Dean's World

anti-theists behaving badly

Aziz P

Huh. New guy at Balloon Juice Michael D likes to pick on girls.

Michael, as a reading comprehension public service I requote part of Willow's post to you:

Every so often I like to see how far one of my fundamental beliefs can be stretched by intelligent opposition.

Michael: Willow certainly got what she was looking for in the comment threads here at DW. Your comment thread at BJ, however, was notably lacking in the penultimate part of the statement above.

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TallDave (mail) (www):

Yeah, sadly that's become the typical tone there.

11.27.2007 5:29pm

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Aziz (mail) (www):

i disagree - usually the BJ commentariat are hilarious, witty, and incisive. Thats why this post and thread struck me as so odd.

11.27.2007 5:41pm

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Chris Crawford (mail):

Aziz, would you mind amending your title to "A few atheists behaving badly"? I think that would be more correct. And if you take into consideration the third comment in the comments section:

Igorant atheists evolutionist like RICHARD DAWKINS can blabber all he like about his poppycock bull poo but he is very ignorant on where humans came from but all he can prove is his own stupididy

then I think you'd want to amend your title to "Jerks behaving badly" and leave it at that. Aren't you glad that people here adhere to higher standards of propriety?

11.27.2007 5:58pm

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BK (mail):

What gets me is how (both there and here) 'Convince me' has been misread to be 'Prove to me'.

I can't prove to you that BSG is the best show on TV, but I may (or may not) be able to convince you.

11.27.2007 6:00pm

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BK (mail):

Perhaps a better analogy is that of a law trial.

Given the (fortunatly rare) occurance of false convictions, one would not be correct to say that the wrongly imprisoned's guilt was 'proven'. However, it would be correct to say that the jury was convinced.

11.27.2007 6:06pm

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Willow (www):

There are people out there who enjoy being offended, and actively look for excuses to rant. (I have to say that it must have been a poor news day if my invitation was the most offensive thing he could find.) They come in all shapes, sizes and systems of belief. The internet seems to have fostered them.

11.27.2007 6:29pm

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McKiernan:

Willow, its obvious, you are a very bad person. And the audacity of asking a question of those ppl ?

11.27.2007 6:46pm

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naftali (mail):

Links!!!

11.27.2007 7:39pm

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TallDave (mail) (www):

i disagree - usually the BJ commentariat are hilarious, witty, and incisive.

Sure, as a leftist you probably see them that way.

Of course, when you disagree with them, you get "hilarious, witty, incisive" comments like the post you didn't like.

11.27.2007 7:54pm

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Willow (www):

Sigh, how true. I am a bad, bad person.

11.27.2007 9:11pm

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Stace:

Chris, that comment you quote is by a guy who's a fairly well known, how shall I say, eccentric, commenter on right-of-center blogs. He comments under several different bird-related names, but you can always tell it's him by his "style".

Everyone either laughs him off, or regards him somewhat affectionately, as they might a mascot.

11.27.2007 11:21pm

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Stace:

A somewhat "challenged" mascot, that is.

11.27.2007 11:22pm

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Dave Justus (mail) (www):

I don't get the whole 'pick on girls' aspect of this, unless you are stating that if a female says something it should be automatically accepted whether correct or not because they are too fragile to face disagreement.

While I don't particularly agree with the linked post, I don't see it as 'picking on girls.' The gender of the writer of either post doesn't seem relevant to me. Neither post even references gender.

11.28.2007 8:38am

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Rosemary Esmay (www):

Aziz Likes to pick on Gay Men...nooz at 11!

Michael D, btw, is the same Michael Demmons that has been commenting here for years and years.

11.28.2007 8:54am

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Aziz (mail) (www):

actually, the BJ commenters are witty even when they are lampooning the left. They are almost always hilarious. i am really only put off when the target of their wit is a friend.

I didnt know it was the same Michael D. I think that makes his post even more unfair, since he had the full benefit of the debate on willows thread before running off to BJ to poke fun about it.

11.28.2007 12:07pm

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Willow (www):

I think the 'girl' part of Aziz's title was in fun. That's how I, the girl, interpreted it at any rate. I don't feel victimized because of my gender and I don't think Aziz thinks I do either.

11.28.2007 12:21pm

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Rosemary Esmay (www):

I think the 'girl' part of Aziz's title was in fun. That's how I, the girl, interpreted it at any rate. I don't feel victimized because of my gender and I don't think Aziz thinks I do either.

Yeah, I figured. That's why I said Aziz was picking on Gay men - for fun. The sexual preference or gender in either post was irrelevant. :-)

11.28.2007 12:34pm

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Aziz (mail) (www):

It was indeed in fun, though technically since Michael's post about Willow was out of the blue and grossly mischaracterized her as some kind of religious theistic zealot, "picking on" is pretty accurate. What I am doing to Michael is only "picking on" in the sense of "pointing out how wrong his post is about the target of his ire". If that be pickin' on, then pickin' on I be.

Girls and gay men are merely nouns, to clarify the semantic target of said picking on or pickin' on.

11.28.2007 6:00pm

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Aziz (mail) (www):

Rosemary, utterly unrelated, like yourself I find myself also preferring the italic method of replying, rather than blockquote. It just seems more civilized somehow.

11.28.2007 6:00pm

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Rosemary Esmay (www):

I like clean lines. The blockquote is fine for frontpage but in comments it looks rather distorted and not always clear.

11.29.2007 12:11am

Commenting on Dean's World is a privilege, not a right. Dean is your host, you are his guest, and you should behave in that fashion. Dean is not your babysitter, nor is he your punching bag. Please remember this. In general, you are free to disagree with anyone on any subject you wish, but abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.

Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.