Signing Off

Americans have been arrested for peacefully holding an anti-Bush sign outside of a "Free Speech Zone."

I mistakenly thought that our entire country was a "Free Speech Zone."

Americans have been held indefinately, without charges against them and without access to an attorney.

But that part of the Bill of Rights doesn't count, apparently.

And under Bush, the federal goverment has usurped the role of the states in education, an area that was clearly reserved for the states (and the people) by the 10th Amendment.

Fortunately, the Bush admistration has been vigilant about protecting the Third Amendment. I am confidant that I will never have to quarter soldiers in my house.

That, and the right to bear arms, are all we have left.

 

Apparently, what Janko came here to do is to reply to posts on the political forum, but to post those replies to another forum.

I guess that in some kind of twisted logic, this is his way to maintain "purity."

What a joke.

 

Re: Re: Signing Off

I think that another word for what you call "purity" is 'self-respect'.

Preserving one's self-respect isn't a joke. Or rather, it doesn't have to be.

 

Re: Re: Re: Signing Off

You've got to be kidding.

It's not that Janko won't respond to posts on the political forum -- he will.

It's just that he insists on doing it in inappropriate fora. How in the world could that be construed as preserving one's self-respect?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Signing Off

No, I'm serious.

Too much of what's posted in this and other internet forums is 'venting', the projection of one's anger and frustration onto others.

And it's provocation, attempting to push other people's buttons and then claiming some incomprehensible victory if other people can be made to reveal what's ugliest in themselves.

Well, there are some who place value in maintaining their emotional and spiritual equilibrium. And sometimes these people find it hard to avoid being sucked in.

So I think that often times signing off is the best and most mature choice. I have done it myself from a couple of other internet boards that gradually became dominated by angry political flaming. When it's no longer interesting or fun, when you find yourself angry every time you log on, it's probably time to consider more positive pursuits.

It hasn't gotten to that point yet with me here, but I respect Unk's choice in this matter.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Signing Off

But you are missing the point. Janko does respond to posts on the the "Political Forum." He just chooses to respond in another forum. If that is your definition of maturity, then call me immature.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Signing Off

Like I said, the stupid pettiness of it it sucks us all in. (I'm posting here right now.) It's like staring at a car wreck, sometimes. We feel guilty about it, but yet we do it.

Unk will either return to participating in this forum, or else he will gradually lose interest and stop reading it.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Signing Off

"He can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road."

--George W. Bush

 

Or most anyplace else he happens to be, as well, I suspect.

Agreed.

Indeed... a time-worn tactic of those on the Right most vicious, thoughtless, vitriolic, bereft of compassion, and altogether deficient of the emotional, social and spiritual comportment they would otherwise exhibit were they and their words and actions guided by some sort of moral compass.

I lament it. Janko's departure from any forum is that forum's loss. That having been said, I, too, have found myself avoiding this particular DegreeInfo forum of late because of the fundamental disrespect for disparate opinions exhibited here. There are ways for intelligent, passionate people to disagree -- and vehemently so -- without things degrading to what's happened, generally, in this particular part of DegreeInfo. I remember the evening that Chip, apparently frustrated by how the increasingly-intense political chatter had begun to dominate the "Off-topic discussions" forum, created this political-talk-only forum. Several commented that in some ways it improved things because it made it easier to just avoid all this garbage by simply never visiting this place. While I cringed at the notion of that at the time, I am of late finding myself doing that very thing -- not because I don't like, couldn't take, or lacked the skills to competently oppose the Right-winged inanity that I'm reading here but, rather, because of the fundamental mean-spiritedness, ignorance and abysmal lack of even the slightest hint of rudimentary decency and compassion with which it's being routinely proffered.

Whew. Thank goodnes you're not leaving DegreeInfo altogether. Someone out there has to advance the Carpathian viewpoint.

 

Another bit for Letterman

Ah, yes... another ignorant, embarrassingly mangled, mixed-metaphoric, good-ol'-boy Bush43ism. The only possible way that what he tried to say could even possibly work would have been:

• "He can't be on his high horse and then take the low road."

 

Re: Another bit for Letterman

No, what he was trying to say was "...and the horse he rode in on."

 

I hope you feel better.

Unfortunately you seem to have missed my point. I don't think that Unk objects to "right wingers" (he leans towards the right himself, I think) or left wingers for that matter.

I think that his reasons for leaving had more to do with the nature of discourse here, with all the emotional venting and baiting. Sometimes people need to preserve their emotional center and their self-respect.

I think that if people could discuss political ideas, from right, left or center, in a friendly and thoughtful manner, there would be little problem. But if this forum just becomes an occasion for people to express their pent-up anger and to try to manipulate other people into behaving as badly as possible, whether for sport or as an attempt to verify prejudices, then it's not a very good place to be.

 

I agree...

Hey Bill,
I agree with your thoughts and posts about Janko. My impressions are the same - he is a good man who doesn't want to drag through the muck and provocation that sometimes happens in this particular subset of the DegreeInfo forum.

As one who is sometimes guilty of being provocative, I'm also turning over a new leaf. I'll say what I think, but I hope to never again cause those who do not share my opinion anger or frustration at my posts.

Now that the election is over, it is time to put aside partisan bickering and help our great nation be all that it can be, to borrow a phrase from the US Army ads.... I'm doing my part in toning down my anti-Bush rhetoric, and hoping that my colleagues on the right will reciprocate. Mutual respect and understanding are the building blocks towards a better more peaceful world.

Carl

 

Let me get this straight.

First, It is self-evident that even since his "departure," Janko WILL still respond to posts on this forum.

He just does it on another forum. And instead of focusing on the content of a person's post, he focuses on their spelling mistakes.

And somehow, starting a whole thread to focus on someone's spelling mistake is how he AVOIDS being provocative.

And that is how he preserves his self respect.

Am I missing something?

 

Re: I agree...

You are kidding, right Carl?

 

Re: Re: I agree...

I'm trying to control my evil twin these days..... LOL