Look, there’s a time for outrage, and there is a time for Taser.
There is no point in negotiating with ass slappers and ball-cuppers. Volts are the only SI unit they understand. But be sparing, as the cops resent it if they show up to the scene to find an already fully incapacitated pervert; they like to get in with a couple of shots themselves or they’ll hold it against you.
I think that instead of using this opportunity given to science bloggers and commenters to educate a great number of youngsters about gender equality, we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents. How easy it is at the age of the internets to convert a respectable, educated crowd into a mob willing to burn everything in its way.
Maybe the coincidence of today being Yom HaShoa is a good warning for all of us to break away from the mob we have so eagerly joined. Unless, of course, there are some members of the tea party among us for whom reflection on this day is meaningless.
“I think that instead of using this opportunity given to science bloggers and commenters to educate a great number of youngsters about gender equality, we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents.”
Concern noted and ignored.
@anonymous there’s plenty of room for educating them, feel free to comment prolifically to do so. Or join their facebook page and try to talk them down there. It’s a thankless task though. Some would say futile, I say ‘challenging’.
“we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents. ”
This is absolutely correct. The hypocritical mob mentality around here is an embarrassment to all science professionals. And ridiculing and expressing contempt for students, or any less powerful group, is beyond the pale. Go vent on Rate Your Students. Then try to act like adults. I was actually heartened to see that the students on the thread at Isis found the hate and narcissism as transparent as I do.
And maybe Isis is telling the truth when she claims she wouldn’t laugh at someone getting kicked in the balls, but the feminists at IBTP sure found the story of the woman who was randomly kicking men in the balls absolutely hysterical. There was a whole thread celebrating the event. That site is filled with hate also. Are there any normal feminist sites that anyone can recommend?
Yep, that’s right CPP, I’m stirring up trouble again. Hopefully.
“This is absolutely correct. The hypocritical mob mentality around here is an embarrassment to all science professionals. And ridiculing and expressing contempt for students, or any less powerful group, is beyond the pale. Go vent on Rate Your Students. Then try to act like adults. I was actually heartened to see that the students on the thread at Isis found the hate and narcissism as transparent as I do.”
I’ve never seen DrugMonkey or Isis express contempt for students. I do, however, see them expressing contempt for sexist idiots. Which these people are. They just happen to also be students, and I am quite aware that DrugMonkey and Isis do not generalize this view toward all students.
“And maybe Isis is telling the truth when she claims she wouldn’t laugh at someone getting kicked in the balls, but the feminists at IBTP sure found the story of the woman who was randomly kicking men in the balls absolutely hysterical. There was a whole thread celebrating the event. That site is filled with hate also. Are there any normal feminist sites that anyone can recommend?”
Good crap, Isabel, when was the last time you saw Isis hanging around IBTP? Seriously? That’s a real weird tangent you’re drawing there.
I think your Dunning-Kruger syndrome is acting up again.
Katherine,
You are revolting also!
I never said anything about DM. He is actually generally fair and respectful and I rather admire him:)
And I never said Isis hangs out at IBTP. Can you read?
The accusation that feminists would probably laugh if it happened to men is true in other words. This was brought up on the thread at Isis’ and she denied it, which I have no reason to disbelieve. However, this was a subject of much hilarity on IBTP not long ago, another feminist hangout for progressive liberals. Is this starting to become clearer? Let me know if you need more help.
And yes, Isis mocked the students for their looks, their parents looks, the name of their school, and other immature reasons. And she has mocked lower-class white people and many others. Really, the point is this is all really stupid, gets us nowhere, but is unfortunately pretty pervasive in the academic blogosphere.
And YOU have expressed contempt for your students. And low IQ people. You blame them for the problems of the world (typical scapegoating of less powerful) and want to kill them off.
So there.
Just so we’re clear Isabel, I thought that guy looked like a douchey little fucker too…
Look these are college students, not high school kids. They are starting, rightfully, to have to face some real world and external consequences. In the old days, the stupid editorial in the school paper would stay local. The traditional racist-themed party kerfuffle. would only get so far. Nowadays, it goes national if not international…so things change.
Go back a couple of generations and even some pretty criminal hijinks on the more privileged college campuses would be completely swept under the rug sometimes. I doubt my generation enjoyed that particular privilege. So *this* generation doesn’t enjoy the privilege of keeping their more idiotic screwups out of the national eye. Big deal.
DM,
The big deal is not the reprimand that the ass-slapper and some of the students at BSU received. The big deal is the generalizations that Isis has made about the student body and the faculty at BSU; the big deal is the opportunity for a serious debate that was wasted. What we got instead was an ugly, infantile and profane shouting match. This is just another example of many that illustrates how civility is completely lost on the bloggosphere, at least in part, due to the anonymity of both bloggers and commenters. A serious discussion or debate can only commence in a civil atmosphere.
