# 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:** 151
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3256 "2024-09-25T17:34:30Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > Has this poster always been a fascist? > > Let me put it this way: I don’t believe he belongs in _this_ thread. Let’s see, who was it who said this a while back upthread? > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Anyway, I don’t know why we’re in this thread. This thread is for otherwise good posters who _aren’t_ trolls, and yet here we’re talking about **Lumpy**? Just gentle ribbing, I promise, and I totally see your point. When it comes to Lumpy, I’m uncertain. 90% of the time or so, I get the feeling of a grumpy, old man who wants it back the way it was _before_ although in their defense (minimal to be clear) it’s more of a Reagan-esque past. “Those people need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps! They’re just not working hard enough!” rather than MAGA’s “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” (eta, I used language from the immigration debate, but the same sort of attitude is/was prevalent on all sides of how Conservatives [as opposed to MAGA] treated any other out-group) But that’s probably damning with faint praise. And honestly, deep in my most suspicious heart, when someone like Lumpy belts out a seriously dark, evil thought, like the one @Pleonast quoted, I don’t think it’s some exaggerated bit of language to score points, no, I worry that it’s that 10% that is the real character, and the other 90% is the socially-corrected version of the inner nature. I really wonder. But given the number of times they’ve shown up in this and other threads, if anyone is certain of the characterization, they need their own thread. _For the moment_ I’m still judging Lumpy mostly by the 90% (which again, isn’t a big compliment, but is different from actual Troll), but the 10% is always going to worry me. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3257 "2024-09-25T17:45:37Z")
Absolutely. What a tool. I have a vague recollection of his being off before, but nothing specific. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3258 "2024-09-25T21:05:11Z")
Meanhoo **racer72** pens a rather condescending open letter to strikers, gets tons of wrath in return. Who woulda thunk it? > [@Open letter to striking Boeing employees](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/open-letter-to-striking-boeing-employees/1007714): > > The other day I left a post on a forum started by a striking Boeing employee. I must has struck a cord that twisted their panties into a really tight bunch. I have been banned from the forum. Some others started some hate threads towards me and some threats to me and my family were made. I contacted the police, they took the threats seriously and forum was taken down. As a now retired 40 year employee and union member that went through 6 strikes, I think I have a little knowledge of what is happ… ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3259 "2024-09-25T21:24:20Z")
Oh, that OP was _ugly_ and full of the sort of worst “Capitalism is always the best, and you folks know NOTHING” condescension imaginable. I read the OP, figured absolutely _nothing_ good or useful would come out of it, and muted the thread. Nope, nuh-uh, goodbye. I fully endorse the pitting of racer72 for it. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3260 "2024-09-25T21:29:33Z")
Not exactly a “what were you thinking” but I couldn’t think of where else to put [this hilarious autocorrect error from Puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doesnt-lebanon-have-an-army-or-air-force/1007634/71), and it was in a modnote: > I know moderators don’t always show up immediately, but just report and wait for miserable action. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3261 "2024-09-25T21:51:40Z")
Disagree. Boeing employees are fighting to get the pension back, which has been gone for 10 years. They will never get it back, and everyone else but them seems to know this. By the time they accept this, they’ll have been out of work for months. So they’ll remain out on strike with NO pay for months, and never get back what they lost. The raise they were initially offered was a much higher percentage than they’ve ever been offered. The company knows that the workers will get desperate, and end up accepting that offer (or a lesser one) with a Christmas bonus paid up front so they don’t lose their houses. Boeing workers do this every time, and lose out every time. My family has been through 3 or 4 of these. racer72 knows exactly what he’s talking about. My ex-husband has worked there for 40 years, I worked there for a couple, and racer72 retired from there after 40 years. And he was a union rep. Everyone in the region knows exactly what racer72 is talking about. He may have come across as a jerk on the Boeing employee board, but the Boeing rank and file refuse to open their eyes. Any employee that tries to say otherwise is no better than a lousy scab to them. I could go on and on. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3262 "2024-09-25T21:54:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Not exactly a “what were you thinking” but I couldn’t think of where else to put [this hilarious autocorrect error from Puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doesnt-lebanon-have-an-army-or-air-force/1007634/71), I really like her as a poster and a mod, but for heaven’s sake, proofread, especially when these errors are pointed out so often. