But thank you for pointing me to that thread. At least you did something right. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/3 "2003-03-13T04:39:36Z")
Oops. I was wrong about one thing. That other thread was in the Pit. That you can disregard. Other than that, I think I’m right on. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/4 "2003-03-13T04:46:53Z")
Woah. Take it easy, Phil! (sorry, just had to go for the pun there). 🙂 Seriously, though I think the reason why the thread you link to didn’t get more replies is that people don’t know what to say, or don’t feel they can be constructive. I mean, when someone’s having real issues in life you can’t just stop in and make some glib comment. Not only that, but one might be hesitant to even try to offer words of comfort as they might feel hollow, or because the person is worried they won’t say the “right” things. I don’t think you can take this as an example of how StraightDopians don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/5 "2003-03-13T04:50:48Z")
Regarding the second half of your OP, I think people are generally more interested in discussing things that directly influence them, even if the only influence is irritation, than offering “me too” sympathy posts for strangers in threads where several people have already posted sympathetic responses. Counting the number of posts in a thread is a poor measure of people’s feelings toward the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/6 "2003-03-13T04:53:54Z")
Consoling people is not my thing, but hanging shit on them is. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/7 "2003-03-13T04:54:38Z")
::_There’s **TROUBLE** with a capital **T** and that rhymes with **E** and that stands for **EASYPHIL**!!_:: I bet that wasn’t what you were going for. In the **Red-necked racist** thread you accused someone of something rather vile. The error of your ways was pointed out and you acted like a shit-head about it. That has no bearing whatsoever on the status of any other thread on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Shadez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shadez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadez)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/8 "2003-03-13T05:09:22Z")
Generally if I were going to post in that thread, I’d be much more likely to click on the person’s email and send them an email, instead. So don’t forget you can’t count emails the OPs get. /Shadez ---
**Author:** ![SLASH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SLASH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SLASH)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/9 "2003-03-13T05:16:55Z")
Probably because it’s easier to pick on an idiotic thread like your “punk ass racist” one than it is to try to empathize with someone in pain. Really, you were just begging to be bashed with that drivel. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/10 "2003-03-13T05:37:14Z")
The titles of the threads also had a lot to do with the difference in replies. Lots of people start Pit threads venting about minor frustrations at work, school or home, and this one looked like just another of those, at least on the surface. Yours, on the other hand, was explicitly confrontational right from the start: you named another Doper in the title, and stated exactly what your beef with him was using words that were guaranteed to draw attention. And as others have said, it’s easier to just spout off with whatever comes to mind in a thread like yours, without having to worry whether it’s constructive, flippant or rude. Trying to say something appropriate to somebody you’ve never met who’s contemplating suicide, is more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/11 "2003-03-13T09:22:53Z")
I’ve been on vacation all week, and have fallen behind in my thread monitoring. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/12 "2003-03-13T14:07:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caught@Work \* > \*\*Consoling people is not my thing, but hanging shit on them is. \*\* Frankly, there’s wisdom in this answer. I’m not picking on you in particular, C@W, understand that. Your post could have been straight or humorous. But there will always be people more willing to send out fire than sympathy. To continue my recent Rush obsession: It’s easier to generate heat than light. It’s not something we should be proud of but we should acknowledge that it exists. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/13 "2003-03-13T14:08:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > \*\*::_There’s **TROUBLE** with a capital **T** and that rhymes with **E** and that stands for **EASYPHIL**!!_:: > > I bet that wasn’t what you were going for. > > In the **Red-necked racist** thread you accused someone of something rather vile. The error of your ways was pointed out and you acted like a shit-head about it. > > That has no bearing whatsoever on the status of any other thread on this board. \*\* How do you know he’s a Red-neck? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/14 "2003-03-13T14:14:35Z")
Well, obviously, it’s because his last name is Diaz, so we don’t care what happens to him—we’re all punk-ass racists, remember? And now that Hispanics outnumber Blacks in the U.S., we really have to concentrate even harder on hating _them._ ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/15 "2003-03-13T16:26:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Well, obviously, it’s because his last name is Diaz, so we don’t care what happens to him—we’re all punk-ass racists, remember? And now that Hispanics outnumber Blacks in the U.S., we really have to concentrate even harder on hating _them._ \*\* I’ve said it before, but, **Eve** for Mayor of Doperville! ---
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/16 "2003-03-13T22:00:53Z")
Damn, **Eve** , I was going to slide right through here without posting, but I have to pat you on the back for that one. Well said! I’d comment re:the OP, but everyone else already said what I was thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/17 "2003-03-13T22:22:33Z")
Eleven posts in the thread before **EasyPhil** returns, and rather than acknowledge any of the points made in those posts he prefers to nit-pick over the terms “red-neck” and “punk-ass.” I’m seeing a trend, here … ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/18 "2003-03-13T22:32:14Z")
The irony of course is that this will soon have far more replies then the cesspool thread. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/19 "2003-03-13T22:33:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*Eleven posts in the thread before **EasyPhil** returns, and rather than acknowledge any of the points made in those posts he prefers to nit-pick over the terms “red-neck” and “punk-ass.” > > I’m seeing a trend, here … \*\* The nit-pick was over **red-neck**. Just thought I’d clear that up. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032/20 "2003-03-13T22:42:55Z")
I was sort of hoping that Eve’s would be the last word in this thread because of its utter beauty. As for our boy Phil, I would accuse him of being a troll if I weren’t afraid of being seen as racist. Against trolls. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-serious-problem-in-doperville/161032.md?page=2)