Ooops. Being an ignorant non-American, I’ve managed to offend a Republican.
http://pluto.beseen.com/boardroom/e/59915/View?n=00127a00131
Can anyone help me with a defence for my “middle-of-the-road mediocrity”?!
Well, let’s see…you started out by telling him to “grow up” and then mentioning his “puerile rants”, his “immaturity” and his “ignorance”. Oh, I forgot that you accused him of intellectual dishonesty by ripping off Drudge. Und so weiter.
I would say that at this point you probably aren’t going to have a particularly rational debate with the guy. My advice is to just launch straight into a “Republicans are Nazis who eat their babies” routine. That oughta leave him speechless.
Actually, my advice is this, if you want to debate issues then debate issues, if you want to insult people, then insult them. You can’t do both. Any reply you make to this guy at this point is a waste of your time.
Ron
Aargh, what an annoying ass. Another one of 'em us-and-them type of Reps. They give everyone else a bad name, they do.
The biggest flaw of his post IMO is that he never explained WHY a society of haves and have-nots are better than one where “everyone is doomed to mediocrity”. His main grudge seems to be, I quote, …At least realize that we’re not going to cripple ourselves just like you have crippled yourselves with all of your environmental regulations and taxes and laws… that cough everyone else has CRIPPLED themselves. What you should do is to quote avarage GDPs from USA and, for instance, Scandinavia (Scandinavia being the most left-wing, high-taxed countries in the Western world.) and ask him just how big a difference there is. If you look at an estimated “conservativeness” and the GDP, there really is no correlation. And IF you really wanted everyone in the world to model themselves after the most economically succesful countries, we really oughta be doing exactly the same thing as MONACO and LICHTENSTEIN, not the US. 
Global warming – do I really have to comment on that? An inanimate carbon rod should be able to shoot that argument down. Mention Rio '93 and the “safety clause” /dunno what it’s called in English/ and how it specifically stated that EVERYTHING that we even suspect could be environmentally dangerous is to be assumed unsafe until proven safe, not the other way around – as it was the only way to deal with things as potentially harmful as this, and avoiding a new DDT.
His little slams about Europeans not having jobs or enough food to feed our families, about US having a bigger army, about the US (incorrectly) getting the most immigration, etc. – shoudl just be ignored. Don’t stoop to his level there.
That’s good advice. Unfortunately he got me so mad I’ve done both. And doubtless I wasted my time in so many ways, but I feel better.
WHO TOLD YOU!!!
I thought they ate liberal babies.
You’ve discovered the secret of the SDMB, istara! Congratulations!!
If blowing off steam here helps prevent you from eating any Republican babies, then we’ve done our job.
Well a refuatation might go like this:
Do you have a cite for what Democrats want? I thought we wanted a higher minimum wage, a patients bill of rights and a balanced budget. Where in the party platform do you find fear and class warfare? It just isn’t there.
This is in fact an ad hominem argument and nothing more. Presumably it means you concede that you cannot argue by the rules using facts and reasoning. (You as in the Republican).
Fear. The FBI has now determined that it is right-wingers that are spreading the anthrax to liberal members of the Senate and media outlets. This follows bombings and assassinations at abortion clinics. These people are at least the fellow travellers of Republicans.
Class-warfare (please note that the above is real warfare waged by right-wingers). I don’t recall anyone chopping off heads of aristocracy in this country. But I do notice that rich people do not spend their convictions for drug and alcohol offenses in jails and prisons as poor people do, with the removal of their right to vote. I notice that Republicans argue that the ultra wealthy and corporations need big tax cuts, while middle class and poor people do not get anything close to the same percentage, much less actual amount.
Mis-information? Anything in particular, or are you suggesting that merely disagreeing with you is a lie? Cite please?
Clearly Republicans of the kind that make these accusations are uneducated, assuming that people smart enough to get into college would be susceptible to any of these fallacies and not have the ability to look things up and decide for themselves.
You guys are so wonderful! I am still feeling bad for stooping to this guy’s level (and I felt like I flamed him) but I found his opinion so offensive, and so ill-thought out.
Thank you for all the support and the facts/argument. I am not a Democrat or a Republican, not being American. But you have been so helpful. I love the SDMB!
Same thing, all babies are liberal. It takes years of indoctrination to make a conservative. By that time they are tough and stringy and not good eatn’ anymore.
That’s like apologizing for breathing – Republicans get offended at anything. 
“Those two men are holding hands! I’m offended!”
“I don’t like that song you’re listening to! I’m offended!”
“You don’t worship my god? I’m offended!”
“Your skin color isn’t the same as mine! I’m offended!”
“You dress funny! I’m offended!”
“You call that art? I’m offended!”
“You dare to disagree with me? I’m offended!”
Those are all in the same category as these sentiments about Democrats…
“That woman has decided to be a stay at home mom! What a sell out to the womens movement!”
“Don’t like my profanity riddled music which advocates illegal acts? Oppressor!”
“You’re a christian? You myth believing Ignoramus!”
“You aren’t caucasian? You must have been oppressed!”
“You dress conservatively? You’re such a square!”
“You can easily recognize it’s a painting of a horse! You call that art?”
“You dare to disagree with me? I’m offended!”
Grim
Well. There will be no tee time for you this week, young man.
I must have missed those arrests of right-wing fanaticals.
Of course there are no domestic left-wing fanaticals, and the FBI is all knowing enough to know that it is right-wing fanticals sending the anthrax, but not all knowing enough to actually catch one.
…and we will just ignore all the envelopes mailed from overseas…
I’ll betcha Al’Qaeda qualifies as “right wing”.
“Even in Communist countries, the right wing prevails.” --Joseph Heller
Proof, or withdrawal of statement, please.
Regards,
Shodan
We Republicans are committed to polluting the air and water, starving the poor, forcing the elderly to live on dog food, doing away with the Bill of Rights, and reinstituting slavery.
What could you possibly have said that was worse than the truth? 
december wrote:
You left out “bringing back the chastity belt.”
Quote: "You people in other countries had better learn something about America. We didn’t get where we are by following the example of you guys. We think for ourselves and we lead… etc etc
This is not a Republican speaking, but an “ugly American”. Americans living overseas - of any political stripe - cringe when someone starts talking like this. Don’t worry about it. (I should add that the anti-American comments from ill-informed Europeans and others can be pretty embarrassing too.)