Posted on 03/29/2005 8:58:34 AM PST by Long Cut
We, the Witness Protection Program For Freepers, aka the Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane, have through mutual discussion and rigourous thought, determined that:
1. The discussion threads regarding Terri Schiavo (hereafter referred to as "TS") have become too full of innuendo, rumormongering, hyperbole, hysteria, namecalling, paranoia, and general poor behavior to warrant participation.
2. Said threads have degenerated into "echo chambers", wherein the same, common thoughts are continually posted again and again, and the same old disreputable, unconfirmed and/or false urban myths are propagated.
3. Anyone who joins in said theads with alternative viewpoints to the most extreme posts are routinely driven away with slander, accusations, and vile namecalling.
4. No data or evidence contrary to the "prevailing opinions" are accepted, considered, or discussed; and in fact are rejected outright in most instances.
5. That the continued calls for armed insurrection, military or paramilitary involvement, impeachements of politicians and judges, and death threats are embarassing, stupid, shortsighted, doomed to failure, and contrary to most if not all conservative thought prior to this case, as well as damaging in the extreme to FR and the conservative movement as a whole.
6. That such emotional, hyperbolic, and propaganda-driven hysteria is in fact contrary to all conservatives USED to stand for.
7. That the holding up of swastika and other Nazi imagery towards the police and the Bushes, the use of children as political props, and the disruption of the peace at the Woodside Hospice can only reflect badly on conservatives in general, and should be discouraged.
8. That the pursuit of this issue to the exclusion of all others by the GOP has damaged, perhaps beyond repair, the pursuit of other important issues as well as the reputation of the GOP, FR, and conservatism.
The WPPFF is NOT of one mind as to the case of TS or its correct outcome. In fact, wide disagreement exists within our little group. However, we are united in our wish that reason and sanity be respected in the discussion, as well as the rights of all parties involved or participating. We wish to discuss this as adults and intellectuals, as conservatives and as FRiends, not as children screaming past each other on some playground of hysteria. We wish for facts and evidence to be provided, discussed reasonably, and considered fairly.
We reject all accusations of Naziism, "death cultism", or other slander as methods of debate. We reject the practice of "spamming" multiple threads, of posting unending vanities, and the posting of propaganda and calls for violence. We reject, in fact, all unseemly and childish behavior which has come to characterize this case on FR.
We DO invite others to come and reasonably discuss the issue. We have no problem with FReepers who wish to debate in a rational and fair manner, and with due respect for their fellow FReepers. We have NO problem with those whose views are formed by religion; however we reject "preaching" or "being beaten with a Bible" as legitemite debate tactics. Not all of us are Believers, and such tactics only cheapen the source.
If a FReeper finds this an acceptable meansd to discuss this and other issues, they are welcome to join in and participate. Those who find pleasure in attacks, flame-baiting, slander, stalking, and personal atacks will be ignored, and their egos will go unfed.
We assume this thread to be a zone of sanity in an overheated atmosphere. Thus, a general amnesty is in effect. If posters conduct themselves within the guidlines above, we will be happy to discuss and debate with you. If a poster wishes to apologize for past slips of the tongue, or for possible "over-the-top" statements to another, it will be graciously accepted, and your company welcome.
Please bring a sense of humor; we feel that too many have been taking themselves too seriously lately.
Let the discussion begin!
Signed,
The WPPFF, aka The Wild Turkeys, aka the Coalition of the Sane.
I dunno?
Would he feel compelled to post on the ONE thread where people express different opinions, rather than sticking to the HUNDREDS of others available to him?
What kind of Freepers are those types?
I didn't keep any links - I've seen posts that advocated "hunting down" Greer, Felos and Schiavo, and I hit the abuse button on that one. That particular post is gone now, but I've seen quite a bit of that sort of thing.
The American Idol thread is nice and a good distraction.
I hate FR lately. It is like being addicted to a really really cheap drug that you want to give up but hate to because you used to like it.
Maybe it is like having a bad husband and being afraid to leave him cause he only beats you now and then.
I really would love to have reasonable discussions about this but you jusst can't right now. Maybe never.
Okay.
I must be ignorant.
Who is Tabitha Sorensoned?
As I understand it, the statements made in this thread reflect the ideology of the majority of Americans. I'm not sure how the minority has so dominated this issue on Free Republic, and how its members manage to shout down everyone else. And I guess I haven't been here for enough years to know if this has ever happened before with any other issues. But it does seem to be very unusual.
I heard a doctor on Bill Bennett's radio show a couple of days ago talking about feeding tubes and last-stage Alzheimer's patients. They get to the point where they can't really feed themselves, and it's too hard for other people to feed them (for what reason I didn't catch), so sometimes they put in a feeding tube. The patient is deep in dementia, so many times he will pull out the tube, which causes medical problems. To prevent them from doing that, the staff straps the patient down in bed. Well this is agony for them in their last days of life, to have to angrily fight against the restraints while being kept alive through the tube. I think it was the same caller who made the statement "I would never put an Alzheimer's patient on a feeding tube." You can read more about it by searching for alzheimer's "feeding tube" on Google. I'm concerned here that many people will believe the hype from the Schiavo case and get the idea that a feeding tube is always necessary, thereby condemning patients to weeks of additional agony.
The bottom line as I see it in this case that if Terri had had a living will she would have been dead long ago and no one outside Florida would have heard about the case. Since there was no living will, it fell to the next of kin (Michael) to communicate Terri's wishes to the doctors. Because the Schindlers resisted, Michael turned the case over to the court for a decision. After expert testimony, the court confirmed that Terri would not have wanted to live as a vegetable, and ordered the feeding tube to be removed. And at the time when the first appeal was filed in the case, an insidious type of creeping insanity began to manifest itself. The symptoms include proud and willful disregard of the facts in the case, the use of Nazi symbolism to represent everyone who fails to "rescue" the patient from her stated end of life wishes, and repeated misrepresentation of the situation as "right to life" versus "culture of death" (instead of "right of privacy").
So how's that? Do I qualify for WPPFF membership?
Yes, I use Yahoo, and have a couple of Yahoo email addresses.
As you say.
At the least.
Asking in a nice way don't include a ping to the Admin Moderator it is the same as an abuse button!
There is no differents!
btw Long Cut
Any errors in spelling etc I am dyslexic!
ROFL- listening to FOX...Orlando Salinas (sp)
saying the same kind of folks were at the hospice who were there for Elian Gonzalez...same kind of hoopla.
Just a suggestion for those who're thinking of leaving FR- wait 3 days before making a decision. Our feelings and emotions will settle down and give clearer perspective to choices.
There was another post that just said, "Judge Greer" and below it had a picture of a gun. Thankfully, it was quickly pulled.
Thanks for the link. Kind of a hit-and-run post by JRob, has he detailed his feelings on all this?
I'm actually amazed that no one has gone on there and said "HOW CAN YOU ALL SIT AROUND WATCHING PEOPLE SING WHEN A WOMAN LAYS BEING MURDERED IN FLORIDA YOU UNFEELING MONSTERS!" or something...
LOL!
Sadly, I've never gotten into American Idol.
But thanks for the suggestion.
If I DO hang out, I'll probably stay on the Undead Thread.
I've got three, one I used to use, and the other two I made when I was bored.
Like I said. There are too many people who have become emotionally unhinged.
Hemlock Lite is not too bad. ;-)
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