The big deal is the generalizations that Isis has made about the student body and the faculty at BSU
the fact is that the this-is-so-funnee crowd absolutely dwarfed the “serious debate” crowd, at least externally. See the Fb shenanigans, see the press coverage so far as it went. As someone pointed out in a comment thread somewhere (at Isis’ I think), all those Isis-insulted folks sure as hell weren’t speaking up about the misogyny or being careful to make it clear that they were really talking bout the alert system ignoring off-campus crime. So excuse me if I call bullshit on your point.
I find it to be a common claim of the civility fans that they were oh-so-ready to have a serious discussion of the points and were oooh, just on the verge of getting involved when someone came in all ranty and shouty and screwed it up. I find this common claim to be nonsense. The civility crowd *never* weighs in in advance. or if they do, they get no attention and therefore no progress.
So sometimes incivility is called for. Note I said incivility, not threats. As I mentioned on the second of Isis’ posts, there is a line in there somewhere that is significant to me but that has more to do with what sounds like a threat against a specific individual.
DM,
Your blog is civil, Dr. Free-Ride’s blog is civil, Orac’s blog is civil, the Obesity Panacea blog is civil, etc. On all these blogs the debates, the discussions, they are mostly serious even when the topics are at times contentious. If the blog owner is civil, his/her readers will be civil, too. The few incivil commenters that may pop up here and there, would never lead a thread astray, unless other commenters and the blogger allow it. Isis’s incivility on her own blog attracts the type of commenters who thrive on incivility. When Isis first joined SciBlogs, hers was like a breeze of fresh air. Her unique style, her openess about her challenges, her advice to students and peers alike, all made her blog a real jewel. Something happened in the past year when she begun allowing herself to stoop into a less civil debates, when she has significantly increased her use of profanity, as if she saw a greater strength for her message if it is entwined with profane language. Unfortunately, her blog is now just another well for anonymous people to spit in it along with the well’s owner. I think that as a result, Isis’s blog is now a dirty stain on SciBlog community as a whole.
That’s some pretty clever debatin’ skillz there, Anon. You must of course realize that it has everything to do with your own biases and nothing to do with reality, right?
DrugMonkey 
April 12, 2010 at 2:53 pm
HA HA HA HA!!
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April 12, 2010 at 3:23 pm
I feel bad enough for anyone named “billy chuck ball”, this debacle must have him rolling in his grave, poor fellow.
LikeLike
April 12, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Look, there’s a time for outrage, and there is a time for Taser.
There is no point in negotiating with ass slappers and ball-cuppers. Volts are the only SI unit they understand. But be sparing, as the cops resent it if they show up to the scene to find an already fully incapacitated pervert; they like to get in with a couple of shots themselves or they’ll hold it against you.
LikeLike
April 12, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I think that instead of using this opportunity given to science bloggers and commenters to educate a great number of youngsters about gender equality, we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents. How easy it is at the age of the internets to convert a respectable, educated crowd into a mob willing to burn everything in its way.
Maybe the coincidence of today being Yom HaShoa is a good warning for all of us to break away from the mob we have so eagerly joined. Unless, of course, there are some members of the tea party among us for whom reflection on this day is meaningless.
LikeLike
April 12, 2010 at 9:17 pm
In addition, I love the word “bescumbering” and will be stealing it.
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April 13, 2010 at 9:02 am
“I think that instead of using this opportunity given to science bloggers and commenters to educate a great number of youngsters about gender equality, we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents.”
Concern noted and ignored.
LikeLike
April 13, 2010 at 10:39 am
@anonymous there’s plenty of room for educating them, feel free to comment prolifically to do so. Or join their facebook page and try to talk them down there. It’s a thankless task though. Some would say futile, I say ‘challenging’.
LikeLike
April 13, 2010 at 4:23 pm
“we have witnessed teachers, mentors, bloggers and commenters using personal insults and profanity, putting all those we do not agree with down, even belittling and insulting their parents. ”
This is absolutely correct. The hypocritical mob mentality around here is an embarrassment to all science professionals. And ridiculing and expressing contempt for students, or any less powerful group, is beyond the pale. Go vent on Rate Your Students. Then try to act like adults. I was actually heartened to see that the students on the thread at Isis found the hate and narcissism as transparent as I do.
And maybe Isis is telling the truth when she claims she wouldn’t laugh at someone getting kicked in the balls, but the feminists at IBTP sure found the story of the woman who was randomly kicking men in the balls absolutely hysterical. There was a whole thread celebrating the event. That site is filled with hate also. Are there any normal feminist sites that anyone can recommend?
Yep, that’s right CPP, I’m stirring up trouble again. Hopefully.
LikeLike
April 13, 2010 at 4:51 pm
If by “trouble” you mean “disgust”
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 3:29 pm
“This is absolutely correct. The hypocritical mob mentality around here is an embarrassment to all science professionals. And ridiculing and expressing contempt for students, or any less powerful group, is beyond the pale. Go vent on Rate Your Students. Then try to act like adults. I was actually heartened to see that the students on the thread at Isis found the hate and narcissism as transparent as I do.”
I’ve never seen DrugMonkey or Isis express contempt for students. I do, however, see them expressing contempt for sexist idiots. Which these people are. They just happen to also be students, and I am quite aware that DrugMonkey and Isis do not generalize this view toward all students.
