Unkindness in the Comments
Ah, the comments. Source of so much joy and anguish here on WashingtonWatch.com.
Here a story of comments that provide a stark contrast in debating styles: S. 243, the GIVE Act of 2009, would amend the tax code to allow a deduction for the use an automobile for charitable purposes.
A commenter named Sharon quite favors it. She says:
This is such a refreshing initiative of the Obama Administration. The U.S. has for far too long not been inspired to do good although there are millions of people who do good and want to do more. This desire is respected and honored in this initiative and serves as a source of inspiration and support in their efforts by highlighting it as a National Priority. It beats the culture of greed of recent years!
Well! I had never regarded any piece of legislation as such a refreshing breeze before. All is good in the world.
Not so fast, says commenter Johnathan, who replies:
Please Sharon, call your local proctologist. So you can get your head out of your @$$.
To his credit, at least Johnathan says “please” . . . I mean, – aw nevermind.
Johnathan loses this debate by every measure. Rather than responding to any of the substance or suggestion in Sharon’s post, he attacks her personally with insults.
In this study in contrasts, Sharon is the clear winner. Johnathan – back to Debating 101 with you.
More posts about comments and our comment system can be found here.
Eed
They cost nothing. Congressmen like to say that and then go cash that $160,000.
Maybe we should pay them the same?
Danielle
I understand your point about being however, there is a difference in being rude and disagreeing with someone or the bill itself. The GIVE bill was not only about reimbursement of mileage or even about enabling people to volunteer, but also had stipulations that would allow for mandatory service requirements that are not related to the military. This is against the 13th Amendment and I am against anything that interferes with the rights that the constitution gives us. And the woman that you mentioned in the article was incorrect- Americans give charity and donate more time than ANY other country in the world, she needs to have her facts correct before she uses them as her basis to support a law such as this. While I would never tell someone to call a proctologist, I commented explaining I disagreed with the bill, and was deleted along with others. Apparently, even if you are polite, only some people are allowed to voice their opinions.
-Danielle
http://www.theyreallliars.com
Jim Harper
Thank you for this wide-ranging comment.
I’m curious about your claim to being “deleted along with others.” We have deleted spam comments in the past, and from time to time we edit vulgarity out of comments. But no comments have been deleted anywhere on this site because of the viewpoints they express.
On Rude Comments - The WashingtonWatch.com Blog
[...] discussed rude comments here on the blog before. More posts about comments and our comment system can be found here. It’s up to you, users, [...]