# We need more civility in our political discourse!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 14, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586 "2011-01-14T13:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/41 "2011-01-14T17:04:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “Democrats and the media” didn’t point the finger. Some individuals have, and that’s the same way it is on the board, but the groups en masse definitely did not. > It didn’t. So I guess it’s appropriate that this tragedy appears unlikely to change anything. Individuals… who just happened to coincidentaly be Democrats who just so happened to be accusing Republicans. What do you want…evidence of a conference call between the anchors of ABCNNBCBS? Or a memo from the DNC? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/42 "2011-01-14T17:05:47Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > The OP would like to be able to follow political discourse without a dictionary at hand, and is frustrated at having spent a great deal of time searching for “civil” under S. He’ll forget all about it shortly. That’s not very sivil of you. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/43 "2011-01-14T17:07:02Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > On your first point I agree 100%… can we agree that it’s also a convenient spin for those who were so quick to point fingers? Sure. > [@](#): > > Most people agree? Yes. 57 percent agree conservative rhetoric didn’t cause the shooting, according to one poll. > [@What\_the](#): > > Individuals… who just happened to coincidentaly be Democrats who just so happened to be accusing Republicans. Well, yes. I thought it was a given that if someone was blaming conservatives, the blamer would be a liberal. Saying a few Democrats have accused a few Republicans is one thing; you appeared to be saying most Democrats and most media outlets have blamed Republicans, which is not true. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/44 "2011-01-14T17:10:59Z")
Question: Did Palin inject herself into this tragedy or was she injected into it? I could add a few links related to her accusers but I’ve learned that it isn’t worth the effort. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/45 "2011-01-14T17:13:25Z")
Could you please ask what you’re asking? What the heck does “[inject] into this tragedy” mean? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/46 "2011-01-14T17:14:32Z")
She injected herself, unwittingly, by putting a target over Giffords’ seat on her PAC website. Bit unlucky, really. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/47 "2011-01-14T17:21:33Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Question: Did Palin inject herself into this tragedy or was she injected into it? > > I could add a few links related to her accusers but I’ve learned that it isn’t worth the effort. Now, now, Palin can take care of herself. She won’t retreat; she’ll reload. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/48 "2011-01-14T17:31:29Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > [We need more civility in our political discourse!!] Uh, why exactly? Because it’s hard to have a productive democratic discourse when one crew of idiots is threatening to start an armed revolt if they lose a lawful election. End of thread. Anything else I can help you with? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/49 "2011-01-15T07:20:06Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Could you please ask what you’re asking? What the heck does “[inject] into this tragedy” mean? Shhh… it’s designed to inflame Obamacare nuts…shhhhhhh. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/50 "2011-01-15T07:21:44Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Shhh… it’s designed to inflame Obamacare nuts…shhhhhhh. That sounds an awful lot like trolling, **What the … !!!**. Knock it off immediately. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/51 "2011-01-15T10:29:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That sounds an awful lot like trolling, **What the … !!!**. Knock it off immediately. Please explain. If it’s “trolling” I will admit it and apologize. While you are at it… the only time I ever got an official warning was for being a “jerk”… I never got much of an explanation for that one either. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/52 "2011-01-16T12:03:16Z")
**Marley** … please come back… I want to learn. Or is this just a hasty reaction that you would prefer went away. At least last time you whipped your mod hat off before shitting in my thread as one of the first posters. Make that the very first poster and it took only three minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/53 "2011-01-16T18:23:17Z")
Questions about moderator actions go in ATMB. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/54 "2011-01-16T21:35:21Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Question: Did Palin inject herself into this tragedy or was she injected into it? She injected herself, as you know. Next question? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/55 "2011-01-17T11:17:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > She injected herself, as you know. Next question? I don’t know …when did she do that? Apparently before Democrat fingers were pointing at her?? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/56 "2011-01-17T11:21:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Questions about moderator actions go in ATMB. How convenient ! I’ve seen discussions of whether something said in a thread was out of line in that same thread. So how bout you play mod-wannabe… did I troll when I injected “inject” into the “debate”? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/57 "2011-01-17T14:45:56Z")
