Posted by Cusano
Understandably, MPD is a bit upset because he came back to a lot of discussion about him and his actions as a member so I'm being slightly forgiving of the language but I will say this, lakia makes one excellent point.

maybe you should just try to do a better job at articulating your points to everyone. Because being a conservative (and honestly, lately, you have been playing the stereotypical conservative), i know because im the only other one on this board, you arent going to get anywhere unless you know exactly what you are talking about and you can articulate it.

I know we all get heated sometimes in our typical debating patterns but there has to be a concerted effort to really think about the points we are making, keeping our language in check (especially in the case of racial slurs), and do everything possible to back our position up with proof. That proof and position may be argued but, isn't that the whole point of debate?

Conversely, MPD is absolutely correct in this assertion.....

And I also think it is very clear that I have had more personal attacks from people in this forum stemming from simple spelling to attacks on my sons, my family, my true being and up to yesterday...my career!  And then we get to a point and say...lets BAN HIM!

I have let a lot of personal attacks slide because this is the one forum where the ebb and flow of debate sometimes pushes the limits of the rules and in the past has subsided with a degree of mutual understanding. I think MPD would be the first to tell you that descriptions of "Nimby D" and the like roll off his back and aren't the stuff of any personal injury but, the overall measured result of being hit from every angle and attacked on every conceivable aspect of his personal life (which I have definitely witnessed) isn't fair to any member.
To put it simply, "Two wrongs don't make a right".

 

-Do we all have the ability not to forget but to forgive MPD for his role in what has escalated to this point?

-Do we all admit our own role in helping it get to this point and offer more tempered responses in the future?

 

yes, however i would like to point out that if he had, AT ANY TIME LEADING UP TO THIS, posted an apology similar to his "tearful goodbye" post, i would have welcomed it. simply put, he loves to stir up shit. it gets his ego off. i haven't put him on ignore, because i don't think i should have to go that far.

Both questions require that all parties eat a certain amount of crow to allow for a new beginning and put an end to the current "he said, she said". Believe me, I am aware of everything that has been said.
 
That being proposed, ALL infractions from this point on will be taken as seriously as they would in any other forum.  I can't be asked to monitor one members actions without fairly monitoring  the actions of all the members. No more, "yeah I called him a piece of shit and the worst father ever but he used a racial slur!". Bottom line is, we can't have it both ways, not if you want this forum to be fairly moderated. Both are transgressions against the rules of the and it's unfair of members to ask that the little sins be forgiven and the bigger ones addressed.

 

i'm down with that...but ALL infractions should be policed equally, including the burden of proof.

Posted By: cusano

-Do we all have the ability not to forget but to forgive MPD for his role in what has escalated to this point?
-Do we all admit our own role in helping it get to this point and offer more tempered responses in the future?

I think the basis of political debates are debates about our personal values and beliefs.  Often our beliefs are based on what we've always been told rather than logic.  So we end up debating things that we feel very strongly about, but we can't always explain.  And, because this stuff is so closely tied to our core personal values, it's very hard to separate an argument about our politics from a personal attack.  Even if explicit personal attacks are not present, people still do feel personally attacked when their politics are questioned.  And of course given all this, it's very easy for such discussions to degenerate into actual personal attacks.  Plus, most of us here have a sense of humor (I think).  There may be the odd 'attack' that's really meant in good fun.  But an 'outsider' may not see it that way.