I see I misspelled 'Civil' in the OP Title.
I would edit that to correct if, if I could.
Members banned from this thread: PostmodernProphet, Truth Detector, canceled.2021.2, CFM, Ralph, countryboy and The Ugly Truth |
Hello good people at JPP.
I come in peace to discuss the issues facing the USA. I offer manners and respect for you, and a promise that I will never tell you off, or be mean to you.
I respectfully ask for the same in return. Actually I require it. If you share my values this should represent a welcome diversion from the common immaturity seen here.
I am into civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Anyone who flames on me will be placed on my Ignore List. My rules are more strict than the site rules. My Ignore List is PERMANENT. I never take anyone off Ignore. If you like to call other posters names and you want to blame me, vent on me, etc, please identify yourself by flaming on me promptly so I can add you to my growing Permanent Ignore List.
Anyone can tell me off one time. If I accept that and do nothing I invite more of the same; I become the enabler for this type of unwarranted aggressive behavior. I am not going to do that. I know it is quite common around here, but I am not going to put up with it. I could. I simply choose not to. That's what an Ignore List is for. I feel like if I take part in that kind of tit for tat, that I lower myself to do that.
I fully expect to have a very large Ignore List quite rapidly. This is my strategy for having respectful conversations about our national issues. In order to enjoy what I seek, I must filter out ALL of the trash talk. I don't care what form it comes in. It can be accompanied by a very intelligent post, very articulate. That doesn't matter. If it includes being mean, saying mean things about me, I will add that poster to my Ignore List. I don't say mean things about other people, and I am not going to lower myself to those standards.
Many will not understand this. Some will think I will have nobody to talk to. They are wrong. There are good people with manners who are tired of the trash talking. Not as many as the trash talkers here, but that is not a problem. There is too much activity on this site to keep up with it all anyway. So I am going to build a nice little group of friends here who want to be polite, like they really care about one another. That's what I have in real life, and that is what I will have here. That means I am going to have to make some examples out of some people and show that I mean exactly what I said in my Signature. I refuse to be the target of such venting. Nothing personal at all. I simply choose to remain above that. You can do that too, you know. We all can. I choose to.
Also, it does not escape me that when people are unable to argue their positions solely on points of merit, and feel they must resort to putting down the opposition? When people act like that, it usually means they are not really confident enough in their own position to simply state how they feel and let it be. As if they don't think their own position is strong enough to stand on it's own merit. A position is actually more convincing if you stick to facts, and point out where other posts deviate from facts.
I know there are many on this planet who have a genuine love in their heart for fellow humans. I know they exist because I find examples of it constantly. Sadly, there are also some who are filled with rage and frustration. They are just looking for someone to direct it towards. When we enable one another to do that to us, we perpetuate the grief and hatred. I am not going to do that.
All we have to do is find that love in our hearts for humankind and look for it. It is out there. It is inside all of us. We are intelligent beings, but we are creatures of habit. We Americans have some bad habits. Lately one of them is being mean to others on the internet. Very similar to being mean, dangerous, and overly aggressive as drivers, something which has existed long before the internet, but something which has become worse over time. I have to chuckle when I think that some of our worst posters here post like some of our worst drivers drive, but it's sadly true.
Habits can be changed if you try hard enough. That is a very powerful lesson in life. Do your habits control you? Or do you control your habits... Any habit can be changed or established by simply consciously acting differently for a period of 2-3 weeks. After that time period, it becomes second nature. Then you don't have to think about it, it just comes naturally. It is your new habit. Very powerful for self-improvement.
If you are not proud of your habits, and there is a small part of you, a nagging feeling, that it is not right? Listen to that. You can change your habits. Let it begin with enjoying a mutually respectful and long lasting exchange of ideas with me. You never have to worry that I am going to tell you off. I don't do that. I argue on the basis of merit. If you can do that too I believe you will find your credibility will be very high.
Welcome to a new era at JPP. Let that begin with me, and with you. Thanks for listening; thanks for being kind. Be kind to yourself; be kind to others.
Let's have some fun learning, exchanging ideas, and finding out what makes the other side tick as we get better informed and better able to be responsible citizens!
Personal Ignore Policy PIP: I like civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Mouth off to me, or express overt racism, you will be PERMANENTLY Ignore Listed. Zero tolerance. No exceptions. I'll never read a word you write, even if quoted by another, nor respond to you, nor participate in your threads. ... Ignore the shallow. Cherish the thoughtful. Long Live Civil Discourse, Mutual Respect, and Good Debate! ps: Feel free to adopt my PIP. It works well.
I see I misspelled 'Civil' in the OP Title.
I would edit that to correct if, if I could.
Personal Ignore Policy PIP: I like civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Mouth off to me, or express overt racism, you will be PERMANENTLY Ignore Listed. Zero tolerance. No exceptions. I'll never read a word you write, even if quoted by another, nor respond to you, nor participate in your threads. ... Ignore the shallow. Cherish the thoughtful. Long Live Civil Discourse, Mutual Respect, and Good Debate! ps: Feel free to adopt my PIP. It works well.
