To hell with all this intellectual crap.
It's high time we got back to basics.
Friday, June 27, 2014
28 comments:
IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING, YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, SO KINDLY GET OUT AND STAY OUT.
We welcome Conversation
But without Vituperation.
If your aim is Vilification ––
Other forms of Denigration ––
Unfounded Accusation --
Determined Obfuscation ––
Alienation with Self-Justification ––
We WILL use COMMENT ERADICATION.
IN ADDITION
Gratuitous Displays of Extraneous Knowledge Offered Not To Shed Light Or Enhance the Discussion, But For The Primary Purpose Of Giving An Impression Of Superiority are obnoxiously SELF-AGGRANDIZING, and therefore, Subject to Removal at the Discretion of the Censor-in-Residence.
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ReplyDeleteOh Yea! I agree! This post is certainly about as basic as you can get.
ReplyDeleteBasic Bullshit!!!
Anyone, left or rational right wondering what is wrong with America today need only view this post.
You seem to be feeling better, FT.
ReplyDeleteBack to your old whack self.
This post is by the gentleman who always decries how degenerate and coarse we've become in our interactions with each other.
ReplyDeleteBravo! You've demonstrated, once again, why this is true.
Featuring a video that calls President Obama an asshole is just the sort of nasty, hateful, divisive propaganda this country is marinating in.
I guess there isn't enough of this hatred on the internet, so the host needs to stoke it up another notch.
This is what our esteemed blog host wrote on another blog:
ReplyDeleteWhat has been lacking all along is the EQUAL DEGREE of RESPECT and APPRECIATION all of us owe each other for the various roles we play, however humble, -- ALL of which are necessary in order to maintain a flourishing society.
Hmmmm.
Oh, and the gun pointing at liberals is a lovely touch, Mr. F.T.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your contribution to our cultural cesspool.
But, Miss Shaw, what -- or who -- could possibly be nastier, more hateful, more divisive, more culturally degenerative, or more frankly despicable than our failed Master of Mendacity aka POTUS, The Great Prevaricator, The Great Impersonator, The Conjurer-in-Chief, The Out-of-the-Closet, Out-of-Control Would-Be Communist Dictator, The Viper We Have Nursed in our National Bosom, The TROJAN HORSE Dragged Into Our Midst by Unseen Internationalist Oligarchical Forces Who REALLY Call the Shots, who've been determined to destroy US Sovereignty, destroy faith in God, and end our worldwide ascendancy for over a hundred years.
ReplyDeleteMr. Obama is So inept he can't even play the role of PUPPET adequately.
I'm sure he's a likable guy in a personal level, but as Chief Executive Officer of the USA "asshole" is one of the milder terms of derision that properly apply to him.
Yes, Ducky, I'm "at it again," -- not fully recovered by a long shot, but at least able to function -- sort of.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said elsewhere, your good wishes, kind thoughts -- and the candles you have lighted on my behalf -- have been much appreciated.
I'm glad too that you, apparently, see this broadside for the tongue-in-cheek sop to the Peanut Gallery it is intended to be.
Keep your sense of humor. It's the best defense against The Forces of Darkness imaginable.
How did Charlie Chaplin fight Hitler? He made the Great Dictator, an hilarious spook f the monster's demeanor and bearing as well as his modus operandi.
Did you know there is supposed to be a distinct correlation between Intelligence and Humor? The greater the ability to see the funny side of things is the keener the intelligence -- or so it's said.
ReplyDeleteI the interest of CIVILITY and awareness. And, it is not meant to be humorous.
ReplyDelete• Humility. We are finite, flawed beings and are prone to making serious mistakes. We need to enter into discussions and arguments with this at the very front of our minds — not only in being comfortable with someone challenging our point of view, but also reserving the right to change our mind when our argument is shown to be problematic.
• Solidarity with our conversation partner. This involves active listening, presuming that one has something to learn, and (if possible) getting to know them personally beyond an abstraction. Never reduce another's ideas because of their gender, race, level of privilege, sexual orientation, or social location. Similarly, never reduce them to what you suspect are their "secret personal motivations." Instead, give your partner the courtesy of carefully responding to the actual idea or argument that she is offering for your consideration.
• Avoiding binary thinking. The issues that are seriously debated in our public sphere are almost always too complex to fit into simplistic categories like liberal/conservative, religious/secular, open/close-minded, pro-life/pro-choice, etc. Furthermore, it sets up framework in which taking one side automatically defines one against "the other side" — thus further limiting serious and open engagement.
• Avoiding fence-building and dismissive words and phrases. It might feel good to score these rhetorical points, but doing so is one of the major contributors to our polarized discourse. Let us simply stop using words and phrases like: radical feminist, war on women, neocon, limousine liberal, prude, heretic, tree-hugger, anti-science, anti-life, and so on. Instead, use language that engages and draws the other into a fruitful engage of ideas.
• Leading with what you are for. Not only is this the best way to make a convincing case for the view you currently hold, but this practice often reveals that we are actually after very similar things and simply need to be able to talk in an open and coherent way about the best plan for getting there.
Charles C. Camosy is assistant professor of Christian ethics at Fordham University in New York City and author of "Peter Singer and Christian Ethics: Beyond Polarization." He can be reached at camosy@fordham.edu.
