Let's Go 'Round the Circle Again!

POSTED BY: milford
UPDATED: Friday, February 22, 2008 19:38
VIEWED: 5176
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MILFORD

Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:34 PM

I often lurk in the Real World Events chat area to see what people are talking about, and I've been struck by the consistency with which the pattern of these conversations take. It's an easy template to follow:

Step One: Someone posts a news story about a perceived injustice in another country, usually, but not exclusively the Middle East.

Step Two: Said poster bemoans the lack of justice in that area.

Step Three: Said poster is supported by one or two posters who concur that injustice has been done, and that shame should be doled out in ladelfulls.

Step Four: The story is challenged by other posters arguing that Event X happens all the time in America, and that America, and by America it is meant the US, is simply another shade of the same color.

Step Five: Challenging Posters are then challenged by other posters aruing that the circumstances are different, or some such, and that events like these are different from events like those and so on.

Step Six: Posters on both sides of the argument then proceed to post multiple news stories confirming their particular perspective on the event, thuse proving that Event X is JUST LIKE or NOT AT ALL LIKE what happens in America.

Step Seven: Posters then resort to name calling and misquoting in order to justify their particular moral high ground.

Don't believe me? Watch what happens in the next twenty-four hours. I read three or four of these a week.

Odd, with all the American comparing, and praising, and bashing, and whatnot.

Edited for typo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customizeable handmade baby gifts personalized by my wife! Check them out at www.baby-bobo.com. All proceeds go towards international adoption.

Leaning into the wind that used to carry me-Stavesacre

HERO

Thursday, February 21, 2008 10:03 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by milford:
Step Seven: Posters then resort to name calling and misquoting in order to justify their particular moral high ground.

Your right! Lets just skip to the end, knucklehead.

Edited to add: Knucklehead is a legal term that I often use in court to decribe certain opinions or behaivor by the good folks on trial. I save it for the good folks who just seem to get caught up once in a while due to either an innate or alcohol related lack of common sense. I have other terms to describe the really bad folk.

H

KIRKULES

Thursday, February 21, 2008 10:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by milford:
I often lurk in the Real World Events chat area to see what people are talking about, and I've been struck by the consistency with which the pattern of these conversations take. It's an easy template to follow:

Step One: Someone posts a news story about a perceived injustice in another country, usually, but not exclusively the Middle East.

Step Two: Said poster bemoans the lack of justice in that area.

Step Three: Said poster is supported by one or two posters who concur that injustice has been done, and that shame should be doled out in ladelfulls.

Step Four: The story is challenged by other posters arguing that Event X happens all the time in America, and that America, and by America it is meant the US, is simply another shade of the same color.

Step Five: Challenging Posters are then challenged by other posters aruing that the circumstances are different, or some such, and that events like these are different from events like those and so on.

Step Six: Posters on both sides of the argument then proceed to post multiple news stories confirming their particular perspective on the event, thuse proving that Event X is JUST LIKE or NOT AT ALL LIKE what happens in America.

Step Seven: Posters then resort to name calling and misquoting in order to justify their particular moral high ground.

Don't believe me? Watch what happens in the next twenty-four hours. I read three or four of these a week.

Odd, with all the American comparing, and praising, and bashing, and whatnot.

Edited for typo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customizeable handmade baby gifts personalized by my wife! Check them out at www.baby-bobo.com. All proceeds go towards international adoption.

Leaning into the wind that used to carry me-Stavesacre

Your list hits pretty close to the mark. But when the subject is similar to one previously discussed many just go strait from step 2 or 3 directly to step 7.

BIGDAMNNOBODY

Thursday, February 21, 2008 11:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by milford:
Don't believe me? Watch what happens in the next twenty-four hours. I read three or four of these a week.

Water is wet, the sky is blue, birds fly and fish swim. Are you simply making an observation or did you have something more specific in mind?