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3263 "2024-09-25T21:59:57Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Disagree. Boeing employees are fighting to get the pension back, which has been gone for 10 years. They will never get it back, and everyone else but them seems to know this. By the time they accept this, they’ll have been out of work for months. Nothing wrong with disagreeing, but my point was that the OP (and presumably their forum comment that sparked it) was delivered in such a manner as to be insulting. I am not in the field, nor equipped to judge on it’s merits, but presumably racer72 was attempting to convince others, or it would have been in the Pit. I can’t speak for how the forum he refers too would have worked, but if the posting there was similar in tone… If it had been a Pit-rant, where they were attacking the unions for being foolish, then, well, probably fine, although it would have invited more attacks in turn - but if they think they’re winning the argument by talking down to others, I think they’re greatly mistaken. Note - I have said nothing about racer72 as a whole, just that the OP and therefore thread felt absolutely poisoned - which is, as I said, why I abandoned reading the thread after the OP. 🙂 ETA after @needscoffee’s response - glad to hear it, and tone is always tricky online, which is why it’s best to notate if at all possible. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3264 "2024-09-25T22:03:48Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Note - I have said nothing about racer72 as a whole, just that the OP and therefore thread felt absolutely poisoned - which is, as I said, why I abandoned reading the thread after the OP. 🙂 The tone of the thread settled down pretty quickly. It’s safe to go back in the house. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3265 "2024-09-25T22:09:52Z")
Never mind, I thought I was on the Giraffe board thread. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3266 "2024-09-25T23:31:24Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I really like her as a poster and a mod, but for heaven’s sake, proofread, especially when these errors are pointed out so often. That really smells like somebody using text to speech to post. Don’t anybody ever do that. The mistakes are too crazy and the quantity is excessive. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3267 "2024-09-25T23:33:09Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Just gentle ribbing, I promise, and I totally see your point. Well, yeah. The more appearances he makes in this thread, the more I say it. And, more importantly, the more appearances he makes in this thread, the more obvious it should be to the rest of y’all that he doesn’t belong _here_. Good posters make mistakes. Good trolls make you think they’ve made mistakes. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3268 "2024-09-25T23:36:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > I know moderators don’t always show up immediately, but just report and wait for miserable action. LOL, typo or just being honest? 😆 I’m sure plenty of moderators take actions routinely that are miserable to do. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3269 "2024-09-25T23:50:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That really smells like somebody using text to speech to post. Almost. She says she uses swypo on her phone. So lots of intrinsic errors, but that’s why it needs proofing. Lord knows I make a ton of mistakes thumb-pecking on my phone, but I try to proofread it during and after posting. (It’s difficult to proofread it on the phone before I post because the viewable text window is only 6 lines, so stuff can get missed until after I hit “reply”.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3270 "2024-09-26T00:00:16Z")
You have NO idea how many typos i catch and correct. I’m a lousy typist. Truth be told, my spelling is bad longhand, too. Back when i wrote papers on paper, i would proofread, rewrite, and often end up with more errors than i started with. And yes, it’s Swype. (Or Google’s implementation thereof.) ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3271 "2024-09-26T00:15:06Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And yes, it’s Swype. I’ve had no luck with that! I tried, due to your mentioning it. It’s faster, but the words have no resemblance to what I was aiming for. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3272 "2024-09-26T00:17:30Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > (It’s difficult to proofread it on the phone before I post because the viewable text window is only 6 lines, so stuff can get missed until after I hit “reply”.) How small is your phone? I just counted, the viewable reply window on my phone is 34 lines. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3273 "2024-09-26T00:22:47Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > It’s faster, but the words have no resemblance to what I was aiming for. Just give in to the AI and let it choose your words. No need to spend your time overthinking. 😉 ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3274 "2024-09-26T00:27:09Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > How small is your phone? I just counted, the viewable reply window on my phone is 34 lines. It’s this big: [![](https://i.imgur.com/xqBIpqQ.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/xqBIpqQ.jpeg) ---
**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:** [September 26, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/3275 "2024-09-26T00:27:59Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Just give in to the AI and let it choose your words. No need to spend your time overthinking. Lol! They’d probably make a lot more sense! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=150) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=152)