To all the DUers I've argued with, and even the DUers I don't like or respect very much:

[dionysus]

You are all Socrates compared to the RW nitwits on Discussionist.

While I find it more enjoyable to argue with conservatives as opposed to fellow liberals, those guys are so damned stupid\hateful I'd have to huff glue and drink a bottle of cheap gin just to bring my IQ down to their level (and even that might not be enough).

a to all DUers!

[johnp3907]

1. Oh yeah?!?!

Well, same to you!!!!

[lpbk2713]

2. Like I said when I first checked that place out ...

I have no desire to engage in a battle of wits with PeeWee Herman.

[NightWatcher]

5. I know you are but what am I

[lpbk2713]

9. That's exactly how I would expect it to go.

[TeamPooka]

111. If I wanted to argue with brainwashed RW zombies I'd visit my family. #nothanks nt

[unblock]

3. aw, you flatter us with your faint praise ;)

[rhett o rick]

57. You got flattery out of that?

[shenmue]

4. Thank you.

[Egnever]

6. Amen

and FU...


LOL I kid.

[monmouth3]

7. I have no idea who you are......

[jberryhill]

8. Glad to be smart but wrong in your book

[dionysus]

13. just one example, if the HOF folks here think DU is sexist, wait'll they get a load of that joint!

there's some cringe worthy shit being posted over there...

[SunSeeker]

31. Yeah, and they're stoning women in Pakistan. Your point?

We should shut up about sexism here because it could be worse?!

[dionysus]

64. jesus christ, no. i'm pointing out they're even worse there. don't try to put words in my mouth, ok?

people can assign nefarious motives to others at the drop of a hat these days. good lord.

[SunSeeker]

73. Not putting words in your mouth. Just noting your swipe at "the HOF folks."

It is not just "the HOF folks" that see sexism here. But clearly you don't count yourself among those who see it.

[dionysus]

75. indeed you have. you have now twice aspired to assign motives to me that i do not hold.

[pscot]

84. And so it goes

Why would anyone voluntarily put up with this sort of thing?

[SunSeeker]

105. Whatever your motives, your choice of words have consequences. nt

[dionysus]

92. it wasn't a swipe for crying out loud. HOF are the most dedicated feminists on DU. all i said was,

if the level of sexism here is enough to be angering, it's ten times worse on a site that allows conservatives.

for example, these people were saying that men who are feminists or support feminists are either gay are just faking it to get laid.

no need to assign motives to me that do not exist. when people do that, it has a tendency to annoy people who are their natural allies.

in no way, shape, or form was I suggesting the issue should not be discussed here. am I being clear enough?

[seaglass]

99. Your comments were clear to me, I understood it as you just explained it. n/t

[SunSeeker]

106. Ah, there you go with that "if" again. nt

[geek tragedy]

41. well, there's lots of people over there who got banned from DU

for being sexists/misogynists.

they're just feeling a little more liberated to express themselves

[greatauntoftriplets]

51. And banned for being homophobes.

[SidDithers]

108. Is Hannah Bell / HiPointDem / El_Johns over there?...nt

Sid

[dionysus]

112. not with their old names, Sid. we need you to sniff em out :D

[hlthe2b]

10. Yes, indeed...

[Warren DeMontague]

11. Yeah, in the first few days I was engaged in a, um, discussion about that place, and I said

I could come up with 10 potentially fatal flaws with the concept, that would make themselves apparent in short order.

You hit the top one, right there.

[arthritisR_US]

12. I usually consider myself pretty civil but

I am sorely being tested. Dumbfounded comes to mind often when I am there and it frequently becomes a contest of which rightie can pee on the most people's cornflakes.

My democratic mates are my saving grace!

[progressoid]

14. Nice post Hitler.

[greiner3]

90. See below;

"Godwin's law (or Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies)[1][2] is an Internet adage asserting that "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1"?[2][3]—​ that is, if an online discussion (regardless of topic or scope) goes on long enough, sooner or later someone will compare someone or something to Hitler or Nazism."

But does this MAKE ME also guilty of invoking Goswin's law?

[panader0]

15. What do you have against gin?

[Enthusiast]

19. Beat me to it.

[dionysus]

66. it's made from poisonous berries, for starters.

[Mr.Bill]

69. He said cheap Gin.

That's why I only drink Tanqueray.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

87. Tanqueray, hah!

I drink Bombay Sapphire.

