I hope your day goes well. Thanks for bumping the thread.
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.
I agree with your post completely and since the rules have clearly been discarded on the other side of the forum, perhaps we are free to discard those rules as well.
Although I hate to lower myself to their level. LOL
Randall Terry is a kook, but I don't want to let political opportunists like Jay Sekulow and Larry Klayman off the hook either.
Speaking of which, I defy anyone who is a member of this board to defend the fundraising efforts for Rainbow/PUSH that took place on Free Republic.
I heard the Pinellas police were called Nazi thugs and was stunned.
Since when did conservatives of any kind call our law enforcement such names? Had my relative been in that Hospice, I'd have been heartbroken at the last days of their lives spent in the midst of such ugliness.
As an aside, I hope everyone here heard Tom DeLay on national television say that even if Terri had said she didn't want to be kept alive in such a way, he thought it was wrong to pull the tube.
This is my fear. That our right to self determination will be taken away by our own party. This is a huge issue and it isn't going to go away as long as the GOP stands behind statements like that and doesn't distance itself immediately.
Thanks. That is what I thought.
It can't be defended, but it can be be explained, by P.T. Barnum's remark: " There's a sucker born every minute. "
Thanks for your insights. I believe KDD is local also. Do you know each other?
Good morning! Thanks for bumping this thread.
Probably for the same reasons a "conservative" woud be quite fine with a convicted sex offender representing the pro-life movement... ;0)
Isn't that interesting. People who object to the Nazi-name calling, vitriol, ugliness, calls for violence and armed insurrection are to be shunned. It's beyond sad.
That's been my observation as well.
I hope your day goes well. Thanks for bumping the thread.
LOL!! I don't think that graphic can get old. It's so funny!!
I have to run but wanted to get back to you quickly. I would not have known about this thread except for some of the members advertising it on their taglines on the main board.
So I came on over and the first post I saw was one calling a very famous well-loved Conservative journalist who we know reads Free Republic filthy names and saying she does nothing for "our cause"( as one of your members put it).
So what else could I think?
I'll have to get back to you later if you have any further responses to me.
I have no doubt whatsoever that if the Florida National Guard was there, instead of the Pinellas Park police, they'd have gotten the same reception from Randall Terry & Co.
"We support our troops if we support their mission. If not, they're Nazis."
Sound familiar? You know it does. You also know that these people bravely calling the cops names won't hesitate a second to call 911 when they need help.
Most of us here do want to arrive at the truth, and aren't interesting in believing rumor, innuendo, and slander. Because of that, we've been called Nazis and deathocrats and the like. I don't get it. And for that, I'm sure I'll be called stupid. I believe in basing my opinions on fact, and my personal values. I've been stunned at the things I've seen repeated that, upon investigation, simply aren't true. And if I express skepticism, why then, I'm aligned with the globalist death mearchants, or am a Nazi, or some such other slander.
It seems that that isn't OK anymore, we don't need facts, just over-charged emotions. I very much understand the emotions here, as I have been quite shocked that it is perfectly legal in many states to stop feeding people like Mrs. Schiavo. That's why we need to have advance medical directives if we don't want something similar to happen to us.
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