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Rhetoric and Decorum on the Web
18 Dec 02 | TPartyType

Posted on 12/18/2002 9:04:40 AM PST by TPartyType

After getting frustrated with the incessant flaming, and rather degenerative quality of discourse here at FR, I put together |this web page|.

Decorum is the hallmark of civil discourse. Many people who participate in online discourse show a deplorable lack of decorum, IMO. I don't really care what goes on at other sites, but I'd sure like this forum to engage in civil discourse. Why? Because I believe conservatives should value it, and I know the founding fathers considered civility an indispensible support to free society. |Read this|

Enjoy the links!

just a minute here . . .

Okay. . . . Flame away!


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To: boris
"Akron, cold beer, and poor poor thing." That is a classic movie. :)
21 posted on 12/18/2002 9:40:49 AM PST by xJones
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To: FairOpinion
Please note that your "Basic Logic" link is going nowhere

Hmmm. That doesn't make sense.

22 posted on 12/18/2002 9:48:13 AM PST by Mr. Bird
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To: TPartyType
BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP! What you say?
23 posted on 12/18/2002 9:56:48 AM PST by ohioman
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To: TPartyType
Thank you for sharing your controlling nature with us.
And your exaggerated sense of worth.

You will forgive me for my disdain for your condescension, right?

Decorum, you know.

24 posted on 12/18/2002 9:58:10 AM PST by Publius6961
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To: boris
He (who I wrote about in past tense) was offering me verbal advice and you call him a plagiarist. What was this thread about again?
25 posted on 12/18/2002 10:02:05 AM PST by Quilla
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To: Quilla
Couldn't he think up anything wise to say on his own?
26 posted on 12/18/2002 10:09:02 AM PST by boris
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To: TPartyType
And if people won't refrain from flaming, they can develop some ability at it here:

The Ultimate Flame - (mildly offensive!)

27 posted on 12/18/2002 10:17:07 AM PST by mrsmith
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To: boris
He was also a plagiarist. In this case, he stole it from Elwood P. Dowd

What kind of jackass are you? I suppose if his late father lit the candles on his damned birthday cake you'd call him an arsonist. Geez.....

And by the way, a plagiarist is someone who illicitly reproduces the artistic work of another. There is nothing illicit, illegal, or improper in conveying a published quote privately without attribution. So there, pig.

28 posted on 12/18/2002 10:29:14 AM PST by Mr. Bird
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To: boris
Boris, regarding your #15:

I wish to draw a distinction between a taunt and a flame. A taunt is witty and harkens back to Monty Python skits and is, therefore, quite acceptable. A flame has utterly no redeeming value, you nasty son of a bed-wetting type!

29 posted on 12/18/2002 10:42:28 AM PST by TPartyType
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To: FairOpinion
Thanks for the compliment!

Yeah, I haven't had time to get that logic link posted yet. It's going to be a major undertaking. (On the other hand, I may just link to other logic sites. There's a million of 'em . . .)

FRegards.

30 posted on 12/18/2002 10:45:42 AM PST by TPartyType
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To: michigander
Aaaah, yer mutha! :o)
31 posted on 12/18/2002 10:47:39 AM PST by TPartyType
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To: TPartyType
Me thinks you should have put on one of these.


32 posted on 12/18/2002 10:49:11 AM PST by PeaceBeWithYou
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To: PeaceBeWithYou
Thanks! (I've been saving for one of those babies!)
33 posted on 12/18/2002 10:52:02 AM PST by TPartyType
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To: TPartyType; Carry_Okie; Grampa Dave; budwiesest; farmfriend; Boot Hill; dalereed; ...
Civility, Diplomacy and Consensus are the Epitome of Dishonesty!!! (SierraWasp-December 18, 2002)

They are the Mother, Father and Children of Capitulation, Appeasment and Pernicious Politics!!!

History is relentless in it's repetitive proof of these postulations, yet the "nice guys" who should always "finish last," seem to get away with it by including it in the Extreme Prejudice of "Political Correstness" to pressurize their "Point of View!"

Without this whining of "Bad Manners," their arguments are so lame, emotion based and without merit, they would never be heard, otherwise. Buy yourself some asbestos underwear and wade in to the arena like everybody else and quit trying to drown everyone else out with claims of "fairness," "fairplay" and civility!

