# Trolls R Us redux \[Now the argument clinic\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 27, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349 "2020-06-27T06:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 72
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1427 "2020-10-17T13:43:33Z")
I do think my conversation with Octopus (you can go now, I’m done, thank you) shows how dramatically conservativism has changed since Reagan. It is no longer, at all, based upon the Reagan-era economic and financial ideology my family used to build an exploitative business generating millions in profits for us on the backs of the poor and desperate, today’s conservatism is purely emotive, performative, and ultimately empty. Modern conservatism is nothing but anger, poor people exploited now, not for their financial needs like my family did, but for their emotional ones, ala, what the Trumps are doing. And, as shown above, when one uses ‘conservative’ mindsets to see how one can rationally apply a value to a life lost… and trust me, there is a definable dollar amount which every life is worth, even if it does differ by person - anyone struggling with a budget, or trying to find a job, understands this implicitly… the modern conservative doesn’t even understand the question, even as they use the concept of a ‘$ value to human life’ implicitly in many of their anti-human arguments. The above exchange is, to me, quite reminiscent of that time when I started the thread about the economic impact of Hurricane Ditka on this board, even going so far as to create a spreadsheet which modeled the financial impact of our Board use. Ooooh, boy, was Ditka mad! Couldn’t stand to have himself reduced to an economic unit, lol, even though many of his arguments depended upon old Reagan-era tropes as ‘affordability’ and ‘budget constraints’ and shit. ‘We can’t have universal health because people would use it too much and the system would be unaffordable’ argued the man who whined angrily when I calculated that his financial value to this Board was surely negative. Anyway, my point is that Reagan is dead, Reaganomics is forgotten, and anyone thinking that anything but their anger is important to the modern conservative is, frankly, incorrect, as the above exchange shows. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1428 "2020-10-17T15:07:43Z")
Look, people, if you keep on pushing whoever it is you’re talking to, he’ll just flame out in a (to him) blaze of self-righteous glory, come back as a sock, and start all over again. So just put the troll on ignore. And if it does still get banned even though no one can see its posts enough to report and bring about mod action, you’ll at least have trained yourself to ignore trolls on the spot, rather than feed them. DFTT. But… whatever maintains the buoyancy of your nautical vessel. I certainly gave **SlackWit** his fair amount of attention. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1429 "2020-10-17T18:02:03Z")
Oh, I understand your argument which is why I responded to BigT, who does not, as I did. But you are being very dishonest in how you frame it. Of course you won’t get much pushback from a place that is 99% echo chamber. Sad! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1430 "2020-10-17T18:54:15Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Sad! Deplorable! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1431 "2020-10-17T19:30:08Z")
> **[Fried Octopus | Italian Food Forever](https://www.italianfoodforever.com/2019/12/fried-octopus/)** > > Golden and crispy on the outside and tender and meaty inside, this is one seafood recipe you will want to make over and over again. I think it was a favorite of Il Douche. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1432 "2020-10-17T19:40:40Z")
mmmm nummy! **Octo** : Why complain about it being so “hivey” here when nowhere else is less “hivey”? Or _is_ there somewhere else less “hivey”, like Quora, or [one of these puppies?](https://blog.feedspot.com/political_forums/?) And, if so, why not go there, instead of UTTERLY POINTLESSLY whining, with all your increasingly deranged disingenuousness, here? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1433 "2020-10-17T19:54:36Z")
Remember that “troll” is an umbrella term. There are different types. Part of Slacker’s deal was that he was convinced that he was so utterly charming that anybody who engaged with him was bound to come around and grow to like him. That’s why trying to reason with him was still feeding the troll. Octopus has a pretty basic martyr complex. Or, perhaps more accurately, a Rambo complex. He’s fighting the good fight against the liberal horde. He’s a champion of virtue. Every day that he survives “the howling mob” is a day that he’s successfully pwned the libs. We must be **so angry that we haven’t gotten him banned yet.** What gives him the power to avoid getting banned despite the howling mob’s singleminded bloodlust (and let’s not forget the **obviously biased mods)**? Back to the virtue, I guess. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1434 "2020-10-17T21:01:06Z")
