# To the Professional Offenderati of the SDMB: **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 5, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062 "2002-09-05T01:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/21 "2002-09-05T03:49:42Z")
Giraffe: > [@](#): > > I really don’t get this. You’re mad because a lot of people all thought Scylla’s posts were rude and offensive, and said so? Would it have been OK with you if it was only five people? Two? How many people are allowed to disagree with an OP? Ya know, I would have thought that this point was made already, but apparently not. It’s not that people disagreed with Scylla’s message, or that they missed the point. Hell, -I- disagreed with it, to some extent. I knew it was over the top. His error was either one of saying something not very nice, OR, not properly communicating the nature of his slightly-tongue-in-cheek message so it wouldn’t be taken so seriously. The point is that the TONE of the responses was totally out of line. It got vicious and personal, rather than disagreeable. Here, let me show you an example : The above was a proper response to your message. But of course, I could have said the same thing like this, “Giraffe you fucking moron! You totally overreacted, and now your tiny quivering ego can’t stand the fact that you were caught with your pants down, so now you’re trying to downplay the fact that you fucking assholes acted like screaming maniacs over a post that was at best mildly offensive. You want to be fucking offended, asshole? Wander over to one of of those boards where people are happily talking about the best way to slit the the throat of the _kaffirs_. That’s the kind of offensiveness that deserves the spittle you were flinging about. A semi-serious post about a handicapped guy in a Viper doesn’t even fucking _rate_. Scylla is a decent guy, and everyone around here knows it. The attacks leveled at him over that stupid OP were pathetic and small-minded.” See? If I said it like that, it wouldn’t be very nice, and you could reasonably say that from that point on I had lost the moral high ground. Like you guys did with your rants against Scylla. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/22 "2002-09-05T04:01:03Z")
Ya know Sam, if I told my best friend, a Mexican-American, that I couldn’t believe I saw a hispanic guy driving a Lexus, and he told me to shut the fuck up because I was being an asshole . . . I’d still fucking apologize for being an asshole. And if instead, I ignored his complaint because he used strong language, I’d be acting like a jerk. And more importantly, if I eventually swallowed what remained of my pride and apologized, I suspect my friend, the Mexican-American, would forgive me and move along. But that’s just me. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2002, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/23 "2002-09-05T04:11:56Z")
Fuck moral high ground. You mock something important to me and I’ll tell you to shove it up your ass. I’m not trying to patiently educate you. I’m not trying to be the better person. I’m reacting to how you’ve chosen to present yourself and your views. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/24 "2002-09-05T04:12:21Z")
**Beagle, who has never punched his spouse or kicked dogs:** > [@](#): > > I get the feeling that this board serves as primal scream therapy on a keyboard for some people. It is better than punching your spouse or kicking your dog. **John Carter of Mars** > [@](#): > > “It is better than punching your spouse or kicking your dog.” > > With a user name like Beagle, I’d think you would be a little more selective with your analogies. Insensitive prick! > > : D & R : I’m positive the “primal scream therapy” eluded you. But, what part of “better” are you having trouble with? “Having good qualities in a greater degree than another.” Also, “preferable.” See, I said that venting on the internet was _better_ than punching a spouse or kicking your dog. That means that punching and kicking are, by inference, **bad**. State motto of Alabama: “Thuh fittin’ ta warke ohn owhr readin’ komprehenshion stat.” Oh, and 😃 & R: right back at you - whatever the fuck that means. ---
**Author:** ![Beagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Beagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beagle)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/25 "2002-09-05T04:13:35Z")
Fucking smilie, go fuck your sister in Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/26 "2002-09-05T04:17:17Z")
Gentlemen, wait for the bell. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/27 "2002-09-05T04:18:40Z")
That whole “D&R” thing is kinda key … “duck and run”. IE, not serious. Joking. I thought all those Alabama jokes had gone out of fashion… ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/28 "2002-09-05T04:36:25Z")
Gee, folks, I think a lot (all?) of you are missing the point - which, IMO is about _overreacting_. Especially when none of you asked Scylla if he could clarify what he meant, just in case you might have _misunderstood_. (At least on the page I managed to read before I said ‘good grief’ and went on to better things.) Honestly, sincerely, and truly, I had a totally different impression of Scylla’s OP before you all jumped him - and then never could get into the thread or get a post through to suggest it. I know my mind works at right angles to everyone else’s sometimes, but **I** thought that Scylla was confessing to having rather juvenile feelings of jealousy and ‘it’s not _fair_!ness’, and wondering if that was normal or if he was really an absolute asshole for feeling that way. That may not be what he meant, but it was the first thing that came into _my_ mind - but I never got a chance to ask him for clarification because of all of the jerking knees in the way. FWIW, if that was a part of what your OP was about, **Scylla** - well, I’m just as big an asshole as you are because I’m sure that in the same situation my inner child would have jumped up and said the same things. Lots of us (well, probably _all_ of us, but a bunch of you are going to jump up and down and scream in denial if I say that) have a little whiny kid inside that thinks they should have ALL of the candy and ALL of the toys, especially if we can excuse our selfish greed by dreaming up a reason why the ‘haver’ doesn’t _deserve_ to have it. What matters is whether or not there is also an adult inside you that smacks the whiny kid on the head and says “Shame on you, you rotten brat!.” That’s what makes us, and keeps us, civilized - some people call it a conscience. The people with the problem are the ones who don’t _have_ a whiny-brat-regulator. At least Scylla is honest enough to admit to having his whiny brat instead of denying its existence and pretending he’s a saint. Flame away if it’ll make you feel better; you gotta release all of that anger and frustration somehow or another. ---