SERGEANTX

Friday, February 22, 2008 12:00 AM

The list is pretty accurate and a good call on the pointlessness of debating whether we're "just as bad" as they are. I'd like to move past that and on to the unstated implication of these posts, which is usually making a case for American intervention. THAT's the debate we should be having. (And by "we" I mean the nation, not just us here in our little corner of nowhere.)

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

FREMDFIRMA

Friday, February 22, 2008 8:03 AM

Well, I got a novel idea for ya.

How bout we work on fixing those problems HERE before goin all around spending time, effort and resources trying to fix em for someone else ?

Solve that whole issue rather handily, wouldn't it now ?

-F

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, February 22, 2008 9:44 AM

I don't know about ya'all, but the original post seems less of an observation and more of an insult to everyone here. I find it funny that the original poster would waste their free time coming back to watch predictable re-runs every day. Must have an awful lot of time on their hands, I figure. Reminds me of my aunt who does nothing but smoke pot and watch re-runs of "Little House on the Prarie" when she's not at work.

Put down the pipe and go get yourself a girlfriend/boyfriend if the RWED bothers ya so much.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." http://www.myspace.com/6ixstringjack

MILFORD

Friday, February 22, 2008 2:54 PM

There it is! That's what's missing! We have to have a comment about getting back to work. The delicous irony of people who post dozens of comments on the message boards, as I recognize Sixstringjack to be (does your name hint you to be a fellow guitar player?), instructing others to get back to work. Priceless.

As for whether I was being insulting or not, I certainly was not. I noticed the pattern, and was curious if I was the only one. I am interested in the variety of reactions I received. Some took my observation to be humorous, others insulting, others political commentary, and others an indication of laziness. In all actuality, I had about 15 minutes to kill on my lunch break and thought I'd share my observation.

The real question is how long it will be before the Pirate News guy, whose name presently escapes me, connects all this to an unreported conspiracy. If we can get that, and a picture of someone's cat, I think this will have culminated in the ultiamte Real World Events discussion thread.

Oops, we'll also need someone to post some newspaper stories in order for others to post conflicting newspaper stories as a way of retort. Then, and only then, will we have perfected the thread.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Customizeable handmade baby gifts personalized by my wife! Check them out at www.baby-bobo.com. All proceeds go towards international adoption.

Leaning into the wind that used to carry me-Stavesacre

BADKARMA00

Friday, February 22, 2008 3:36 PM

I gotta go with you on that one Frem. I was just reading about a World Poverty Bill that Obama sponsored that would take 485 BIllion of our tax dollars to 'fix the problems in the world', lol.

He want's us to feed the world, at our expense, while there are still people here in America who don't have enough to eat. Or access to adequate health care.

Go figure.

I still say you may make an anarchist of me yet, ROFL!

Bad_karma
Great and Exalted Grand Pooba, International Brotherhood of Moonshiners, Rednecks, and Good Old Boys.

KIRKULES

Friday, February 22, 2008 3:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by milford:
I think this will have culminated in the ultiamte Real World Events discussion thread.

Oops, we'll also need someone to post some newspaper stories in order for others to post conflicting newspaper stories as a way of retort. Then, and only then, will we have perfected the thread.

I looked for newspaper articles but couldn't find any relevant enough. I did find some interesting info on conversation patterns.

Seem like communication patterns are common in all Societies not just online ones.

"Just as there are patterns in sounds, words, and sentences, so also there are patterns in conversation. In even in the most unpredictable conversations, there are certain devices that we use time and time again. "
http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resources/exp_lang/convers
ation.html

They are using online conversation patterns to make visual images of the conversation.

"This design makes is possible to quickly see the social patterns in the conversation, including the scale and temporal rhythm of the conversation, who are the most active participants, who is engaged with the others vs. expounding independently, who writes long missives vs. short notes."
http://smg.media.mit.edu/papers/Donath/conversationMap/conversationMap
.html

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