I think the problem is that the persons engaging in the various inappropriate tactics and/or namecalling feel that they are justified in doing so.

TGC, did you confuse me with another poster? If not, I’m curious as to what or how you edited your post so that I would approve. Thanks.

“K.I.S.S.”…”Keep it simple, stupid.”

See, it’s constant arrogance like that which bugs folks, or just me. Let the man write what he wants to write and how he wants to write it. I don’t honestly find it particularly funny, but I’m not a dick about it. Maybe if he were getting paid by you, you MIGHT have a point.

Why not bitch about spelling errors while you’re at it?

(Edited so Pat would approve).

At least the Left isn’t having people killed. That’s just Glenn Beck. If he didn’t think there was something to it, he wouldn’t be lamely defending himself 24 hours a day. He’s scared, we’ve got him dead to rights, so to speak.

And by the way, enjoy being the minority party, suckers! Being in power’s GREAT, we liberals are LOVING IT! Perhaps you can take back power in, I don’t know, 2032 or so.

Of course since comment moderation is enabled, you’ll post this right? Hmmm, free speech lover?
————————————-

I refused to publish it since the washington Monthly didn’t publish mine — and I didn’t curse.

I used to be a Liberal and I never acted like this. I pray for hubris.

Could be. I don’t read every thread and as I stated above, “…I haven’t seen him do so to anyone else since then.”

NDT, you have a point here. Such behavior that you describe is reprehensible. I condemn such behavior unequivocally. In fact, I think the whole family was treated horribly, including her daughter, from both the left and the right (that they felt compelled to say that she was planning to marry, instead of telling everyone to find their own f&&&in business), but obviously it came mostly from the left.

But it seems that you have taken this and turned it into a personal war, and your post seems to indicate this (please correct me if I’m wrong). And if that’s the case, that’s fine. But why lump people together? Do all individual lefties support and condone the behavior you described? I’m sure some do, but many also don’t. I certainly don’t.

It’s not fair to make assumptions about all gay lefties, just as it’s not fair to lump all gay conservatives together, and say they are all self-loathing, when that is only true for perhaps a very small minority of gay conservatives.

And further, please don’t assume that if one does not immediately begin talking about an issue without a condemnation, that that means the person supports it.

It is undeniable that Bruce and Dan are vastly more open and fair to left-wingers and other critics than left-wing blogs generally are to right-wingers. Bruce and Dan do a great job. I have never seen someone be deleted (or banned for that matter) on this blog who didn’t have it coming because of real incivility in their comments. Conversely, I have never seen someone who practices real civility (not just mouthing it or posturing) be deleted on this blog because of their unpopular content/ideas.

ILC, I agree with all the points that you made. That’s one of the reasons that I read and post on this blog.

I don’t buy that simple writing rule though. Not much of a fan of Hemingway. I do prefer a bit more rhetorical prose as it makes the reading experience more enjoyable.

Will consider your advice though

Others have posted the very same comment (”Filtered”) with no threats, no reminders, nothing.

I disagree. In the Civility thread two weeks ago that GPW linked, several people including me had posted “filtered” as a comment – and Bruce objected – and mine had the ‘pole position’ as the one nearest to his rebuke. I could have “made it about me”, if I were so inclined, but decided not to.

Please, please, PLEASE stop using the following phrase, “I likely would have penned, er, pixeled…” It wasn’t particularly clever the first time you used it and it hasn’t become wittier after endless repetition. I have a suggestion. It’s a simple word called “wrote”. It’s concise and to the point. As my English teacher used to say, “K.I.S.S.”…”Keep it simple, stupid.”

To clarify what I meant: I provided an example of my having posted the word “Filtered” to which Bruce responded by threatening to ban my comments if I do it again, stating it “…bothers the f–k out of [him].”. Others have posted the very same comment (“Filtered”) with no threats, no reminders, nothing. It’s a small example of how selective I believe the “rules” are/would be applied (rules are implied to be objective and impartial) and although it isn’t in my nature to behave thusly, as I stated above it’s Bruce’s blog and he can run his blog as he sees fit. I hope I’ve made myself clear.

Patriot Goddess, agree.

Civility has its place. But not in what the other side has made a fight to the death.

On occasion, I think problems have arisen with some people being unable to differentiate between incivility and moral disagreement.

For example, suppose I make the following statement (which I really believe, or find objectively true): “Big Government / statism is morally evil. In pursuing that path, Obama is pursuing a path of evil. And people who support Obama in doing that are, whether they realize it or not, supporting a path of evil.” I have made a very strong statement. A moral statement. It’s not incivil; it’s morally required (as far as I can tell). But some people might react to it as if it were incivil. Some people might try to tar-and-feather it – and the speaker – as incivil, whether because they are so easily threatened, or as a way to shut down all moral challenges to their approach. All one can do, in such cases, is let it be their problem and continue speaking the truth.

My guess is that any enforcement of comment rules would be applied selectively

All enforcement of anything, by human beings, is inherently selective. Human nature. In law we’d have procedures that try to correct for that, but this isn’t a law court, only a blog.

Having said that: It is undeniable that Bruce and Dan are vastly more open and fair to left-wingers and other critics than left-wing blogs generally are to right-wingers. Bruce and Dan do a great job. I have never seen someone be deleted (or banned for that matter) on this blog who didn’t have it coming because of real incivility in their comments. Conversely, I have never seen someone who practices real civility (not just mouthing it or posturing) be deleted on this blog because of their unpopular content/ideas.

But, please, don’t give in to the left’s vitriol.

Take Rep. Frank’s tirade at that poor kid the other day. Despite his ‘amen chorus’ in the audience, he came off as laughably defensive. This kid kept his cool while Frank sputtered and cursed and thundered. Think about it: if he had called Frank a ‘pin-head’ he would have lost the high ground.

Not to sound like a Pollyanna, but my family escaped communism in the 30′s. The relatives left behind have been lost to obscurity. Not a day passes that I am not thankful to be an American. Our disagreements are our strengths and in the final analysis, we have more in common with these folks than differences.

Even if some of them are ‘pin-heads.’

Agreed. What really broke it for me was how the Obama campaign and its affiliated shill bloggers started spreading the lie that Trig Palin was not Sarah Palin’s baby — and astonishingly, the gay community putting forth gay medical professionals in an attempt to smear her on websites run by gay journalists.

Think about that. This action, aside from the obvious bad things, violates the code of ethics of both medical professionals and journalists. But the gay community ignores both, demonstrating that it will break any code, any statute, any sense of common decency in order to destroy another human being’s life.

Civility has its place. But not in what the other side has made a fight to the death.

Should be: “…accept the explanation and its reasoning for what it is rather than insisting you know what the commenter really meant.”