> [@](#): > > How convenient ! > > I’ve seen discussions of whether something said in a thread was out of line in that same thread. What you’ve probably seen is somebody saying, “what the fuck am I being warned for?” and a mod telling them to start a new thread in ATMB. > [@](#): > > So how bout you play mod-wannabe… did I troll when I injected “inject” into the “debate”? Well, I answered the question, so you can draw your own conclusion. Of course, you might be trolling _now_ by asking me if you were trolling _then_. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/58 "2011-01-17T17:33:04Z")
I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot over the last week. I have been bemoaning the tone of political speech for a few years now, but the heightened debate in the wake of the Tucson shootings have brought the issue to the fore, so I’ve been spending more than the usual amount of thought on the subject. Speaking for myself, I never once thought that anyone’s speech _ **caused** _ the shootings in Tucson. I think it’s pretty clear (at least based on what’s been released to date) that Loughner is a very disturbed individual, and I suspect that his thought processes would be near undecipherable to most of us. Holding someone else’s speech to blame for Loughner’s actions implies that we can discover a direct cause and effect relationship between the words uttered and the actions taken. I suspect that is impossible. I do wonder, however, if rhetorical devices which draw on violent images, or which demonize our political opponents, don’t contribute to an atmosphere which makes it more difficult to see the Loughners in our midst. Is it possible that the widespread use of such language creates “safe havens” for individuals who might otherwise stand out as potentially dangerous? Does talk of “Second Amendment remedies” and of “Reloading” on the part of public figures, some of whom are seeking (or purporting) to represent large numbers of Americans make it a little more socially acceptable to continue and further such talk among the citizenry? I don’t have any answers, or any data to suggest that what I’m thinking is anywhere close to reality. That’s why I’m in Great Debates and not in General Questions. 😃 I can’t help but think, however, that all of us, but particularly those of us that enjoy a wide and public forum for our speech, have something of a duty to set a tone for the rest of the country. I think that most people want to be a part of mainstream society; to be seen as responsible, polite members of our nation. If it were less acceptable to talk of doing harm to others, wouldn’t most of us think twice before engaging in such speech, and wouldn’t it then be easier to spot those for whom such speech might be more likely to lead to action? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/59 "2011-01-17T20:19:53Z")
**carlb** , you should post more often. IMHO you nailed it. CMC fnord! I do have a question for everyone else. If this, > [@](#): > > “ **What is a little bit disconcerting and concerning is the inability for sporting goods stores to keep ammunition in stock** ,” she {Sharron Angle} said. "That tells me the nation is arming. What are they arming for if it isn’t that they are so distrustful of their government? They’re afraid they’ll have to fight for their liberty in more Second Amendment kinds of ways? > > “That’s why I look at this as almost an imperative. **If we don’t win at the ballot box, what will be the next step?** ”[RIGHT][CITE](http://www.rgj.com/article/20100530/NEWS19/5300350/1232/Sharron-Angle-s-conservative-credentials-wins-support-of-activist-armyIn)[/RIGHT] and this, > [@](#): > > Angle: I feel that the Second Amendment is the right to keep and bear arms for our citizenry. This not for someone who’s in the military. This not for law enforcement. This is for us. And in fact when you read that Constitution and the founding fathers, they intended this to stop tyranny. This is for us when our government becomes tyrannical… > Manders: If we needed it at any time in history, it might be right now. > Angle: Well it’s to defend ourselves. And you know, **I’m hoping that we’re not getting to Second Amendment remedies. I hope the vote will be the cure for the Harry Reid problems.** [RIGHT][CITE](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/16/sharron-angle-floated-2nd_n_614003.html)[/RIGHT] and this, > [@](#): > > You know, our Founding Fathers, they put that Second Amendment in there for a good reason and that was for the people to protect themselves against a tyrannical government. And in fact Thomas Jefferson said it’s good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years. > > I hope that’s not where we’re going, but, you know, **if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I’ll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.** [RIGHT][CITE](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/06/sharron_angle_floated_possibil.html)[/RIGHT] are just slightly over the top rhetoric . . . then I’ll never hear [Freddie’s Fashion Mart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Sharpton#Freddie.27s_Fashion_Mart) brought up in any discussion of Al Sharpton ever again, right? :dubious: > [@](#): > > “… there is a systemic and methodical strategy to eliminate our people from doing business off 125th Street. I want to make it clear . . . that we will not stand by and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business. …”[RIGHT][CITE](http://old.nationalreview.com/20Mar00/nordlinger032000.html)[/RIGHT] Ain’t the same fucking ballpark, it ain’t the same league, it ain’t even the same fucking sport. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586/60 "2011-01-17T21:53:18Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > How convenient ! > > I’ve seen discussions of whether something said in a thread was out of line in that same thread. > > So how bout you play mod-wannabe… did I troll when I injected “inject” into the “debate”? :dubious: Watch that shit, **What.** One thing we’ve learned in America these past ten years: “Working the refs” is usually an admission of weakness, not very cleverly disguised as standing up for your rights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-more-civility-in-our-political-discourse/567586.md?page=4)