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.
Good point.
But I certainly have no intention to stoop to DU's level!
LOL.
Anyone with
HAVE A WIT,
A MICROGRAM OF GRACIOUSNESS,
AN INFINITESIMAL OF HUMOR
AND
A SHRED OF PERSPECTIVE
will easily understand our outrage and frustrated fury in our terms!
(I think)
and
RABIDLY EVIL RATS
at that.
Nor, did Shrillery evidently ever meet a mass murdering terrorist, despot or dictator she didn't like.
No,no,noooooooooo...not the dreaded wet moose hair! Anything but that;ANYTHING!
EXTREMELY WELL PUT,
MUCH AGREE.
imho.
:-)
MUCH AGREE.
Good point.
LOVE IT.
SEVERAL BELLY LAUGHS.
Great.
THANKS.
Didn't have that in my files yet.
Humbled by your encouragements!
MORE BELLY LAUGHS.
YOu are a sweetie tonight!
Hope you and all your loved ones are having a great end of summer and great communications together.
Blessings,
Yes, I had the convention on,with the phone glued to my ear (sharing it with my daughter),with the laptop open to FR's live thread,whilst IMing my son-in-law (who was also watching and FREEPing),with my husband popping in,every now and again,to hooray about the convention. Thank you for asking after all of us.
I hope and pray that all is going well for YOU. :-)
And now,good night.....
I prefer Shrillary. Hollery is alright too.
The (mean, hurtful) name-calling is a literary technique referred to as "parody",
You may want to take an advanced literature course or constitutional law course. Parody, and the protected speech rights for the use of parody--indeed the necessity of the use of parody for effective communication--should be covered in detail during a solid basic education.
HawkeyeLonewolf.
Yes, I didn't mean that for you. My apology if I didn't make that clear. -OhMike
Sigh.
I suppose I will have to limit myself to calling them Coprophilial Chomsky licking sluts, lackwitted oxygen wasting degenerate possum felchers, unwashed toad brained berklyite monosynapsists, and cretinous bed-wetting child murdering rectum splitters.
Civil enough for ya?
Don't you see we are just letting out our frustrations with these people. A way of venting!
All we are say-y-y-y-ing is give Beast a chance!
[Yawn.]
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