A postscript to "what happened to me"

[Amarok]

Belaqua, what you are saying is completely uncalled for, on top of being wrong.

Was it OK for Christopher Hitchens to say nasty things about recently-deceased Jerry Falwell, because we don't approve of Falwell?

Lol talk about bringing up irrelevant points and considering you have yet to prove this supposed cruelty (which will just be you calling anything he says cruel ) While Farewell was a proven POS. So bring the evidence of your slander or shut it .

[BryanS]

Belaqua, what you are saying is completely uncalled for, on top of being wrong.

Was it OK for Christopher Hitchens to say nasty things about recently-deceased Jerry Falwell, because we don't approve of Falwell?

Ummm...the person who died that you decided was mean without knowing him was not named Christopher Hitchens. So your point is what, exactly?

[vulcanlogician]

And he would then be able to help us better understand how the alt right operates by taking advantage of isolated people.

We crossed that bridge with rob awhile back.  This is the result, lol.

His delusions are self protecting and aggressive.  We’re not a mental health service or an asshole support network.

It’s not as if no one mentioned to rob, on the way down, that he was being taken for a ride by a bunch of predatory asswipes.....or that no one asked with real concern wtf was up....but beyond that, what are the boards qualified to do, and is it really anyone’s responsibility to mama bird his silly ass back to s place where he isn’t a flaming douche?

At this point, we’re just having fun with a troll.

I know we're not responsible for Rob's mental health. But the real issue isn't whatever conspiracy theories he's obsessing about. The issue is, he feels unhappy and vulnerable and has come into contact with online entities who use that vulnerability to manipulate him and sell him a bogus ideology. In a way, it's not his fault. That doesn't give him the right to annoy forum members as he has done, true. But I'm choosing not to focus on that.

It just sucks that the problem could be solved if Rob stayed on a farm, did a couple weeks of honest work in the outdoors... maybe ate a few batches of pot brownies or something... shit would be cool again. I guess a vacation in the Bahamas might achieve the same result. Rob just needs to chill. But the conspiracy mindset has placed him in a world where it is impossible to chill. There are to many plots and schemes going on! And it's making him wig out.

When I first met Rob, I followed a link he had in his signature. It was his personal webpage where he discussed logic and logical fallacies. It was awesome. Anyone who appreciates critical thinking so much as to create a webpage like that can come back from whatever conspiracy trip that he is on.

I understand that he's annoying you guys. I'm not shaking my finger at you or anything. When someone's being an asshole, sometimes they need to hear it straight up. Go ahead and tell him how you feel. I dig it. That's a perfectly valid way to deal with shit like this. But I have a different way of dealing with shit like this. And I think it's just as valid as other ways.

[Belacqua]

Was it OK for Christopher Hitchens to say nasty things about recently-deceased Jerry Falwell, because we don't approve of Falwell?

Ummm...the person who died that you decided was mean without knowing him was not named Christopher Hitchens. So your point is what, exactly?

My point is exactly what I said it was earlier. 

These days, it appears that if you no longer approve of a person, then you have no duty to be kind or empathetic to that person. 

Hitchens thought Falwell was bad, so he showed no empathy or kindness to Falwell, his relatives or friends. I'd be interested to hear if anyone here thought Hitchens was wrong to write those unkind things. 

Where we draw the line is maybe the point. When is it OK to stop showing empathy and kindness? 

I think some people are very quick to draw that line, and very quick to decide that other people deserve to be treated badly. And I think that if the target of the nastiness is unpopular, we can spend a lot of time and effort being nasty to that person and still be called kind by our friends.

[vulcanlogician]

@Belaqua
I appreciate your presence on these forums. I think you are a thoughtful guy. I like how you point out groupthink. You're a bit like Socrates. You like to nudge people out of their comfort zones and show them how they might not be giving certain arguments a fair shake. It is a rare and valuable quality.

But, you made me pretty mad with your recent comments accusing a certain someone of bullying. I have never once seen this person bully another person. He was always thoughtful and kind to others in every single post of his I have read. Maybe there are posts of his that I missed, and you know something I don't. But even if that is true, it is inappropriate to bring such things up right now. I would ask that you either drop the issue entirely, or (if you feel inclined) apologize.

[Belacqua]

I have never once seen this person bully another person. He was always thoughtful and kind to others in every single post of his I have read. Maybe there are posts of his that I missed, and you know something I don't. But even if that is true, it is inappropriate to bring such things up right now. I would ask that you either drop the issue entirely, or (if you feel inclined) apologize.

