Are You Capable?

ca·pa·ble/ˈkāpəbəl/
Adjective:
1.Having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to do or achieve a specified thing.
2.Able to achieve efficiently whatever one has to do; competent

Are you capable of getting your point across without weapons? What do I some mean by "weapons" you ask? I mean the cutting insults, derogatory terms, and overall hateful tone that some use as support for their arguments. Which of you are capable of making your point without putting down the people you disagree with?

As of this moment, I AM capable of this....with one condition. I will be respectful to ANYONE who is respectful to me. I won't make blanket insults about any group you may belong or relate to. I won't mock you or use sarcasm as a way to put you down. I will be the adult that I want my own kids to become one day.

We always talk about the hateful rhetoric we hear from our leaders, radio hosts, and news commentators. We act like they are somehow different than ourselves, which is really funny if you think about it. They use insults as weapons to cut into their opponents....an attempt to minimize them. Are we really above that BS here? In some cases, we are much worse imo.

So here's a bet that I know I WILL WIN. I'll bet any of you that I can go longer (forever in fact) without insulting you or any group you belong to or support....whether it be a political party or a protest movement. There will be no blanket negative statements that I can not support with facts. And as always, I will never make racist, sexist, or religiously bigoted commments to anyone....EVER.

Now if you would like this courtesy to be applied to you, if your are also CAPABLE of doing the same with me, all you have to do is just post one word.....YES. From that point, you will be immune from insults and I will treat you like a friend, even if we strongly disagree, even if we've had our past bloody battles....the slate will be clean and I will take the high road as an adult. I'm not looking for moderation here, I'm just offering MY OWN civility in an attempt to have better discussions.

If you are incapable of speaking to me an adult or just want to be an a$$hole, all bets are off. I won't shy away from your insults and will give them right back.

Now I do realize there should be a consequence for me not winning this bet. If I fail to live up to my promise, I will never post on this forum again. I'm sure the mods can see my IP and I'm sure they can ban it...which I will request. You won't see a new guy posting under a new name...we all know who is who, even under new nics.

Now who among us are able to elevate themselves above people like Limbaugh, Shultz, Coulter, or Maddow without being moderated as if you were a little kid? So who is capable of not casting the first stone?

All you have to do is say YES and I will treat you as I'm sure you would like to be treated....otherwise, carry on as usual and I'll fight fire with fire.

Spanking sounds like fun.

Good post. An approach to discussions (debate 101) is to write offline support for both positions - try to be objective. This helps a poster to better understand what the other person(s) are trying to get across and helps develope counters before the post. Simple HS debate approach. Given a real dufus is in the mix, never attack the person even if attacked - that drives them crazy (you openly, immediately win)and reveals the inepitude of the other party. Also, revenge is best served on a cold plate is a good debating point.

Why not just drop the weapons without any conditions? Isn't it possible for you to post without firing back in the manner you are proposing? I understand the level of frustration, but your challenge seems like it would carry more weight if you just said I will not engage in the type of behavior that I am denouncing in my post ever. By putting a condition on it, all you are really doing is trying to make posters behave the way you want them to. Your words and ideas would carry much more weight if you lead by example instead of dictating the behavior of others. You can do this without the "condition" and it will resonate much more soundly. Once you "give them right back", you lose all of the moral high ground you are trying to claim. Once you stoop to their level, you become one of them.

Why not lead by example with no conditions instead? If you insist on conditions and that if they aren't met to your satisfaction, all bets are off, you aren't really trying to improve this place, you are trying to control it.

Yes...and I'll take your bet about no insults...it is rare when someone riles me to the point of insults...and since I know how to use and do use my words very well, I usually get my point across without insulting them. If I am irritated enough to throw some sarcasm or snide remarks out there, they will be directed at one single individual or individuals who deserve it.

I always thought that the Courthouse was discussion and the Ring was insults and name calling.
What changed?

CritiKalbILL wrote: ca·pa·ble/ˈkāpəbəl/
Adjective:
1.Having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to do or achieve a specified thing.
2.Able to achieve efficiently whatever one has to do; competent

Are you capable of getting your point across without weapons? What do I some mean by "weapons" you ask? I mean the cutting insults, derogatory terms, and overall hateful tone that some use as support for their arguments. Which of you are capable of making your point without putting down the people you disagree with?

As of this moment, I AM capable of this....with one condition. I will be respectful to ANYONE who is respectful to me. I won't make blanket insults about any group you may belong or relate to. I won't mock you or use sarcasm as a way to put you down. I will be the adult that I want my own kids to become one day.

We always talk about the hateful rhetoric we hear from our leaders, radio hosts, and news commentators. We act like they are somehow different than ourselves, which is really funny if you think about it. They use insults as weapons to cut into their opponents....an attempt to minimize them. Are we really above that BS here? In some cases, we are much worse imo.

So here's a bet that I know I WILL WIN. I'll bet any of you that I can go longer (forever in fact) without insulting you or any group you belong to or support....whether it be a political party or a protest movement. There will be no blanket negative statements that I can not support with facts. And as always, I will never make racist, sexist, or religiously bigoted commments to anyone....EVER.

Now if you would like this courtesy to be applied to you, if your are also CAPABLE of doing the same with me, all you have to do is just post one word.....YES. From that point, you will be immune from insults and I will treat you like a friend, even if we strongly disagree, even if we've had our past bloody battles....the slate will be clean and I will take the high road as an adult. I'm not looking for moderation here, I'm just offering MY OWN civility in an attempt to have better discussions.

If you are incapable of speaking to me an adult or just want to be an a$$hole, all bets are off. I won't shy away from your insults and will give them right back.

Now I do realize there should be a consequence for me not winning this bet. If I fail to live up to my promise, I will never post on this forum again. I'm sure the mods can see my IP and I'm sure they can ban it...which I will request. You won't see a new guy posting under a new name...we all know who is who, even under new nics.

Now who among us are able to elevate themselves above people like Limbaugh, Shultz, Coulter, or Maddow without being moderated as if you were a little kid? So who is capable of not casting the first stone?

All you have to do is say YES and I will treat you as I'm sure you would like to be treated....otherwise, carry on as usual and I'll fight fire with fire.

I have no interest in this proposal- but carry on.

I reserve the right to insult- and use any words as I see fit.

Many groups and individuals deserve no such respect and will get none from me until it's earned.

These commies are destroying this country- and you want to be polite about it?

Some things are worth fighting for- count me out!

And that, Bill, is the flaw in your logic. Even if a few posters have a good discussion going on, along comes a poster who wants nothing more than to do a drive by insult, and the discussion is derailed. I have seen this happen all too frequently here......

Before you ask....yes the drive by insult can come from either side of the issue, and when it happens, along come all the others and pile on with more insults. It's the price we pay for an un-moderated message board. The ultimate price is that many posters have either left, or no longer will post on political threads because of the constant barrage of attacks on anything that they post. I wish you luck with your endeavor, but I fear it is doomed to fail.

archer wrote: And that, Bill, is the flaw in your logic. Even if a few posters have a good discussion going on, along comes a poster who wants nothing more than to do a drive by insult, and the discussion is derailed. I have seen this happen all too frequently here......

Before you ask....yes the drive by insult can come from either side of the issue, and when it happens, along come all the others and pile on with more insults. It's the price we pay for an un-moderated message board. The ultimate price is that many posters have either left, or no longer will post on political threads because of the constant barrage of attacks on anything that they post. I wish you luck with your endeavor, but I fear it is doomed to fail.

Why not both, Courthouse and Ring? Simple.