[Mr.Bill]

110. That's good stuff.

I prefer the strong juniper taste in Tanqueray. Been hooked on it for over 40 years.

[msanthrope]

116. Boodles gal here. nt

[Benton D Struckcheon]

16. Why I'm here.

I got, well, not banned, but basically shunned, in a forum I used to go to because I called one gun nut's post what it was: American fascism. It was the search for a sane haven after that that got me here.

[whatchamacallit]

17. Yeah, I tried

I was active for a few days at the start, but the utter futility of it quickly set in. The last few times I stopped by, a quick scan of the stupid on display was all it took for me to think "ehhh... no thanks". K&R (I believe my 1st for you dionysus).

[dionysus]

76. when you extrapolate outside of the DU bubble, where the infighting is viscious... and stroll to

Discussionist, the intellectual caliber of the opponent doesn't make it a fair fight. I even encountered some (ok maybe two) smart guys who had no problem espousing how greed is good for America. but they were clearly the well to do ones.

[NuclearDem]

18. It's a complete trainwreck over there.

[oldhippie]

20. They like things ....

... we don't like. Horrors!

[geek tragedy]

21. it's like the Gungeon on steroids nt

[freshwest]

22. They're the new CC and FR. Long may they spew about DU there. Just not here. It's rough enough. n/t

[AAO]

23. I'd choose cheap vodka over cheap gin - cheap gin can kill you!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

35. better dead than red.....

Repuke red, that is.

[AAO]

36. I wouldn't be drinking Russian Vodka - only French Vodka for me!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. bleccccch

Ugh!!!!! Icky!

The only vodka I'd ever go near is whatever in a girlie drink. Once in a blue moon!

[awoke_in_2003]

46. If it ain't made with potatos...

it ain't vodka

[Blue_In_AK]

24. Discussionist doesn't bother me.

I go back and forth with ease. The only person I've had even a hint of an issue with (and it's a small issue in the grand scheme of things) is a DUer who is currently on "time out."

[Louisiana1976]

33. It doesn't bother me either. I haven't had any issues with anyone there.

[Ligyron]

43. I'm disappointed...

I can't find enough crazy there to laff at usually.

[Jamaal510]

25. On the few wingnut

threads I posted in over there, I'm basically just one-and-done. I post what I have to say so that others can see it, and then that's it. I hardly ever stick around to argue because I know I probably won't change the person's mind who I respond to, but I at least let it be known that there is more than their perspective that's present.

[ancianita]

26. I'll take it.

[wyldwolf]

27. awww, you're pretty ok, too.

[Rex]

28. Yes! Something we can agree on!

Actually, that goes for ANY Repuke I happen to run into anywhere...WWW or RL. I might not can stand some of my fellow posters, but they are all HEAD AND SHOULDERS above the idiots that inhabit FR or CC.

[Jamastiene]

29. And that is why I'm kind of glad for the technical error that

kept me from joining over on Discussionist. I read some more and decided I don't want to wade into that kind of idiocy, after all.

[dionysus]

62. it's fun tearing down their lies and exposing their double standards.. up to a point. and liberals

are well represented there.

[KamaAina]

30. Imagine what DU would be like without MIRT.

Oh, wait, you don't have to. Just go over there. If you dare.

[villager]

32. Hey, I get to rec one of your posts!

[FSogol]

34. Yeah, what dionysus said!

[calimary]

37. Awww... thanks!

For me, life's just too short to have to deal with much of what's over there. The contrarians here are sufficient. I love DU, and I prefer DU.

[janlyn]

38. I tried it.

And I tried to like it, I really did!! If only for the sake of the creators. But every time I was on it for more than a few minutes, I felt as if I had been hit with a pillow full of Novocaine! Those people are mind numbingly stupid. I'm not a mensa member and my grammar and punctuation sucks, ( although I believe thats why the world has proofreaders.) but I feel like a veritable mental giant next to them!

[DebJ]

70. pillow full of Novocaine ... that's quite an adept description I like it!

[Aerows]

40. On Discussionist

I learned that a child's drawing of a cartoon pink and yellow owl, as displayed by Anderson Cooper, was evidence of his adherence to Satanism. Apparently cartoon owls and owls in general are satanic. I never would have known that had I never gone to Discussionist.

All this time of liking Winny the Pooh, and I find out one of his best friends and mentors is inspired by SATAN.

