# Us vs Them WRT protesters: Consistency? What's consistency? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 22, 2008, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351 "2008-07-22T08:19:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 6
**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:** [July 25, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/101 "2008-07-25T16:57:56Z")
It implies the plural form of the word “you” rather than the singular. How many times has somebody gone off on a general rant and had somebody respond “…but I didn’t say anything like that!” It’s an attempt to generalize rather than making it personal. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/102 "2008-07-25T17:20:49Z")
So the pronoun “you” when used “royally” replaces what proper noun? “Democrats”? “Liberals”? “People other than me in this thread”? “Toadying Partisan Bestialists”? I’m generally a fan of pronouns, but only with proper antecedents, and I can’t tell what the antecedent is here. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/103 "2008-07-25T17:44:40Z")
So basically, **Weirddave** is insulting all the people that he’s insulting, but not any of the people he’s NOT insulting. Thus, no amount of evidence could ever dispute his point, because if you provide evidence that you are not a hypocrite, well, then he wasn’t talking to you! Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/104 "2008-07-31T00:06:06Z")
“We are not amused.” – Queen Victoria That’s an example of _the royal “we.”_ There is no royal “you.” Even in a song such as “When You Wish Upon A Star,” where the “you” is unspecified, the pronoun is still second person – the person or persons that you are speaking to. You are wrong about the Democrats being hypocrites. True to their liberalism, they filed complaints with the ACLU, didn’t they? Do you see anyone here supporting the notion? I also strongly disapprove of the action to temporarily remove the homeless from the streets by allowing them to go to free movies and giving them popcorn. That is truely offensive. Why not do something productive with that time? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/105 "2008-07-31T01:36:37Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] I also strongly disapprove of the action to temporarily remove the homeless from the streets by allowing them to go to free movies and giving them popcorn. That is truely offensive. Why not do something productive with that time? [/QUOTE] Unless the homeless are dragooned by paddy wagons and forced into theaters, I don’t get your outrage. Since when is going to the movies an offensive waste of time? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351/106 "2008-07-31T01:46:03Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] That is truely offensive. Why not do something productive with that time? [/QUOTE] Like what? Keep in mind, that unless you are willing to have the police round them up and take them to whatever you have in mind, it has to be something they are _willing_ to do, whether your prissy mind thinks it’s productive or not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-vs-them-wrt-protesters-consistency-whats-consistency/457351.md?page=5)