“And maybe Isis is telling the truth when she claims she wouldn’t laugh at someone getting kicked in the balls, but the feminists at IBTP sure found the story of the woman who was randomly kicking men in the balls absolutely hysterical. There was a whole thread celebrating the event. That site is filled with hate also. Are there any normal feminist sites that anyone can recommend?”
Good crap, Isabel, when was the last time you saw Isis hanging around IBTP? Seriously? That’s a real weird tangent you’re drawing there.
I think your Dunning-Kruger syndrome is acting up again.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 3:30 pm
becca,
you’re revolting.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Katherine,
You are revolting also!
I never said anything about DM. He is actually generally fair and respectful and I rather admire him:)
And I never said Isis hangs out at IBTP. Can you read?
The accusation that feminists would probably laugh if it happened to men is true in other words. This was brought up on the thread at Isis’ and she denied it, which I have no reason to disbelieve. However, this was a subject of much hilarity on IBTP not long ago, another feminist hangout for progressive liberals. Is this starting to become clearer? Let me know if you need more help.
And yes, Isis mocked the students for their looks, their parents looks, the name of their school, and other immature reasons. And she has mocked lower-class white people and many others. Really, the point is this is all really stupid, gets us nowhere, but is unfortunately pretty pervasive in the academic blogosphere.
And YOU have expressed contempt for your students. And low IQ people. You blame them for the problems of the world (typical scapegoating of less powerful) and want to kill them off.
So there.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Just so we’re clear Isabel, I thought that guy looked like a douchey little fucker too…
Look these are college students, not high school kids. They are starting, rightfully, to have to face some real world and external consequences. In the old days, the stupid editorial in the school paper would stay local. The traditional racist-themed party kerfuffle. would only get so far. Nowadays, it goes national if not international…so things change.
Go back a couple of generations and even some pretty criminal hijinks on the more privileged college campuses would be completely swept under the rug sometimes. I doubt my generation enjoyed that particular privilege. So *this* generation doesn’t enjoy the privilege of keeping their more idiotic screwups out of the national eye. Big deal.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 8:28 pm
DM,
The big deal is not the reprimand that the ass-slapper and some of the students at BSU received. The big deal is the generalizations that Isis has made about the student body and the faculty at BSU; the big deal is the opportunity for a serious debate that was wasted. What we got instead was an ugly, infantile and profane shouting match. This is just another example of many that illustrates how civility is completely lost on the bloggosphere, at least in part, due to the anonymity of both bloggers and commenters. A serious discussion or debate can only commence in a civil atmosphere.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 8:41 pm
The big deal is the generalizations that Isis has made about the student body and the faculty at BSU
the fact is that the this-is-so-funnee crowd absolutely dwarfed the “serious debate” crowd, at least externally. See the Fb shenanigans, see the press coverage so far as it went. As someone pointed out in a comment thread somewhere (at Isis’ I think), all those Isis-insulted folks sure as hell weren’t speaking up about the misogyny or being careful to make it clear that they were really talking bout the alert system ignoring off-campus crime. So excuse me if I call bullshit on your point.
I find it to be a common claim of the civility fans that they were oh-so-ready to have a serious discussion of the points and were oooh, just on the verge of getting involved when someone came in all ranty and shouty and screwed it up. I find this common claim to be nonsense. The civility crowd *never* weighs in in advance. or if they do, they get no attention and therefore no progress.
So sometimes incivility is called for. Note I said incivility, not threats. As I mentioned on the second of Isis’ posts, there is a line in there somewhere that is significant to me but that has more to do with what sounds like a threat against a specific individual.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 9:48 pm
DM,
Your blog is civil, Dr. Free-Ride’s blog is civil, Orac’s blog is civil, the Obesity Panacea blog is civil, etc. On all these blogs the debates, the discussions, they are mostly serious even when the topics are at times contentious. If the blog owner is civil, his/her readers will be civil, too. The few incivil commenters that may pop up here and there, would never lead a thread astray, unless other commenters and the blogger allow it. Isis’s incivility on her own blog attracts the type of commenters who thrive on incivility. When Isis first joined SciBlogs, hers was like a breeze of fresh air. Her unique style, her openess about her challenges, her advice to students and peers alike, all made her blog a real jewel. Something happened in the past year when she begun allowing herself to stoop into a less civil debates, when she has significantly increased her use of profanity, as if she saw a greater strength for her message if it is entwined with profane language. Unfortunately, her blog is now just another well for anonymous people to spit in it along with the well’s owner. I think that as a result, Isis’s blog is now a dirty stain on SciBlog community as a whole.
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 10:24 pm
That’s some pretty clever debatin’ skillz there, Anon. You must of course realize that it has everything to do with your own biases and nothing to do with reality, right?
LikeLike
April 14, 2010 at 11:10 pm
“Just so we’re clear Isabel, I thought that guy looked like a douchey little fucker too…”
Gee thanks for clearing that up!?
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