Posted on 03/29/2005 8:58:34 AM PST by Long Cut
We, the Witness Protection Program For Freepers, aka the Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane, have through mutual discussion and rigourous thought, determined that:
1. The discussion threads regarding Terri Schiavo (hereafter referred to as "TS") have become too full of innuendo, rumormongering, hyperbole, hysteria, namecalling, paranoia, and general poor behavior to warrant participation.
2. Said threads have degenerated into "echo chambers", wherein the same, common thoughts are continually posted again and again, and the same old disreputable, unconfirmed and/or false urban myths are propagated.
3. Anyone who joins in said theads with alternative viewpoints to the most extreme posts are routinely driven away with slander, accusations, and vile namecalling.
4. No data or evidence contrary to the "prevailing opinions" are accepted, considered, or discussed; and in fact are rejected outright in most instances.
5. That the continued calls for armed insurrection, military or paramilitary involvement, impeachements of politicians and judges, and death threats are embarassing, stupid, shortsighted, doomed to failure, and contrary to most if not all conservative thought prior to this case, as well as damaging in the extreme to FR and the conservative movement as a whole.
6. That such emotional, hyperbolic, and propaganda-driven hysteria is in fact contrary to all conservatives USED to stand for.
7. That the holding up of swastika and other Nazi imagery towards the police and the Bushes, the use of children as political props, and the disruption of the peace at the Woodside Hospice can only reflect badly on conservatives in general, and should be discouraged.
8. That the pursuit of this issue to the exclusion of all others by the GOP has damaged, perhaps beyond repair, the pursuit of other important issues as well as the reputation of the GOP, FR, and conservatism.
The WPPFF is NOT of one mind as to the case of TS or its correct outcome. In fact, wide disagreement exists within our little group. However, we are united in our wish that reason and sanity be respected in the discussion, as well as the rights of all parties involved or participating. We wish to discuss this as adults and intellectuals, as conservatives and as FRiends, not as children screaming past each other on some playground of hysteria. We wish for facts and evidence to be provided, discussed reasonably, and considered fairly.
We reject all accusations of Naziism, "death cultism", or other slander as methods of debate. We reject the practice of "spamming" multiple threads, of posting unending vanities, and the posting of propaganda and calls for violence. We reject, in fact, all unseemly and childish behavior which has come to characterize this case on FR.
We DO invite others to come and reasonably discuss the issue. We have no problem with FReepers who wish to debate in a rational and fair manner, and with due respect for their fellow FReepers. We have NO problem with those whose views are formed by religion; however we reject "preaching" or "being beaten with a Bible" as legitemite debate tactics. Not all of us are Believers, and such tactics only cheapen the source.
If a FReeper finds this an acceptable meansd to discuss this and other issues, they are welcome to join in and participate. Those who find pleasure in attacks, flame-baiting, slander, stalking, and personal atacks will be ignored, and their egos will go unfed.
We assume this thread to be a zone of sanity in an overheated atmosphere. Thus, a general amnesty is in effect. If posters conduct themselves within the guidlines above, we will be happy to discuss and debate with you. If a poster wishes to apologize for past slips of the tongue, or for possible "over-the-top" statements to another, it will be graciously accepted, and your company welcome.
Please bring a sense of humor; we feel that too many have been taking themselves too seriously lately.
Let the discussion begin!
Signed,
The WPPFF, aka The Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane.
Some of the County Governments behave in a way that makes the State appear quite sane by comparison. ;-)
Rummy on now- LIVE pres conference- 1:15 pm est
Those aren't the reasons given for removing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. If they were, I'd wholeheartedly agree.
See #118.
Well done, Longcut! Glad to see the thread.
And while you are at it, please explain how Sex Offender is a hero for bringing his kid down to FL to be arrested?
Thanks for the bump.
So does this mean you're interested in a civil discussion with the aim of determining the extent and nature of the parallels between euthanasia in this case and euthanasia in Nazi Germany?
Or does any reference to Nazi Germany automatically forbid discussion of such parallels?
I'm here...just lurking some today :)
Oh, the usual. :o)
I didn't want you to miss the fun. I'm so glad that Longcut threw down the gauntlet! ; )
Here here!!!
Great post. What does WPPFF stand for? I missed it.
Presumably, you passed through the decontamination chamber first.
Tell me, Peach, since you're so passionately against Randall Terry--what would have been your reaction if a thousand quiet men had shown up bearing water and forced their way through the barricade?
Ah, if only I'd lived long enough to see that...
I'm glad JJ won't be allowed in.
It has already happened. My first comment was removed, since my opinion that limiting debate to what one side deems acceptable is akin to the "Good Germans" who went along with the T-4 euthanasia program, which still - hundreds of posts into this thread - no one is willing to discuss on the rational, civil, etc. basis that the thread itself allegedly calls for.
I'm normally a beer drinker myself, but if you bring single malt, I won't say no. Highland Park is my favorite, but Glenlivet or Glenfiddich will do in a Pinch!
Thanks for presuming, but it's quite the opposite, actually. My family was asked whether we wanted to remove a feeding tube from my father. We said no. He continued to receive nutrition by tube until he died of other causes. Sorry to burst your bubble - or disprove your theory.
Of course, my father hadn't signed a living will indicating one way or the other whether he would want the feeding tube so, as his spouse, it was up to my mother to decide.
This is not a self-help thread. This is a break from the hyperbole, hysteria, meanspiritedness, unchristian attitudes and false information running rampant elsewhere.
nah....I am uncontaminatable :) if thats a word hehe
So ... inflamatory rhetoric is 'thoughtful speech'.
You reveal yourself.
YOU are the torturers. Not only Terri either. You are presently torturing every relative who has to face this terrible decision. A couple hundred times per day if estimates are accurate.
You have this single issue that to you is the be all and end all of existence. Well ... it isnt. Not to 70% of Amarica and not to God Almighty.
Thank Him you are the powerless minority you are and now cemented into that position for decades to come.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.