ATW can speak for himself, but I'm bored, so you'll both have to forgive me for butting in. Telling how? Isn't this thread about why ATW is wary of Islam? So, shouldn't violence that pertains to, you know, where he lives and works and the era he exists in have more concern to him? It hasn't been, nor will it ever be. Sounds like a call for equating the inequal. The Tamil Tigers are just another example of trying to use one instance of violence to remove accountability from another. Are their justifications similar? Are they equally necessary or sufficient? Do the Tamil Tigers make Islamic violence any more justified, necessary, or unavoidable? Who is arguing that violence doesn't have other causes? Should that make ATW feel any less worried about the rise of fundamentalist Islam in his part of the world? We really need to get past this whole concept of "all ideologies are equal" thing. They're not. Squeakiest wheel gets the most grease, as it should be. There's nothing wrong with that. Nor is there any reason to throw out perfectly good ideologies because bad ones exist. And ATW and I both readily acknowledge that the human conditions play a part in this. That's a song and dance we've been through a dozen times on this BBS, as recently as yesterday, even.
The problem is, Islam is only the squeakiest wheel if you look at the past ten years, in the Middle East, and America. Maybe. I mean the Tamils are pretty close to single-handily doing more than all Islamic groups combined. Like you said though, it's telling that ATW chose this time frame, and location, because it probably explains his over-obsessive glare on Islam. Normally, I wouldn't even quibble about crap like this and I'm far from a fan of Islam, but the guy blatantly pushes his pro-Israel, anti-Islam agenda throughout the forum, to the point where it's utterly ridiculous. I wouldn't have a problem, if he a) didn't resort to personal insults pretty much every post and b) He didn't take it to an extreme where almost every thread he starts is about Islam, and even in threads that have nothing to do with Islam, he buts in with...Islam.
Fair enough. But that just goes back to the inequality point. Can we pinpoint and isolate motives and causes? I'd say it's a lot easier to do so with religiously inspired violence than it is with politically inspired violence. And then there's the whole concept of how justified each violent instance is. It's a case of a chorus of squeaks, but sometimes they mean different things, and as such get treated differently. Absolutely it does. Kind of like how since I was raised in a town run by the Baptist mafia, more of my concern is directed towards Christian misbehavior. We're all products of our environment like that. Doesn't make our concerns illegitimate though. It just explains them. That's pretty much every poster and the point of this entire forum. I don't mind when someone pushes an agenda while making decent points, though (twhy77 comes to mind with his Catholic agenda, rhad also comes to mind with his anti-spying agenda). Unlike, say, basso, whose supporting material for his agenda is recycled garbage tilled from the bottom of the conservative blogosphere without a singular independent thought injected into it. a) ATW rarely gets personal, and usually only in defense/reaction towards other personal insults thrown at him. b) ATW also rarely derails threads towards Islam, rather, we have posters who stalk him and hurl bombs at him that pull him into those discussions. I have no idea where you got those two notions from, unless I'm just hiding under a rock when it comes to what goes on in the rest of this BBS. But after 28,000 posts, I'd like to think I know what's up.
That has not been my experience with him at all. If it had been, I don't think I'd be as persistent at trying to prove him wrong though, I guess. guess we all have our biases.
To be fair, I did jokingly call Northside Storm a moron. Felt good. Plus, he is still butt-hurt over previous pwnings under his old user name... Emphasis on "trying"... :grin:
Umm, I am talking about the last 10 years and Europe (where I live) as well as the United States. "Cherry picking" would have been picking some random 10 years of the last 2000 years. If one includes the global hotspots of terror (Middle East and South Asia), the numbers would have been even worse, if you want to defend Islamists. The Tamil Tigers are of no relevance to me where I live and travel (I did travel to Colombo a couple of times, and it was kind of depressing to see people with guns all over the place, but it was a local conflict.) Your desperate attempts at moral relativism fail when looking at the global terror body count (not to speak of other horrible things like stoning adulterers and homosexuals, forcing women into mobile jails, etc. etc.). More than 90 % of terror casualties in the last 10 years. Scoreboard (sadly).
You pretty much go out of your way to personally insult me every post. You dig up old personal threads I start up two to three years ago, just to what, I don't know...all because you think I am someone I am not. I mean, I find it hilarious and ****. You and Sam hate this guy so much, it's extended all the way back now. it's kinda sad, really. Still waiting on a reply from the thread where you got drunk btw, drunkenness is no excuse 7 days later.
coincidence that you defend ATW's style of trolling(how 99% of his threads are on one subject on D&D) and also have similar views.
I don't hate the guy. Dude was entertaining. It was like someone said...it was like watching a clown choking himself to death (or something like that). How do you know I haven't been drunk ever since .
I'm not really sure how having an agenda/issue that you care about more than others qualifies as trolling. Trolling would be the art of posting nonsense or saying things purely in order to get a rise out of people, without legitimate or genuine concern for the topic or subject matter... engaging in dishonest debate with no intention of actual productive discussion. But, if that's the definition you wanna roll with, ok. Just be prepared to classify a hell of a lot of people as trolls, then.
So entertaining, you stalk him to this day (and subsequently stalk me when you think I am him)? yeah, i find you a little creepy man, and that's not said with ill-will, just straight up truth.
yeah, because whatever we classify as terrorism is automatically the definition of an ideology. How many people have died in Iraq for twisted Christianity? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-Bushs-Iraq-briefings-came-quotes-Bible.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa scoreboard
No, you stalked me in another thread where you went over my entire post history (something about Eurozone worries---which I didn't even think you would post in), and you consistently stalk that MacBeth guy, whoever the **** he is, and a number of other users you have come into conflict with. If that's your idea of pursuing hilarity; tracking users around forums, and the internet even, well that's ****ing creepy as hell. I hope it helps you gain King of the Internet status or something.
i think your angry, sensitive soul is reflecting back at you. Did Macbeth the Muslim steal your wife or something? I'd be curious if I actually cared, but hold that thought---I don't think I ever will. Oh well. If you ever want to debate points, so be it. It's kinda a waste of time otherwise, to be honest. At least when I'm wasting time debating I can learn something, this is just trivial and terrible, so I won't pursue it any further.
