# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 133
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2752 "2024-06-07T21:54:11Z")
Velocity never struck me as a troll, just as a sheltered person who’s learned about reality second hand. He’s a cloistered cleric, if you will. He annoys the fuck out of me sometimes, but I have some sympathy for him. Also I think he’s grown a bit. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2753 "2024-06-08T04:18:43Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Velocity never struck me as a troll, just as a sheltered person who’s learned about reality second hand. He’s a cloistered cleric, if you will. He annoys the fuck out of me sometimes, but I have some sympathy for him. Also I think he’s grown a bit Agreed. A lot of his answers seem to be what he guesses but has no actual experience with or knowledge of. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2754 "2024-06-08T05:15:56Z")
Well, there is the Toxin removing candles for the mold in his house which he himself caused by driving into his garage and flooding the house “ruining the floors and carpeting”. Blowed a wad on candles and pee testing from a scam company. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2755 "2024-06-08T05:20:59Z")
Meh. I once let a dietician convince me to get LEAP testing, which is where they test your blood for food allergies, which is not a real thing. I suspected I was being scammed but I paid her $800 anyway, because that’s how conflict-averse I am, and then I went to my doctor and said, “that was a scam, wasn’t it?” And he would not come right out and say it but yes, it was a scam. Some of us are just, uh, more scam-prone than others. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2756 "2024-06-08T06:08:18Z")
I’m sure you weren’t buying candles at the same time. The company also has supplements. For those so disposed. A dietician or nutritionist telling you is one thing. Falling for an _obvious_ online scam website, to the point of sending your pee, is another. I fell for the stickers you put on the bottom of your feet to pull out toxins. They certainly didn’t cost $200+. Plus I called within 15 minutes and got two for one, only had to pay twice the shipping fees. 😉 ETA: I’m still toxic at times. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2757 "2024-06-08T06:48:30Z")
Yes, he’s naïve; he was raised in a completely different, insulated culture, as he’s described. Not really a reason to make fun of him. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2758 "2024-06-08T07:19:30Z")
I was extremely sheltered and I took good natured ribbing. Some poking snark and have been laughed at. In RL and here. Also some downright mean-ness. There’s a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2759 "2024-06-08T11:00:46Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Yes, he’s naïve; he was raised in a completely different, insulated culture, as he’s described. Not really a reason to make fun of him. I noticed years ago that he thinks that everything might kill him all the time. I pointed it out in the thread titled “Freezer suddenly has white clouds upon opening door”, the latest at the time of many “_is this household appliance going to kill me?_” threads. (A few before and after include “Using dryer after walls were bleached”, “Interrupting dryer mid-drying cycle is a fire hazard?”, and “Leaking refrigerant; avoid cooking?”.) But I stopped snarking on it when I realized that it probably isn’t just a funny personality quirk but a serious problem (a conclusion I reached _before_ he started “Please help me understand some things about schizophrenia and Bipolar-2”. So I give him some slack on the motivation for those posts. ---
**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:** [June 8, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2760 "2024-06-08T16:54:18Z")
Well, I’m not passing any judgement for getting hit by a scam, we’ve had plenty of threads on that where if you get hit at the right time, the right mood, or the right uncertainty, that smart people get sucked in. Heck, it’s happened in my own family, and IMHO, I’m the dumb (or, at least, less practical/focused) one in my immediate relatives! Just concerned about the posting pattern and habits. I said edgy and cringe, which would tie into some of the mentions of someone sheltered, _and growing_ who is trying to assert themselves, which is by no means limited to young people and teens. Again, not a troll, or I wouldn’t have mentioned them in this thread, but it was a behavior to call out, and W\_E had rightly shut down a discussion of it in the cited thread, so here we are. If you’re reading this @velocity, again, not yelling at you, not dismissing you, but yes, criticizing you. In the same sense that I would anyone else I know could or should do better, and bringing it to your attention as directly as I can, hopefully (🤞) in a vaguely productive manner. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2761 "2024-06-08T23:19:24Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I noticed years ago that he thinks that everything might kill him all the time. I pointed it out in the thread titled “Freezer suddenly has white clouds upon opening door”, the latest at the time of many “_is this household appliance going to kill me?_” threads. (A few before and after include “Using dryer after walls were bleached”, “Interrupting dryer mid-drying cycle is a fire hazard?”, and “Leaking refrigerant; avoid cooking?”