Originally Posted By Mr X ***We get so caught up in differences that we ignore all the similarities. I fault the "press" for that, to a large degree, but we are willing participants*** The media definitely foments such arguments, but to a large degree I think that the right wing has gone off the deep end (you essentially said so yourself, in rejecting the post-Palin GOP...and so many moderate Republicans have been thrown under the bus that at this point it's nothing more than a radical, heavily Christian and otherwise practically anarchist group at this point). As to the left wing, relative moderates like Obama are labeled Radical Socialists, or worse (I wonder if they'd recognize a true radical socialist if he walked up and bit them on the ass), and so the very notion of working together, or any sort of bipartisanship, is thrown right out the window. I feel sorry for President Obama, I really do. He was the right person at absolutely the wrong time...in a different era (I dunno past or future, but at least not now), he could've been a great consensus builder that brought people together. But not at this time, that's for sure!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I don't know if anybody would be successful at this time to be quite honest.
Originally Posted By disneydad109 you can't build a consencus if both side will not talk to the other .I do think that he is/was a victim of the manner he was presnted before the election. No human could have lived up the hipe (not sure how to spell hipe)
Originally Posted By mawnck >>you can't build a consencus if both side will not talk to the other<< Or if one side is bat-guano crazy.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I wish DAR's post had been at least in part directed to Mele. I guess it's there in a generic sense but really, for going nuclear with her, he should have specifically mentioned her.
Originally Posted By gadzuux So I guess K2M wasn't banned. Having missed the entire thread where all this happened, I wasn't sure if you were included in the fallout or not.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan No, I wasn't involved. There was a thread where he used a profanity (the BIG one for insulting women) and it was directed at Mele. I can't even recall what the thread topic was (not that it matters, it was admined at once.)
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I can't even recall what the thread topic was<< Doesn't matter ... By about the second page, the topic was, as usual, DAR.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox There isn't much I'd like to add to this discussion except a couple of points. What happened to mele should not have happened. It was bad enough for DAR to call me his "enemy" over that whole "anti-lobbyist but anti-Feingold" scuffle in other threads. I didn't let his insult stop me from posting, and basically chalked it up to someone unwilling to admit he voted his emotions instead of his reasoning. No big deal. But he definitely crossed the line with mele. And quite truthfully, I don't understand why he didn't get banned at that point. As much as I have come to strongly dislike many posters who've previously graced these boards, like beau, I would have NEVER entertained the idea of not helping someone at the side of the road if they were seriously injured. How utterly abhorrent to even THINK such a thing, let alone voice it publicly in a discussion forum. I used to enjoy having DAR's input in the discussions, until he became more paranoid about being victimized by the rest of us. I don't know why this individual drifted to the dark side, but he basically became unmanageable. For that reason, I'm not sorry to see him go.
Originally Posted By tiggertoo <<It didn't hurt my feelings;>> Good, because someone who would say something so intentionally injurious doesn't deserve half a blink of consideration. It's cowardly to insult anyone over the internet anyway, but while I don't mean to sound un-PC, you just can't say things like that to a lady. Not that women are weak or incapable of defending themselves---quite the opposite really. Chivalry, as it's been instilled in me, has less to do with protection and more so about reverence. <<I used to enjoy having DAR's input in the discussions, until he became more paranoid about being victimized by the rest of us.>> It takes a massive ego to think that everyone is out to get you---it presumes people care enough about you to do so. And frankly, I was getting tired of every freaking thread devolving into some sort of pity-party by DAR. I say good riddance.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle >>him repeatedly calling me the "c" word and the horrible thing he said about my children<< Whoa! What? That's disgusting!
Originally Posted By Mr X Yeah, he did go there. I'm disappointed in DAR, to say the least. I also have to say a word about this "asked to be banned" line of crap in his "final message". Who needs to ASK to be banned? Either you're banned, or not, depending on the community standards. If he doesn't want to comment anymore, HE DOESN'T HAVE TO. Why would he need to "ask to be banned"? How babyish is that crap? I'm not sure I actually believe it (I think more likely it's DAR trying to save face), but even if so, is that not really pathetic? "Oh, I can't stop myself from commenting on your website, so I must request that you ban me!". Yeah, that DOES sound pathetic and sad. I hope DAR get's his head fixed, and figures some things out...I'll just leave it at that.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I was a little surprised his use of the "C" word didn't get him banned immediately. And, in fact, that stayed up there for quite a while that day. (I called him out on it right away but I'm not sure whey it didn't come down immediately.) There will be disagreements until the end of time but it would be nice if we all retained a little class.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I was a little surprised his use of the "C" word didn't get him banned immediately*** I think there are only a couple of folks who can decide who is banned and who is not. I know that in my case, getting banned took a couple of days in some cases. ***And, in fact, that stayed up there for quite a while that day. (I called him out on it right away but I'm not sure whey it didn't come down immediately.)*** The admins are not always around, particularly during odd hours. Sometimes it takes time for them to know what's going on, and act accordingly. ***There will be disagreements until the end of time but it would be nice if we all retained a little class*** Shut up Wahoo you dumb poop head!
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I have two children under 10. That language is not foreign to me X. I'm actually a little surprised there isn't technology on these boards that would "automatically" delete or change certain unacceptable words. It would stop the hatred but at least it would mute it.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***I have two children under 10. That language is not foreign to me X*** Well, I have ONE under ten, and she knows the REAL bad words (too much South Park, I'd imagine lol). ;p ***I'm actually a little surprised there isn't technology on these boards that would "automatically" delete or change certain unacceptable words. It would stop the hatred but at least it would mute it*** I've seen boards that apply such technology, it doesn't work well. People find their way around it if they want to, and in the meantime there are just tons of posts that indicate the words without saying them, very blatantly. It's all very silly if you ask me. If someone is genuinely offensive (like apparently DAR was in this case), the folks in charge just have to deal with it. It's the internet, that's the way it goes (til they change it next week, anyway...).
Originally Posted By wahooskipper My 8 year old dropped the F-bomb on me just the other day. I was stunned. I asked him where he heard it (expecting him to say his mother) and instead he told me it was from a classmate.
Originally Posted By Mr X Why were you stunned? Did you really think he never heard it in 8 years!? Little X knows it, but she also knows not to use it, and that it's a vulgar, disrespectful thing to say towards anyone...I don't see any reason to "hide" it in particular, they'll hear it somewhere, sometime whether we parents like it or not. Just like all other stuff, what matters is what we tell our kids about it in order to make sure they act like nice people. On a side note, I really wish we lived close by Wahoo, it would be *great* to have some American families living nearby so Little X would have the chance to hang out with friends who spoke English! As it stands, she only hears English from grownups, and thus her Japanese is far superior despite my constant efforts... She knows all the bad words in Japanese too though, so probably better she doesn't tell your kids about them! ;p
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Mr X - there are some 1/2 american 1/2 english kids over here that would probably love to Skype with a Japanese friend.
