Posted on 08/30/2004 10:05:23 PM PDT by ChicagoHebrew
I enjoy this forum, but lately I've noticed a troubling tendency for posters here to descend into horrible and immature name-calling. Such name-calling, and extremism without reason does nothing but harm our cause. It turns off casual lurkers and readers of this forum. It provides fodder for this forum to be demonized and non-respected elsewhere. Below I provide a few examples. I call on Freepers to stop using such terms voluntarily. If that doesn't work, I call on the moderators to warn, if not censor, posters who use such terms. I realize that Democratic Underground uses even more ridiculous terms sometimes. However, your opponents' choice to frolack in waste does not provide an excuse to do likewise. Rather, it provides an opportunity to rise above, and show one's intellectual and moral superiority. Without more, I present a few examples of the type of garbage I'm talking about. I call on fellow posters to add their own.
1) "Hitlery" -- I dislike Hillary Clinton's politics, and what I know of her personality. However, nothing she has said or done (including her love-fest with Suha Arafat) justifies comparing her to one of the worst monsters in all history. Doing so not only demeans the Holocaust, and all the war dead of WWII, it makes a mockery of this forum to allow it to be posted.
2) "Demorat" -- This is just stupid. Calling your opponent a rodent does nothing to promote conservatism or libertarianism. It does everything to make posters and this forum look like intellectual infants, prone to tantrums and incapable of rational debate. We disagree with Democrats. We should not dehumanize them, or think them so below us that we need not engage them in debate and triumph.
3) "McInsane" & etc. -- John McCain is a conservative, loyal Republican. Indeed, in some areas -- such as controlling spending -- he's far more conservative then Bush. However, he is also a mavarick who doesn't tow the party line -- and, in my opinion, sometimes perhaps puts his principles below his desire to win applauds from the media. That being said, his ACU rating is strong, and he has put legitimate personal disagreements with Bush behind him to support what's best for his party -- and, more importantly -- his country. Feel free to critique McCain. Feel free to disagree with him when he criticizes fellow Republicans or takes an odd liberal stand. However, do not resort to petty name-calling -- especially not name calling that implies he lacks mental faculties, and/or is evil. It's just not right.
So I have written. I hope that a silent majority of Freepers agree with me here.
Neither are attacks on Keyes. In fact, I would be honored to be compared to Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is why I found the NYT comparison bizarre.
Ann has been a member since before she became famous, so no, she wouldn't be a newbie. I think Rush's office also has a longstanding account as well, although it is not Rush personally.
My gosh, we have a lot of recent sign-on's who
swim against the tide. Must be election season, huh?
You're probably a friend of Hitlery's or McInsane's , you
DemoRAT.
You're probably a friend of Hitlery's or McInsane's , you
DemoRAT.
John McCain is more a democrat than Clinton, he just won't call himself one.
Yup, National Socialism and Communism, two faces of the same coin, and Hitlery is a devoted Marxist. "We're going to take it away from you", indeed.
And as an aside,wasn't the convention stupendous tonight?
Yeah, what GD said!
"Demorat" is just spelled incorrectly. They meant to type "DemocRAT."
I'm still waiting......
Sir, the PC stuff is truly a liberal, democrat, speech censoring thang.
JimRob properly prohibits swearing here and personal attacks.
As for making fun of democrats, anarchists, and others
we deem detrimental to our country, well, I can't remember
the last time I typed Daschle... when Dashole is so dang
appropriate.
Stop it.
Compare their senate voting records.
Well, I'd like it just fine were
every dang democrat in the senate
exactly like McCain.
Why don't you try following your own advice. People like you are so shallow. Others are not supposed to call names, but that doesn't apply to you? You must be a demoRAT.
If you have a problem with me using the term Hiltery then report me to JimRob.
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