That approach is great, but it doesn't work very well here. I've tried this, but wasted my time. You have tons of right wing haters here, that openly speak their prejudices. They use the c word, and the n word enough to make a saint want them to fuck off. I'm sure some are trolls, but some may well be legit sickos as well. Here's a group of the Stormfront type sickos. Text Drivers Are Killers, Praisekek, Volsrock, hvilleherb, The Ugly Truth, Q-Tip, Ooda, CFM, Rob Larrkin
Mason Michaels (03-16-2018), ThatOwlWoman (03-16-2018)
Hello and greetings Jade Dragon,
Thanks for the hello. My pleasure to 'meet' you. Thanks for the short list. My Ignore List already contains several of those.
I fully understand my stringent standards will filter out most of what is said here. That is my intent. It is pointless to talk to people who are only looking for a target to aim their frustrations at. I hope that by filtering out the garbage I will reduce my time here to the most intellectual posts. I'm sure that won't work well for taking part in most of the posting.
But hey, look. You thought you were alone in this approach. Now there are two of us. I bet there are more. I believe the true waste of time is talking to those who are only looking for a place to vent.
Personal Ignore Policy PIP: I like civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Mouth off to me, or express overt racism, you will be PERMANENTLY Ignore Listed. Zero tolerance. No exceptions. I'll never read a word you write, even if quoted by another, nor respond to you, nor participate in your threads. ... Ignore the shallow. Cherish the thoughtful. Long Live Civil Discourse, Mutual Respect, and Good Debate! ps: Feel free to adopt my PIP. It works well.
not listening to everyone leads to a certain kind of blindness
I insult people because it is incombent on a society to shame publically the people who refuse to accept facts and spew lies
if they are not properly labeled as liars some will believe them
they destroy anything mankind can build
Rune (03-25-2018)
they MUST be faced down
people read these sites and DONT post
I know its hard to believe but its true
these type sites are a gold mine of information about what Americans think
they have to be shamed
there is only one way to do it
with all the tools of mankind
that includes invective and humor
Rune (03-25-2018)
Hello evince,
Perhaps, but I am willing to accept that. I don't believe the effect is any kind of detriment to my positions.
I put up with trash talking posts for a very long time. After a while, they begin to sound alike. I got tired of reading endless variations on ways to make a put-down. It's so petty. Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said? "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people"
Eleanor Roosevelt
A few years back I realized I could save a lot of time by filtering all that stuff out. I was right! When I visit, I don't waste any time reading trash talk. Everything I read is posted on the merit of a good argument.
We'll just have to disagree on this. I think a better way is to simply point out where they are wrong and state what is correct. Sticking to the merit of an argument is far more effective. There need be nothing personal about it. Merit-based arguing is indisputably more credible.
That's true, but they probably would anyway if that's their mindset.
That is not true. To be more precise, it is a complete exaggeration.
Last edited by PoliTalker; 03-16-2018 at 02:39 PM. Reason: typos
Personal Ignore Policy PIP: I like civil discourse. I will give you all the respect in the world if you respect me. Mouth off to me, or express overt racism, you will be PERMANENTLY Ignore Listed. Zero tolerance. No exceptions. I'll never read a word you write, even if quoted by another, nor respond to you, nor participate in your threads. ... Ignore the shallow. Cherish the thoughtful. Long Live Civil Discourse, Mutual Respect, and Good Debate! ps: Feel free to adopt my PIP. It works well.
I keep a pretty steady and relaxed tone, and am not into calling people names. I prefer to rely on the merits of my posts instead of countering arguments with foul language. I do not use the ignore feature, since I can sift through the trash just fine on my own. I put a lot of value into seeing my most disgusting political opponents express themselves freely. Politics is an ugly sport, so members of political boards should not be surprised at just how ugly it gets.
I am your political opponent, so maybe you should put me on ignore right away. Since I am your political opponent, whatever I have to say is going to sound like trolling to you, so go ahead and shield your sensitive eyes before you end up reading an opposing political opinion.
Rune (03-25-2018)
I'm not trying to insult you I'm trying to speak plainly
This is not about YOU
this is about killing lies
people read these pages
their lies stand unchallenged when you ignore these people
not when you are dealing with humans
people will be highly more likely to read and retain things when they are formatted in a certain way the brain finds easy to retain
entertaining brings eyes
I get your point
I have tried many ways to engauge people on these foremats
the way I post is tailored just for that purpose
human minds are human minds no matter how we want to pretend they are something other than that
I make people laugh and trounce the liars while giving facts
dude
trust me it works the best of all
voters are not who you wish they are
they are who they are
yes lies destroy anything mankind can build
trust me poli I have done this for over a decade
tried not insulting people
it gained the debate NOTHING
people still insulted me non stop
its silly to come to an open site and then refuse to talk to most of the people there
its like watching only fox news
Hey, Poli.
I'm here to discuss anything you want to discuss...and I promise I will do it with taste and class.
I was enjoying the "what are we gonna do when earning a living is no longer feasible" discussion.
As for putting people on IGNORE...
...I have participated in over a dozen forums during the last 20 years. Started on ABUZZ...the New York Time/Boston Globe (now defunct) forum.
During those 20 years...I put only one person on IGNORE.
I've got three on IGNORE in this forum...and I've only been here a couple of months. Lots of really bad actors here.
Looking forward to decent discussions with you on a variety of subjects.
(By the way...if some of the childish ones become a nuisance...you can get them banned from your threads.)
Rune (03-25-2018)
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