(I shit you not. This was an actual thread and people AGREED).

[Jim Lane]

48. See, neither you nor I would ever have known that if not for Discussionist. (n/t)

[Aerows]

49. This is the face of Satan

[DebJ]

71. Yet another reason to ban Harry Potter......all those owls! n/t

[treestar]

42. K&R

[mopinko]

44. facebook is enough for me.

i dont keep friends like that, but friends of friends...

[Shandris]

45. Mind-boggling, isn't it? How big the differences can seem on DU until you...

...actually spend a few too many minutes around right-wingers (aka 'The True Believers') and realize that you're physically wincing when you read their arguments? Yah, it's worse in person. Especially when you're outnumbered 20 to 1 (or as I call them, "Every family get-together ever&quot .

I've still only opened that site once, and the residue of the bleach is still stinging my eyes. Lesson learned.

[awoke_in_2003]

47. I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. nt

[doxydad]

50. KnR

[rock]

52. The hell we are!

Don't make me come over there! (Just joking

[jimlup]

53. yeah it is pretty lame over there

I guess I go there just to see how the stuff we say here plays in the open debate format. The answer is that: yes - they really are that stupid, thick skulled and downright mean.

[Blue_In_AK]

54. Nice.

You do realize that a lot of DUers post there, right? You would be scolded for your incivility.

[MADem]

55. That site is a gift to DU.

The tone here has gotten much better since that site became up and running.

[DebJ]

68. That sounds like a great thing at this point! n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

56. Took one look over there and left, never went back, never will

Different strokes, I guess. I don't eat food I don't like, and I don't engage with people I don't like. There's zero value for me in that kind of "dialogue," despite all the nonsense. Don't care for it.

[mdbl]

58. I think I have everyone there on ignore

Every time someone acted foolish, I placed them on ignore. Now it is veery quiet over there lol. I think I have most of them on ignore.

[Liberalynn]

59. I love this description of trying to engage in a "reasoned"

debate with a right winger. You can't because the vast majority of them abandoned their reasonableness long ago if they ever possessed it to begin with. It is funny because I follow Robert Reich on Facebook. He wondered why there can't be more civility and respectful debate between Dems and Repubs.

I respect Robert but you cannot take seriously let alone respect a member of a party that glories in ignorance and by their own admission views anyone with an intellect as an"elitist."

Yes they are entitled to their opinions but I am entitled to find their racism, sexism, homophobia, greed, science denying, disastrous economic policies etc repugnant and indefensible. And as Stephanie Miller says they may be entitled to their opinion but not their own set of facts.

If I had the power I would take away their right to vote as undemocratic as that sounds. They don't deserve it. Luckily for them I will never be in charge of such things.

Thank God for Democrats even though we have our inner disputes, the vast majority of us are still 100 percent more reasonable than your typical tea puker.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

91. "as Stephanie Miller says they may be entitled to their opinion but not their own set of facts"

That was Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

The ones I particularly have problems with are the libertarians. They inhabit an alternate universe. While ignorance of history, political theory and economics is useful for conservatives in general; such ignorance is almost required of libertarians. For example, a standard cry of American libertarians is "Abolish the Federal Reserve!" Of course, their answer to the obvious question, "And replace it with what?" tends to be some variant of what I term "The Blue Fairy of the Free Market will wave her magic wand and make everything all right." Do they really think the big banks have the country's best interests at heart?

[Liberalynn]

100. Thank You. I will now give proper credit to Mr. Moynihan

Your point about the big banks is well made. Their solution to everything seems to be privatize, do they think corporations are going to be any more efficient or cheaper than the government offered services? My guess is they would be far worse on both counts.

[MrScorpio]

60. Amen nt

[Uncle Joe]

61. All we are is dust in the wind.

Thanks for the thread, dionysus

[sellitman]

63. Precisely why I don't go there

There is no reasoning with Righties. They are mostly sub human and not worth the grief.

[grahamhgreen]

65. Cheers to that!

[sabrina 1]

67. I love Discussionist and have actually found a few Conservatives, granted they contacted me

privately, who are reasonable and open to discussion. Some feel intimidated by extremists on both sides, and there are extremists on both sides, but seem to want to work together to make this a better country. I am having some very interesting conversations which are surprisingly reasonable with a few Conservatives on Discussionist. Maybe it takes a willingness to listen, on both sides. They and we are all Americans, I am pleasantly surprised to find that some of them actually agree with us on many issues. SS for example. That is something we can work together on from what I am learning.