.) But I stopped snarking on it when I realized that it probably isn’t just a funny personality quirk but a serious problem He was raised by extremely strict, fundamentalist religious Chinese or Taiwanese parents with no doubt very backward superstitions about modern science and appliances. Similar to the Korean belief that running a fan in a room with closed windows will suffocate you. He’s never had reason to rethink these beliefs before now. So he’s a late learner. I suspect (or maybe he’s written) that he’s a bit on the spectrum. Honestly, I’ve heard worse from a post-doc Indian microbiologist acquaintance who never stepped outside his own little bubble until he came over 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:** [June 10, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2762 "2024-06-10T16:42:15Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Honestly, I’ve heard worse from a post-doc Indian microbiologist acquaintance who never stepped outside his own little bubble until he came over here. \< tangent \> My son had a group project in high school (age 15) One of the group members was of East Indian decent (born in this country though). His parents would not let him out of the house without one of them present. No having anyone over to his house. Not allowed to go to anyone else’s house. No internet. No TV. No clubs, groups, social interactions of any kind. I assume he went to some sort of weekly (daily?) religious event with his parents. I often wonder how that kid turned out. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2763 "2024-06-10T18:47:29Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Chinese or Taiwanese parents with no doubt very backward superstitions about modern science and appliances. Ouch, that sounds racist. Surely you didn’t mean it that way? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2764 "2024-06-10T19:02:52Z")
I don’t think that the “no doubt …” relates to the “Chinese or Taiwanese parents” in that way, ie … you’re taking it in the wrong context. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2765 "2024-06-10T19:49:02Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Ouch, that sounds racist. Surely you didn’t mean it that way? You managed to alter the meaning of my post by selectively cutting off the first half of the sentence. I trust you didn’t do that on purpose. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2024, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2766 "2024-06-10T19:58:48Z")
And the following sentence which gives a well know example of exactly what was being referred to. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2767 "2024-06-10T20:15:29Z")
I thought the comment was being prejudiced against parents. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2768 "2024-06-10T20:32:24Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I trust you didn’t do that on purpose. Including the following words that I cut off, I still think it sounds racist. So no, I didn’t do it “on purpose” to twist your meaning. Mainland China and Taiwan are very different places - when you aren’t even sure which country his parents are from, why do you need to bring it up? I was sincere in thinking that you didn’t _mean_ it to be racist, I just wanted to offer a chance to clarify. A response of “oh FFS no, I didn’t mean it that way at all - if it sounded that way, either you are too sensitive or I didn’t explain myself well enough. What I meant was…” would convince me that you didn’t intend any racism. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2769 "2024-06-10T20:54:52Z")
**Velocity** himself has on many occasions written about his very odd and very socially limited parents. He makes them sound like they grew up in thatched-hut mud floor village of maybe 30 people and despite years of living in modern urban America they’re still mentally / emotionally stuck in the village. If someone has never read any of **Velocity** ’s posts on his parents it’d be real hard for them to read @needscoffee’s comments from within a relevant perspective. Having read **Velocity** ’s parental posts, I for one had no problems understanding and accepting that @needscoffee meant no malice or racism. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2770 "2024-06-10T21:00:10Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Including the following words that I cut off, I still think it sounds racist. So no, I didn’t do it “on purpose” to twist your meaning. Yet you did twist my meaning. Maybe you don’t think it changed the meaning, but at least 3 other posters did aside from me. Let’s just change "no doubt very backward superstitions " to “possible”. If you have ever read ANY of his \*many, many, many, many posts about his mother, you would know what I was referring to. > [@Adverse Religious Experiences Support Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adverse-religious-experiences-support-thread/1001195/2): > > But it was really the constant erosion of reality that wore down my brain. I grew up in a religious, somewhat cult-like organization that had books teaching things like, “If you put rice grains in two jars, and you speak blessings to one and curses to the other, the blessed one will remain white while the cursed one will turn black.” Even my devout-charismatic friend thought that was insane. The reason I said Chinese or Taiwanese is because _he_ refers to them both ways. I wouldn’t presume to pick which one he prefers I use. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/2771 "2024-06-10T21:20:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If someone has never read any of **Velocity** ’s posts on his parents it’d be real hard for them to read @needscoffee’s comments from within a relevant perspective. Having read **Velocity** ’s parental posts, I for one had no problems understanding and accepting that @needscoffee meant no malice or racism. > > YMMV of course. Thanks, that’s all the insight I needed - it was good of you to add the missing context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=132) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=134)