... and end our worldwide ascendancy for over a hundred years.
ReplyDeleteWell Freethinke I don't want to read anything into your statement but it appears quite obvious that you support USA political, economic, and military worldwide domination.
Dreaming of a USA empire to rival the old Roman Empire my friend?
JKust sayin...
Freethinke, this is just slobby. I thought you were higher minded than this.
ReplyDeleteJMJ
The Left didn't object much when epithets were hurled in the direction of GWB.
ReplyDeleteGWB was burned in effigy.
GWB was hanged in effigy.
And there was also this little gem.
Now, I'm not much on calling anyone names.
However, tit for tat does have a way of coming around.
So, of course, if the lefties did it to George W. Bush, then it's just fine for the righties to act like jerks as well?
ReplyDeleteDidn't your mothers ever teach you that two wrongs don't make a right?
BTW, Mr. F.T., calling the POTUS and FLOTUS "assholes," is hardly sophisticated humor. It's what one expects to hear from cheap whiskey-soaked drunkards.
If you want to read witty and clever insults, try reading Oscar Wilde. I imagine he'd find these flabby slurs boring--the result of lazy and very unclever minds.
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ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Shaw,
ReplyDeletePolitics makes jerks of us all. Some just dress it all up nicer than others.
Gerda Demmerung said
ReplyDelete"Pots" ought never to give way to the impulse to call kettles "black."
'Nuff said.
I got pissed at the incessant BS hurled at GWB, so I figger it only right to get pissed at the same BS when it is hurled at BHO.
ReplyDeleteNeither are perfect, but neither are assholes either.
This post, as well as many I saw when Bush was President, is assholish.
Please forgive my poor French.
The word you were looking for, and failed to find, Les, is ASININE.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to insist on casting aspersions, please try do it in a literate manner.
I like originality Mr. FreeThinke. You like asinine I like assholish.
DeleteFrankly Mr. FreeThinke people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. But you're aware of that right?
Gerda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Another ancient saying that covers the territory equally well would be:
People who live in glass houses should never throw stones."
PS: I love your pen name.
I never said that two wrongs make a right.
ReplyDeleteBut if one is going to condemn by the use of epithets, then one should be consistent in that condemnation -- regardless of which part of the political spectrum the epithets come.
BTW, Urban Dictionary offers several levels of connotations for the word asshole. Not that Urban Dictionary is necessarily the definitive source to consult, but I did find the various entries quite wide-ranging.
Jersey,
ReplyDeleteYou may be surprised to learn that I agree with your assessment, but would remind you that I did not write The Asshole Song nor did I create the video accompanying it. I merely decided to post it, because I've often been accused of being snobbish, too high falutin,' too erudite, and too out of touch with the realities of modern life. You, yourself, have said as much more than once, ERGO I decided to show an earthy side of my disposition in order to give the blog a more folksy tone for a change.
I like to have fun with all the horse shit we must contend with from this government, AND I like also to "keep 'em guessin.'"
AOW,
ReplyDeleteWe used to say someone was inept, inadequate, feeble-minded, a fool, a dimwit, simple-minded, a stumblebum, a halfwit, a jerk, a misfit, an imbecile, an idiot, a moron, etc., however, the debased cultural standards by which we now live have substituted the term ":asshole" for all of those and most other pejorative epithets one might recall.
It reminds me of the pervasive use of "awesome," "cool," and "amazing" as general terms of approbation.
All of these linguistic atrocities may be interpreted as clear and convincing evidence of the cultural degeneration we most regrettably refer to now as "The Dumbing Down of America," itself a woefully degenerate term.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." --O.W.
ReplyDeleteI'm acutely aware, Les, that you appear to be suffering from an acute form of mental breakdown, and that is why I am not as rudely dismissive of your presence here as I often feel inclined to be.
ReplyDeleteIn truth I feel very sorry that you -- like so many other decent American citizens -- have suffered a reduction in status and a major reversal of fortune in the last few years. I would not enjoy that any more than you or any others would.
Nevertheless, I wish you'd stop taking it out on other bloggers, and quit holding yourself apart as though you were the only person present who had any inkling of what was really going on.
Also your penchant for criticizing the way commenters behave at blogs other than your own, your predilection for reducing the discussion to petty personal taunts and jibes, and for perpetuating unpleasant, disruptive irrelevancies by indulging in lengthy, inappropriate "dialogues" with those who irritate or offend you is frankly objectionable.
I know I am not alone in holding these sentiments. Many have discussed it with me at length offline for quite some time.
Please don't attempt to "answer" this post. Doing so could only embarrass you and damage your reputation further. I'm sorry you are going through such a rough patch, but it's inappropriate for you to take your misery out on the blogosphere.
In future please try to remember that NONE of the business of the blogosphere is all about YOU.
I am a great fan of Oscar Wilde, Miss Shaw, as I thought surely you knew. That is a particularly astute and edifying quotation. I thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteOscar, despite the brittle, mannered, often acerbic style for which he is most famous, was possessed of a very tender heart and a deep understanding of the true meaning of life given to few.
In that regard he bore a remarkably close resemblance to Dorothy Parker.