# Well dang. If you didn't think Scott Adams was a piece of shit before, just look at him now! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 24, 2023, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277 "2023-02-24T06:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/181 "2023-02-27T02:48:46Z")
"An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. It’s not just saying “no it isn’t” - Mr. M. Python ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/182 "2023-02-27T02:51:41Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Of course. There is also a requirement to follow the rules. So a right is a rule? If there’s a rule that says I get to beat someone up, that’s the same as having a right to beat that person up? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/183 "2023-02-27T02:52:30Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > "An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. It’s not just saying “no it isn’t” - Mr. M. Python “That which is asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” - Mr. C Hitchens. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/184 "2023-02-27T02:53:41Z")
“yes it is” “No it isn’t” “yes it is” “Look, I don’t want to argue about this.” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/185 "2023-02-27T02:55:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > So a right is a rule? I have no idea where you get that from. Nobody has yet explained the difference here: (1) I have the right to move around freely. If I break the law, the government may take away that right. (2) I have the right to post on SDMB. If I break the rules, the SDMB may take away that right. Obviously the SDMB is a private entity. But what exactly is the conceptual/functional difference that makes the second one a “privilege” rather than a right? ---
**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:** [February 27, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/186 "2023-02-27T02:58:04Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It seems to me that all I need to do to post on the SDMB is to be born. So I’m going to call it a right. But you want to call it a privilege. What does that disagreement mean _in practice_? Again, what exactly is the difference between these two situations: The difference being, a right must pre-exist the controlling authority. It must be a fundamental freedom. Do you have a right to post on the SDMB? No, because in the absence of the SDMB, such a claim is meaningless. You have a right to express yourself, you are granted the privilege to do so here. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/187 "2023-02-27T02:58:37Z")
This has boiled down to a simple disagreement about the definition of a word, and has subsequently become tedious. ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less .’ ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/188 "2023-02-27T03:00:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The difference being, a right must pre-exist the controlling authority. You are still talking about origins, where rights derive from. So are you conceding that there is no _functional_ difference between a right and what you want to call a privilege? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/189 "2023-02-27T03:04:51Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This has boiled down to a simple disagreement about the definition of a word, and has subsequently become tedious. But it’s not just semantics. Because in discussions of free speech, people constantly come in with the supposed gotcha “it’s a private entity it can do whatever it wants” as though that’s the end of the matter. Virtually all public discourse now takes place on privately owned fora. The norms of freedom of speech are critically important. Calling your right to post on SDMB or Twitter a “privilege” implies that it is qualitatively different and unimportant. But it is functionally indistinguishable from a right, and it _is_ important. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/190 "2023-02-27T03:08:18Z")
Then as I said earlier, where it gets slippery is when social media is involved. Are we in a public space or a private space? Again, it comes down to a definition. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/191 "2023-02-27T03:08:56Z")
But it’s not just definitions. I refer you back to @LSLGuy’s excellent post above. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/192 "2023-02-27T03:22:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So are you conceding that there is no _functional_ difference between a right and what you want to call a privilege? I have made no such concession, and I have clearly and succinctly explained the difference between a right and a privilege. Simple gainsaying my statement is not debate, it’s just contradiction. I came here for an argument. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/193 "2023-02-27T03:28:21Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I have clearly and succinctly explained the difference between a right and a privilege. You have given definitions based on origins (that don’t correspond to the more standard usage “natural rights”), but you have said nothing whatsoever about the _functional_ difference between what you want to call a “privilege” and a “right”. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2023, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/194 "2023-02-27T03:37:37Z")
Now your just contradicting me again. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/195 "2023-02-27T03:39:05Z")
No I’m not. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/196 "2023-02-27T03:53:08Z")
_ding_ Thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/197 "2023-02-27T03:54:09Z")
We have so many threads on what rights are, I am asking honestly if it’s needed here? > [@What rights should people have, and why? (and what the hey, how to balance them)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-rights-should-people-have-and-why-and-what-the-hey-how-to-balance-them/966405): > > I’ve been reading a bunch of gun threads, and the gun advocates are very enamored of the right to carry a gun, and I keep thinking… Why? You have no right to fly a drone (there are a ton of legal restrictions, and they are likely to get tougher). You don’t even have a right to drive a car. I also recently read [The Dawn of Everything](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374157357/thedawnofeverything) which discusses three basic rights that most people have had throughout time, that we mostly don’t have. The freedom to leave (and be accepted somewhere else) The… > [@What are Rights for? Where do they come from? Including 2nd Amendment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-rights-for-where-do-they-come-from-including-2nd-amendment/965192): > > Inspired by a conversation from a pit thread. I don’t think that our disagreement is about gun rights at all. I think our disagreement is about something much more fundamental, something I hope to get at in this thread, by asking: what are rights for? In another thread, you said this: I don’t completely disagree with your statement here, but I think it is adjacent to the root disagreement. Rights (like rites, money, nation-states, religions, governments, families, ideologies, etc) are huma… Being two of the more recent ones, and not including the one linked upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/198 "2023-02-27T03:55:24Z")
Well, at least this episode should put an end to that awful Dogbert character, the Scrappy-Doo of Dilbert comics. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/199 "2023-02-27T04:09:06Z")
here we go 🙄 > **[Elon Musk Calls Media 'Racist' After Outlets Remove Racist Dilbert Creator’s...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elon-musk-racism-response-dilbert-scott-adams_n_63fb741ee4b0735bf8787b92)** > > The Twitter CEO did not condemn Scott Adams' remarks about Black people and instead tweeted and retweeted content that appeared to support what Adams said. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277/200 "2023-02-27T04:19:22Z")
The Pointy-Haired Boss speaks! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-dang-if-you-didnt-think-scott-adams-was-a-piece-of-shit-before-just-look-at-him-now/980277.md?page=11)