Mucho drama in my school. :( [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Elm11

2010-02-25, 04:12 PM

Boy, doesn't sound great, to lose two teachers in one week. If anything big happens, especially if it is a small town, they'll probably have to call a pupil free week to work out a plan of action and give the whole thing some time to cool down.

Other than that, i jope the issue is resolved soon, for your sake, and hope it all gets back to normal. without perveted teachers (though admittedly i don't know the circumstances behind the firing).

Forever Curious

2010-02-25, 04:20 PM

Wow. Most exciting thing that happened here was ANOTHER fight (albeit, the first one in a few weeks, but still).

All I can say is hang in there. We had a perverted teacher (only because that's my first impression of the situation) fired from another local school a few years back. Best of luck with all this.

valadil

2010-02-25, 04:29 PM

We never had that kind of drama. What we did have was a badass math teacher. When I had him he had taught for 47 years, only taking a sick day to have surgery. One time he got in a car crash on the way to work and still came in and taught our class with dried blood on his bald head. Best damn teacher I ever had.

zeratul

2010-02-25, 05:03 PM

Usually the only drama we get at my school is fights, and kis getting tased every now and then. That's not really considered much off a big deal anymore though.

Don Julio Anejo

2010-02-25, 06:31 PM

We had some asshats from a rival school come in and lit trash cans on fire every two days for a few months. They never got caught too...

Also one of the teachers (a nice guy actually, I did my CS with him) was one of the people behind every teacher-school board labour dispute for about a decade. For more money, because 70k a year wasn't enough for him :frown:

ForzaFiori

2010-02-25, 06:37 PM

OverdrivePrime

2010-02-25, 06:49 PM

Amazingly, from what I've heard, the guy that was fired wasn't a perv. He was a fairly young teacher, and the girl is 18 and a senior. Apparently, they were actually dating, and her friends were the ones that told the principal and stuff.

Oh, gross! :smallsigh:

Few things churn my stomach like abuse of authority. I don't care if the teacher was some sort of prodigy and was teaching at 18. Being in that sort of position of authority over a student is just terrible.

Moral of the story: if you're attracted to your high school students, Stop Teaching. If you're attracted to your middle school students, please sterilize yourself. :smalltongue:

Don Julio Anejo

2010-02-25, 07:09 PM

If you're attracted to your middle school students, please sterilize yourself. :smalltongue:
What if you're Doogie Howser who decided to teach instead of practice medicine?

OverdrivePrime

2010-02-26, 07:25 AM

What if you're Doogie Howser who decided to teach instead of practice medicine?

If you're Neil Patrick Harris, you're much too awesome for any silly things like 'rules' or 'social norms'. :smallbiggrin:

Devils_Advocate

2010-02-26, 11:11 PM

Amazingly, from what I've heard, the guy that was fired wasn't a perv.
Well, maybe not technically, but the fact that you described him as trying to kiss someone still suggests that he was behaving in a very inappropriate fashion.

Being in that sort of position of authority over a student is just terrible.
Down with compulsory education, then? Or did you phrase that poorly?

Moral of the story: if you're attracted to your high school students, Stop Teaching. If you're attracted to your middle school students, please sterilize yourself. :smalltongue:
Because if you idly experience those fairly normal emotional responses, it means that you're a horrible, dangerous person? Is that it? I'm just trying to get a handle on your "reasoning" here.

Given that I feel attracted to a wide variety of people but also feel leery at best about becoming intimate with anyone in any capacity, I sort of take issue with some implied assumptions here.

Maximum Zersk

2010-02-26, 11:19 PM

Wait, how old was the teacher.

If we use the xkcd dating algorithm, we can figure our the minimal age.

A/2+7=M

Honestly, unless the teacher was significantly older, I just don't seem to find much squick in it.

Of course, not much squicks me out, so don't mind me.

Solaris

2010-02-27, 12:14 AM

Usually the only drama we get at my school is fights, and kids getting tased every now and then. That's not really considered much off a big deal anymore though.

It saddens me to see that's not much of a big deal anymore.

Conversely, I'm not seeing it as terribly sickening that an eighteen-year-old senior was dating a 'fairly young teacher'. Sad that the dude couldn't catch a date his own age, but not terribly sickening. Unethical, a bit amoral, but not terribly sickening. It's not like he was dating a middle school student, after all.

Don Julio Anejo

2010-02-27, 12:19 AM

Agreed, I personally don't see anything wrong if a teacher (I'm guessing he's what, 22? 24?) is dating an 18 year old senior. Some girls in my high school were dating much older guys.

The rules, however, were put in place for different reasons - in a school setting abuse of power (such as a teacher forcing student to do inappropriate things with him to pass a class) is always a possibility.