Personal attacks on people who are thought to deserve personal attacks tend to go unremarked on. So it doesn't surprise me that certain examples of that are forgotten. 

I get personal insults on this forum every day. There are people who type very little other than insults. I don't respond or complain. But I'm not going to apologize for the noticing that vile insults are given a pass when typed by some people and not by others.

[vulcanlogician]

Don't be Fred Phelps.

Let this one go, man. Please, please, please. Let it go.

Limit your accusations to people who are alive and can defend themselves.

I'm sorry that you get personally insulted here. If you think I can help you out in a given situation, feel free to PM me or mention me in thread. Also, feel free to point out if I dispense personal insults to anyone. Not when I'm being fun and sporting though; I like a rowdy debate on occasion. But if you feel like I'm bullying someone, please, call me out on it. If I agree with your assessment, I'll own up to it and/or rectify the situation if it is wise/feasible to do so.

[Belacqua]

Don't be Fred Phelps.

Let this one go, man. Please, please, please. Let it go.

Limit your accusations to people who are alive and can defend themselves.

I'm sorry that you get personally insulted here. If you think I can help you out in a given situation, feel free to PM me or mention me in thread. Also, feel free to point out if I dispense personal insults to anyone. Not when I'm being fun and sporting though; I like a rowdy debate on occasion. But if you feel like I'm bullying someone, please, call me out on it. If I agree with your assessment, I'll own up to it and/or rectify the situation if it is wise/feasible to do so.

The insults against me are of no concern. Thank you for your offer of help, though. 

The people who are upset here will get over it. They'll have to chill. If they suddenly think posts on this forum must show concerns for the feelings of others they're just being hypocritical. 

But I've made a true point with true facts, and that's enough. I'll stop.

[adey67]

The insults against me are of no concern. Thank you for your offer of help, though. 

The people who are upset here will get over it. They'll have to chill. If they suddenly think posts on this forum must show concerns for the feelings of others they're just being hypocritical. 

But I've made a true point with true facts, and that's enough. I'll stop.

True facts? That's a laugh mate. 

You LIED about the deceased and defamed their character. 
You LIED about what his friends supposedly said in his tribute thread and you LIED to everyone here on AF because its a complete fabrication, a made up story. 
You insulted and offended people across two forums to make a point about how much you dislike insults and offence on forums and how much better it would be if everyone had more safe spaces and just sat around being nice and wanking off Barney the Dinosaur's fucking pussy.  

Well I hope it was worth it mate because your reputation which I gather wasn't exactly a shining triumph in the first place is now in the gutter and the worst thing about this is just how completely oblivious you are to everything, you have the self awareness of an amoeba on heroin.
You are NOT the vilified champion of the oppressed and persecuted on forums everywhere, your claim to fame is you're the guy who scored a truly epic own goal in two places simultaneously.

[Chas]

Ummm...the person who died that you decided was mean without knowing him was not named Christopher Hitchens. So your point is what, exactly?

My point is exactly what I said it was earlier. 

These days, it appears that if you no longer approve of a person, then you have no duty to be kind or empathetic to that person. 

Hitchens thought Falwell was bad, so he showed no empathy or kindness to Falwell, his relatives or friends. I'd be interested to hear if anyone here thought Hitchens was wrong to write those unkind things. 

Where we draw the line is maybe the point. When is it OK to stop showing empathy and kindness? 

I think some people are very quick to draw that line, and very quick to decide that other people deserve to be treated badly. And I think that if the target of the nastiness is unpopular, we can spend a lot of time and effort being nasty to that person and still be called kind by our friends.

Still waiting for your evidence while you squirm around trying to justify yourself.

---

Don't be Fred Phelps.

Let this one go, man. Please, please, please. Let it go.

Limit your accusations to people who are alive and can defend themselves.

I'm sorry that you get personally insulted here. If you think I can help you out in a given situation, feel free to PM me or mention me in thread. Also, feel free to point out if I dispense personal insults to anyone. Not when I'm being fun and sporting though; I like a rowdy debate on occasion. But if you feel like I'm bullying someone, please, call me out on it. If I agree with your assessment, I'll own up to it and/or rectify the situation if it is wise/feasible to do so.

The insults against me are of no concern. Thank you for your offer of help, though. 

The people who are upset here will get over it. They'll have to chill. If they suddenly think posts on this forum must show concerns for the feelings of others they're just being hypocritical. 

But I've made a true point with true facts, and that's enough. I'll stop.

No, please don't stop until you provide the evidence for your "True Facts®".