[dionysus]

122. there are a few i was able to debate with in a polite fashion, but our ideas were just %100 apart.

the guy was trying to convince me that unions once had their place, but had now lost their need for existence, and how if workers are underpaid they need to negotiate directly with their boss or start a competing company.

I pointed out a mcdonalds worker would most likely get fired trying for a raise, or at the least get laughed at, and that in his other scenario, a bunch of low paid workers banded together probably wouldn't be able to get the startup capital to even start the business, let alone be able to compete with the international conglomerate they are leaving. didn't sink in at all.

their mantra is always "you just need to work harder.. cause.. bootstraps!", but that's impossible if;

a) there are more job seekers than jobs. employers use this to keep wages low or drive them down.
b) productivity per worker has steadily increased over the years while wages have stagnated or even declined.
b) no matter how much harder you work, these days, especially at a minimum wage job, usually there is no reward for it whatsoever.
c) if you work for a place where they keep you just under full time to avoid paying you benefits, working harder is pointless.

I pointed out you even have people working full time that need food stamps because they're not being paid enough to live on.

I also pointed out the success of Costco, where a union isn't needed because the owner treats the workers well and pays them well, vs. the recent troubles of Walmart due to their heinous practices. In a perfect world, where greed didn't run everything, we wouldn't need the unions anymore... but obviously greed isn't going away, so we still need them.

The whole bootstrap scenario does happen, but is so rare and based on luck most all of the time (and aided a lot by personal\family connections to boot).

[Tom Ripley]

72. The right wingers at Politico make the Discussionist variety seem reasonable and eloquent

[NealK]

74. Aww, you're just saying that to please us. :blush:

But seriously, Discussionist is the dumbest name for a board or for anything else that I ever seen. Oh and I'm not interested, there are more than enough right wing trolls here to have fun with already.

[dionysus]

77. yeah i know but i got to sign up with a cool new user name! ;)

[merrily]

78. I don't huff or drink, but, in principle, the OP explains why I stopped posting

at boards where Republicans were welcome to post and joined DU.

[Ikonoklast]

79. Discussionist is Gresham's Law in action.

Soon only bad pennies will be found there.

[Gothmog]

80. The RWNJS are fun to play with

Last edited Sun Jun 1, 2014, 08:02 AM - Edit history (1)

I enjoy playing with these idiots. I live in Texas and have to deal with similar idiots in real life. I have develop a high tolerance for dealing with stupid persons and I enjoy exposing their talking points.

[dionysus]

95. it's fun to destroy them and have the fellow liberal posters laugh at them, but even faced with

concrete proof of their lies or mistakes they still keep doubling down on them and declaring victory.

to their credit, a few are civil, but most are just scary stupid.

[randome]

81. You're an idiot!

Unless you agree with me. Then you're a genius.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

[steve2470]

82. I was there briefly, lost interest

Their values are much more selfish than ours, impervious to logic and facts.

[Paladin]

83. Well and truly stated, dionysus.

The largest thread at Discussionist continues to be the "Why they threw me off of DU" one. I think that speaks volumes.....

[LiberalLovinLug]

85. You are absolutely wrong about Snowden

...(friendly jab)

but at least we can have a 'discussion' about it somewhat intelligently.

cheers

[libodem]

86. Hell to the yeah!

You've got that right!!!

[kairos12]

88. Well, well--Benghazi

[dionysus]

93. no joke, i was arguing over there with a guy who had fucking Benghazi in his damn handle...

I pointed out all the deadly embassy attacks during bush and the imbecile still kept doubling down on his bullshit.

[JoeyT]

89. Hear hear.

Here it's mostly a difference of tactics or extent for an idea. Some of the people there are outright opposed to basic human decency. There's only so much about letting hungry kids starve or how letting non-whites vote is totally oppression I can handle, and it's not very much.

I figure on DU even most of the people I don't like much here I would probably like IRL. I have to wonder what some of the people I've seen there are like. BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!? SOCIALISM! WHAAARGARBL! "Dude, just shut up and eat your fucking cheeseburger." "No! Obama eats cheeseburgers!"

[dionysus]

113. !

nice analogy

[MrScorpio]

94. My motto for The Discussionist...

[arely staircase]

96. the dumbest most misinformed illogical DUr is a Mensa member compared to those reactionaries.