**Author:** ![drpepper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@drpepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drpepper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/29 "2002-09-05T05:24:51Z")
> [@](#): > > go take your frustrations out on a cat (any cat), or just stop cramming food into your gaping pie-hole, for Christ’s sake My cat was my best friend and faithful companion for twelve years and and died a slow painful death and you are one sick bastard for callously suggesting that people take out their rage on an innocent defenseless animal! If you yourself had ever had a cat you would never make such a cruel insensitive suggestion and risk offending people like me who have been through unspeakable heartbreak in watching their best feline friend suffer like that. You asshole! And about gaping pie-holes, my dear departed father had a gaping pie-hole and he was the sweetest man who ever lived. Are you suggesting, sir, that people with gaping pie-holes are _by definition_ gluttons who are not deserving of basic human dignity and respect? Does your statement not insinuate that people with gaping pie-holes (who, incidently, **cannot help** the gaping pie-hole they were born with) have no choice but to constantly be cramming food into it? You, sir, are beneath contempt with your bigoted suggestions about people and things you know nothing about! (and not only that, I got a chuckle out of your OP) ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/30 "2002-09-05T05:41:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Giraffe \* > \*\* I’m not trying to patiently educate you. \*\* Isn’t that the point of this board? I agree with those that are saying outright and through humor that the point of Sam’s post was people are OVERREACTING too much here. How is this board supposed to fight ignorance if people cannot voice their opinions without fear of being viciously attacked? Disagreeing is fine, but immediatly jumping to personal insults and mud slinging is just plain childish. Buncha babies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RexDart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@RexDart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RexDart)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/31 "2002-09-05T06:31:13Z")
Hey, I find the OP of this thread pretty amusing. And pretty right-on. Taking offense to things and overreacting to them is no way to go through life, IMO. If you get all riled up every time somebody says something you think has a tone insensitive to some group of people or another, you’d never have much time to do anything else. The more you look for things to take offense to, the more you find them, even when they aren’t really there. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/32 "2002-09-05T06:43:49Z")
What do you want to bet that all of those complaining that anyone would be offended at anything are all members of a certain group that goes through life never having to deal with prejudice.\* People don’t _look_ for offense. People who, for example, have to deal with the snotty attitude given to those who use handicap parking (as I had to when caring for my mother), are apt to be a little short when faced with that same attitude here. \*[sub]see my first post in this thread.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/33 "2002-09-05T07:00:08Z")
> [@](#): > > If you yourself had ever had a cat you would never make such a cruel insensitive suggestion and risk offending people like me who have been through unspeakable heartbreak in watching their best feline friend suffer like that. You asshole! _Au Contraire_. In fact I have been owned by several cats. Which is why my every waking moment is spent in a hallucinatory fog in which I envision cats being expired in various entertaining ways. I mean, one of them had a litter of kittens _inside my mattress_. While my wife and I were sleeping. When I woke to the mewling, I thought my wife had kittens. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/34 "2002-09-05T07:22:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*After seeing the completely wild and vicious screaming rants against Scylla in > \*\* I made a similiar Pit rant many moons ago. I think it was entitled “The Universe doesn’t revolve around your pain.” It didn’t take. Marc ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/35 "2002-09-05T08:23:26Z")
I think **Scylla** AND \*\* Sam Stone\*\* whooshed a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Reuben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Reuben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reuben)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/36 "2002-09-05T09:31:47Z")
That’s a brilliant OP, way overdue. Thanks Sam! ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/37 "2002-09-05T13:21:50Z")
Good work Sam, someone had to say it. The response was totally out of proportion to the offence. Scylla expressed some juvenile jealousy of a guy with a Viper and got totally lambasted. The level of contempt shown was frightening and, frankly, disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/38 "2002-09-05T14:27:54Z")
I have never made a **single red cent** from being a member of the Offenderati. The title of this thread is wholly misleading. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/39 "2002-09-05T15:05:23Z")
**Hamadryad:** Well, you’ve got to move to Washington if you want to turn pro. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062/40 "2002-09-05T15:06:57Z")
> [@](#): > > I made a similiar Pit rant many moons ago. I think it was entitled “The Universe doesn’t revolve around your pain.” It didn’t take. Tell me about it. I’ve put some effort into this issue myself. DaLovin’ Dj [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-the-professional-offenderati-of-the-sdmb/127062.md?page=3)