Banned on what pretext? If I posted like some of the hive I’d be constantly reported by the hive and warned and banned for behavior that the hive condones amongst itself. It’s obvious yet surprisingly needs to be stated. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1435 "2020-10-17T21:03:39Z")
Can you name another forum we should emulate? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1436 "2020-10-17T21:20:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Octopus has a pretty basic martyr complex. Or, perhaps more accurately, a Rambo complex. He’s fighting the good fight against the liberal horde. He’s a champion of virtue. Every day that he survives “the howling mob” is a day that he’s successfully pwned the libs. Well, he certainly doesn’t come here for the hunting. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1437 "2020-10-17T21:33:05Z")
Shouldn’t not desiring double standards be sufficient? It’s pretty intellectually cowardly to want to dwell in what has become an echo chamber and a haven for the emotionally scarred. Then to top it off, most of you folks love to throw stones while crying if the exact same stone comes back your way. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1438 "2020-10-17T21:35:19Z")
I gave you a chance to make a valid point…and apparently you have no valid point to make. **Fuck off, troll**. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1439 "2020-10-17T21:38:13Z")
You wanted a forum without double standards? Why would I go to the bother of finding that when it’s not provable? Hell, even in obvious can’t be clearer identical cases that are modded differently words are parsed so ‘creatively’ even Humpty Dumpty and Bill Clinton would call foul. In other words, your quest was an impossible one and being a savvy RPG player with a level 3 4th ed Druid I easily passed the perception check and chose not to go on the snipe hunt. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1440 "2020-10-17T21:40:21Z")
Man, what a whiner. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1441 "2020-10-17T21:41:26Z")
With one click that problem is now solved. Who is next on the list? 😁 ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1442 "2020-10-17T22:01:55Z")
The problem that has NOT yet been solved is that this thread has lately been hijacked by our resident octopus. The stupid cephalopod **[should confine himself to the thread dedicated to him](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/octopus-heres-your-own-thread-to-shit-all-over/815550)**. But as the OP in that thread correctly states, “_He trolls relentlessly until the entire thread is about him, then he whines about how mean people are, and won’t someone think of the children_”. The truth of that statement has certainly been proven. We shouldn’t be enabling him in _this_ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1443 "2020-10-17T22:03:08Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > We shouldn’t be enabling him in _this_ thread. Enabling who? ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1444 "2020-10-17T22:04:27Z")
And yet here is the pit full of folks who love to start trouble with other posters and run to the mods when folks say stuff back. Sorry that this isn’t, yet, a 100% safe place for you unhinged bullies. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1445 "2020-10-17T22:05:21Z")
Here’s a recipe! > **[The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever](https://joyfoodsunshine.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-chip-cookies/)** > > The best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! No weird ingredients, no chilling, etc. Just an easy, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookies! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/1446 "2020-10-17T22:50:14Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Now it’s basically turned into a giant orange-man-bad echo chamber. > [@octopus](#): > > Howling mob is not what I consider well adjusted. It’s becoming the norm, however. It’s understandable that you would want to believe that these are true. After all, if you frame all criticism of your and other right-wing arguments in terms of “They’re just saying that because of blatant partisan hatred”, it’s all a win for you. You get to: 1. Call everyone a “hivemind”; 2. Claim persecution; and 3. Avoid all accountability for your own statements. Pretty neat. And since you have much experience of simply repeating your preferred narratives over and over while ignoring or handwaving away all evidence to the contrary, it appears to be second nature now. And when, because of this behavior, you get called a “disingenuous asshole”? Why, it’s time to trot out the “hivemind” accusations again. Because accountability for one’s actions is for other people. But I’m sorry - you were saying something about double standards? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349.md?page=73)