[dionysus]

114. to quote Ed Bailey from Tombstone "jesus it's like playing cards with my sisters kids..."

[Bobbie Jo]

97. Right you are, dion

K&R

[defacto7]

98. ditto

[Anansi1171]

101. Lol...DISGUSTINGIST -nt

[tabasco]

102. So-crates is a dead Greek dude, right? n/t

[MrMickeysMom]

103. I am trying to remember who predicted this suck-age….

It wasn't I, and I posted about 50 times there, mostly in the first day. I visited once since then.

I didn't even realize until someone mentioned it here that it was fly paper for the conservative wing nut crowd. So, was this planned, so they don't' troll here?

Ah ha!

[noiretextatique]

104. you are so right

That place is a cesspool

[BeyondGeography]

107. My sig line says hello

[herding cats]

109. Finally, common ground most can agree on again here!

I've been trying to stay out of the fray when it comes to bashing discussionist, but in this case I can't help but agree.

I love this place and enjoy our style of discussion we have here. What takes place there is nothing like At DU. If I didn't appreciate the MIRT and our system before to the extent they deserve, I truly so now. The work that must go into making this place maintain it's standards is clearer to me now.

[dionysus]

118. DU will always be my mainstay but i have a guilty pleasure into tearing into conservatives. sad part

is, you can pwn them six ways from sunday and they either won't get it or refuse to admit they are wrong...

but there's enough liberals\DUers there to inject a passable amount of sanity so it doesn't suck that bad. it's just a different animal.

think of it as DU as team practice and Discussionist as a road game

[herding cats]

120. I've been trying over there...some.

Unlike a lot of people here, I'm all too used to dealing with the caricature of the hard right. Scary as it seems, these beast do exist in the wild. Where I used to call my primary home they reigned supreme. I've skill dealing with the mindset I've barely even tapped into there yet. I may never show my real skill there.

I'm not sure the site was designed for people like me, really. If I were to guess I'd say it's for those in our world who talk about people like that, but never really have had to engage them in dialog. I can see the benefit of teaching people just how extreme, and illogical their mindset actually is. I wonder if the admin also think there's some hope for the sort who might post there to learn, and grow as citizens of this country? I used to feel the same way, back when I believed in people more than I do today. Things have changed since then. People have become extreme, or removed themselves from the process. At least those I used to talk to have. Now back home there's hardly any one who can speak of politics who isn't an extremest, "leftist" (their term not mine) or an insane teabagger. Everyone else on both sides has taken the fifth where politics are involved. There is no longer a middle of the road. It's as if to take a stance means you're an extremest. Which has been branded as bad thing by the media.

This isn't your parents political environment. This isn't even the political environment of my youth or young adulthood. Depending on where I am at the time I either feel like a freak or like a normal person if I express my political opinions. It shouldn't be that polarized. Despite what some say, I've been around the US, and in other countries a few times in my adulthood, and this is the worst things have been in that, neigh on 20 year period of time.

Something is broken right now, dangerously broken in this country. The majority don't vote and let the minority make decisions for them which are forming our nation, not for the better in too many situations. We have a nation where vast amounts of people aren't even being heard. For whatever their reasons. Wild, crazy things are being done in many states by their local lawmakers. I find myself wondering if the citizens of those states are so complacent they just don't bother voting any longer. At times I wonder if some have just just given up thinking they no longer matter.

I've really went off track, haven't I? My sincere apologies. Discussionist has been making me think about a lot of things since it was created. It reminds me of many things I'd thought I'd left behind me, but now I'm realizing I'll never really be able to leave behind. No matter what the good people I left behind are still good, and they're still deserving of my time and my devotion. Damn. I have work to do. I have lots of work to do still. I guess I can't just leave and pretend it all away. Their mess they're living in is still effecting me even now. It always will, that's how a society works.

[Zorra]

115. Yep. And this is exactly why I believe that dividing the country between liberals and conservatives

is a fantastic idea.

A world where we did not have to deal with conservative stupidity, hate, aggression, malice, backwardness, violence. etc. ad nauseum, would be a wonderful world indeed.

We'd evolve so fast in every way that we might even be able to save the planet.

Cheers, dionysus!

[dionysus]

117. .

[McCamy Taylor]

119. Love you too.

[Gothmog]

121. The RWNJs seem to be getting dumber on this site