Did you write the book, "All I Ever Needed To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten?" (Whew)

34 posted on 12/18/2002 11:06:38 AM PST by SierraWasp
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To: TPartyType; All
Follow these rules... ;)

How To Argue (from NirvanaNet)

I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. You too can win arguments.

Simply follow these rules:

* Drink liquor.

Suppose you are at a party and some hotshot intellectual is expounding on the economy of Peru, a subject you know nothing about. If you're drinking some health-fanatic drink like grapefruit juice, you'll hang back, afraid to display your ignorance, while the hotshot enthralls your date. But if you drink several large martinis, you'll discover you have STRONG VIEWS about the Peruvian economy. You'll be a WEALTH of information. You'll argue forcefully, offering searing insights and possibly upsetting furniture.
People will be impressed. Some may leave the room.

* Make things up.

Suppose, in the Peruvian economy argument, you are trying to prove that Peruvians are underpaid, a position you base solely on the fact that YOU are underpaid, and you'll be damned if you're going to let a bunch of Peruvians be better off. DON'T say: "I think Peruvians are underpaid." Say instead: "The average Peruvian's salary in 1981 dollars adjusted for the revised tax base is $1,452.81 per annum, which is $836.07 before the mean gross poverty level."

NOTE: Always make up exact figures.

If an opponent asks you where you got your information, make THAT up too. Say: "This information comes from Dr. Hovel T. Moon's study for the Buford Commission published on May 9, 1982. Didn't you read it?" Say this in the same tone of voice you would use to say, "You left your soiled underwear in my bathroom."

* Use meaningless but weighty-sounding words and phrases.

Memorize this list:

Let me put it this way
In terms of
Vis-a-vis
Per se
As it were
Qua
So to speak


You should also memorize some Latin abbreviations such as "Q.E.D.", "e.g.", and "i.e." These are all short for "I speak Latin, and you don't."

Here's how to use these words and phrases. Suppose you want to say, "Peruvians would like to order appetizers more often, but they don't have enough money."

You never win arguments talking like that. But you WILL win if you say, "Let me put it this way. In terms of appetizers vis-a-vis Peruvians qua Peruvians, they would like to order them more often, so to speak, but they do not have enough money per se, as it were. Q.E.D."

Only a fool would challenge that statement.

Use snappy and irrelevant comebacks.

You need an arsenal of all-purpose irrelevant phrases to fire back at your opponents when they make valid points. The best are:

You're begging the question.
You're being defensive.
Don't compare apples to oranges.
What are your parameters?


This last one is especially valuable. Nobody (other than engineers and policy wonks) has the vaguest idea what "parameters" means.

Here's how to use your comebacks:

You say: As Abraham Lincoln said in 1873...
Your opponent says: Lincoln died in 1865.
You say: You're begging the question.

You say: Liberians, like most Asians...
Your opponent says: Liberia is in Africa.
You say: You're being defensive.

Compare your opponent to Adolf Hitler.

This is your heavy artillery, for when your opponent is obviously right and you are spectacularly wrong. Bring Hitler up subtly. Say, "That sounds suspiciously like something Adolf Hitler might say," or "You certainly do remind me of Adolf Hitler."

So that's it. You now know how to out-argue anybody. Do not try to pull any of this on people who generally carry weapons.
35 posted on 12/18/2002 12:22:41 PM PST by Axenolith
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To: TPartyType
bump for later read
36 posted on 12/18/2002 1:03:44 PM PST by T. P. Pole
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To: demosthenes the elder
Oh, and Hamilton, a genuine Founder, is said to have had a minor dispute of sorts with somebody named Burr. How did that turn out??? Rather poorly for Hamilton, it is said.

Don't forget the vicious word battles between John Adams and some guy named Jefferson. They were enemies for years, but finally made up in time to die on the same day, July 4th, Independence Day.

37 posted on 12/18/2002 1:16:44 PM PST by Paulus Invictus
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To: TPartyType
BUMP for your efforts. Any idea that can help us here at Free Republic in our efforts to flush the scumbag Democrats down the toilet like the foul, stinking turds they are is fine with me.

Kindest, most civil regards,
LH

38 posted on 12/18/2002 1:31:41 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: TPartyType
In case you didn't know, this is a "democratic" forum.
39 posted on 12/18/2002 2:21:34 PM PST by cornelis
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To: TPartyType
Great link at the top, TPT. (Except it is a little hard to read)
40 posted on 12/18/2002 2:23:07 PM PST by cornelis
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