MSNBC: US Troops Fire on Iraqi Wedding, More Than 40 Killed

Don't start, TJ. You really don't want to go down this path. Trust me.

 

He's going to absurd lengths to defend the murder of innocents, those he has repeatedly called 'animals.' If this does not represent racism, the word has lost its meaning.

 

Unless of course he was actually calling them "animals" because of their behaviour, not their skin color.

 

I don't remember the exact context, but you could be right. If he said that the people who carried out certain acts were animals then that's one thing.

If he said that Palestinians were animals then that is another thing altogether and would be racist.

 

That's how I understood it as well.

By the way, completely unrelated, what happened to A-Train?

 

This is how it went down. The bama post is exactly how nyrocket quoted it before his comments below. You can decide for yourself.

SJC, A-Train lost a bet (when the Rockets made the playoffs) and had to quit posting.

 

He made a bet that if the Rox made the playoffs(something he was SOOOO sure they wouldn't) he's stop posting for a length of time.

 

this thread is very important. racism is a loaded topic- i don't think we really need to go there at all. where we should go is to a place where we can resolve our differences, or agree to disagree. it's insensitivity and knee-jerk oversimplifications of complicated issues that is the problem here. there is nothing to be "won" here, this a golden opportunity to discuss the upsetting state of affairs we find ourselves in. we came to this site as rockets fans, we all do have that in common and this is a start. i am new to the d&d and was dicussing with some friends how fascinating it was to "talk" politics on a basketball fan site. it represents an interesting demographic, largely male rockets' fans from all over the political spectrum. to jeff and the other mods: i would be sad to see it go. i think that if you have to ban some people, do it. i think you are providing people with a great tool for airing grievances. you guys have full discretion to call out anyone who steps out of line and i would understand if it was just too much of a pain as to be worth your time, but if rockets fans can't even be civil to one another then i think we as a nation are in some serious trouble.

 

MacBeth is quite right. I may have responded to a particular post, but BS has been very liberal with the appellation in question. But I see very little need in digging up old quotations as BS is sure to offer a repeat performance imminently.

 

MacBeth: Just a hint...not everything is about you. What I said in my post wasn't directed only at you, although it is true that I've never seen you jump to defend TJ or bama when they are getting lectured by an admin anymore than TJ would jump in to help you. But, that wasn't my point.

My point was to say that there is a way to debate on here and a way not to debate. Provoking others is NOT the way to do it - insults aside.

My post wasn't just about you. It is about the tone of the D&D in general. You interjected and I responded. End of story.

Actually, that isn't what bamaslammer said. I'm not ignoring the implication but I also understand the intention and provocational nature behind using "racist." The primary difference being that bama directed his comments towards people in general whereas nyrocket directed his comments right at bama. I'm not interested in keeping peace in the world or suppressing the underlying hostilities of any person towards another race. My interest is keeping peace on this board and one sure way to avert that is to call someone a racist. Talk about the content of the post, not the person posting.

Again, missing the point. This is not about what word is ok and what is not. This is about finding a way to debate an issue without provoking a personal onslaught. It is not tough to do. If you find bama's reference to "animals" uncomfortable, debate the ISSUES surrounding that personification by him. Discuss why people live the way they do, why they might have been up at 3am, differences in culture, ideology, etc. Saying "you are a despicable racist" does absolutely NOTHING to further the discussion at hand. In fact, it turns well-meaning threads into free-for-all's.

Again, not about you. I agree that in the early days of the war, the whole D&D probably should've been nuked back into the stone age, but it wasn't. During that same time, the board was trying to cope with the influx of some 15,000 new posters on the board and the D&D was WAY down on the list of priorities.

So, now we are left to pick up the pieces and move on and since we have time, the focus is back here - note the presence recently of more moderators.

Frankly, I don't think anyone is in here to debate or discuss. I think folks are in here to rant and shout each other down about 90 percent of the time. I'm not stupid enough to think that these topics don't invite intense discussions, but it has gotten to the point that you aren't heard unless your post is loaded with language meant to provoke others, intentionally or otherwise (note the bold face in your quoted post). And, if that doesn't change, this place is going to wear out its usefulness very quickly.

 

Jeff, while I agree with pretty much everything you said in your last post, just a question:

Have you never felt entertained by one of the "shouting matches", e.g., between T_J and Sam Fisher?

I have to admit I find these threads quite entertaining myself .

 

Jeff, how do you feel about making your post a sticky? I think that should be a last resort thing starting now and if people can't start complying, then this place should be "nuked back to the stone age".

I'll be happy to comply.

 

Guys, just as a point of reference, every single board I participate in has the element of two groups of people fighting with one another. I participate in a WAKEBOARDING FORUM where this occurs. The wakeboarding culture is the most laid back, happy-go-lucky group on this planet. If they can fall victim to arguing and petty fighting, then hardly anyone is exempt. It's simply human nature to come in conflict with others. It's hard to stop.

 

But you can have petty fighting and arguing without the personal insults. We did it here for a long time.

I'm stopping now whether people join me or not. I apologize to you T_J for all the insults I've thrown your way. That goes out to everyone else, but especially you since I've insulted you more times than anyone else.

 

I feel a group hug coming on.

 

It's probably just gas.