And conversely, if the teacher is 54 and the student is 15, yes, there IS something wrong with that. Unless the teacher is secretly a high-roller art collector with a Maybach and the girl has a daddy complex, but then what the hell is he doing teaching high school? :smallamused:

THAC0

2010-02-27, 01:54 AM

Age has nothing to do with it. If one is a teacher and one is a student, there should be no relationship.

Really, would it be that hard to wait until the student graduated? :smallconfused:

Even then, though, as a teacher you run the risk of still getting in trouble due to morality clauses. There was a woman who was a first year intern/teacher when I was a senior - so not that much older, we'd known her when she was in school (side note, going right back to work in your old HS, not brilliant). She ended up marrying someone from the grade behind mine. Now they didn't start dating until he was in college and I believe they waited to get married until he graduated, but last I heard the district was looking at letting her go. I don't recall what happened, as I do not keep in touch with my hometown at all, but at the very least it was a deep investigation into the situation to see if inappropriate behavior occurred.

Don Julio Anejo

2010-02-27, 02:44 AM

Age has nothing to do with it. If one is a teacher and one is a student, there should be no relationship.
The question is - why? If there is no abuse of power (such as when waiting after someone graduates or they're not in the same class and there's no chance of them being in the same class, e.g. one's a senior and another teaches grade 8 math), there's no creepy age difference and everyone is past the age of consent, what's the problem?

THAC0

2010-02-27, 02:51 AM

The question is - why? If there is no abuse of power (such as when waiting after someone graduates or they're not in the same class and there's no chance of them being in the same class, e.g. one's a senior and another teaches grade 8 math), there's no creepy age difference and everyone is past the age of consent, what's the problem?

Well, as long as one is a student and one is a teacher, even if they aren't directly in the same class, there's still a power difference. It's a no-no. Especially when the teacher is a male and the student is a female, and you have gender discrepancy as well as power discrepancy.

As far as once a student has graduated or any other variations, that's part and parcel of being a teacher. It's called a "morality clause" and it's in the contract you sign. In some cases it is reasonable, and in others it can be carried to extreme lengths, such as the person who was refused certification due to a picture on facebook of said person legally consuming a beverage which was *assumed* to be alcoholic.

What it boils down to is - if you go into the teaching field, you know better than to do something like that. And you sign papers saying you know better than to do that. So regardless of whether or not you think it's acceptable, you will get in trouble and you know that.

Zeb The Troll

2010-02-27, 02:58 AM

Well, you could live in Rhode Island, where one school district voted to fire ALL (http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/rhode.island.teachers/index.html) of the teachers, the principal, and three assistant principals at one high school.

THAC0

2010-02-27, 02:59 AM

Zeb The Troll

2010-02-27, 03:08 AM

...Don't even get me started!Indeed. Aside from presenting the news facets of the story, discussion here is probably ill advised, unfortunately. I have my own thoughts on what happened, but I'd love to hear what the educators in the Playground think about it.

THAC0

2010-02-27, 03:10 AM

Indeed. Aside from presenting the news facets of the story, discussion here is probably ill advised, unfortunately. I have my own thoughts on what happened, but I'd love to hear what the educators in the Playground think about it.

I've been in a PM convo about this particular situation. But fair warning, if you want my opinion, I'll probably get all up on my education soap box. :smallwink:

Don Julio Anejo

2010-02-27, 05:11 AM

I've been in a PM convo about this particular situation. But fair warning, if you want my opinion, I'll probably get all up on my education soap box. :smallwink:
I would actually be pretty interested in your opinion on this :smallsmile: PM me with a rant, as I want to get the other side of the story (my point of view is that it's not going to work if kids themselves and parents don't care).

Well, as long as one is a student and one is a teacher, even if they aren't directly in the same class, there's still a power difference. It's a no-no. Especially when the teacher is a male and the student is a female, and you have gender discrepancy as well as power discrepancy.
What if it's a male corporate lawyer, hedge fund manager or an investment banker and a female waitress? There's a pretty big power differential there too. I'm just curious as to why people see it as wrong if it's a teacher and a student, but not if it's people from different social classes.

Don't get me wrong, I know why such laws are in place (such as to keep away, or at least persecute pervs and abusers of power), but I'm curious as to why it's actually wrong when it's not the case?

Solaris

2010-02-27, 05:34 AM

I would actually be pretty interested in your opinion on this :smallsmile: PM me with a rant, as I want to get the other side of the story (my point of view is that it's not going to work if kids themselves and parents don't care).

I would, too.

What if it's a male corporate lawyer, hedge fund manager or an investment banker and a female waitress? There's a pretty big power differential there too. I'm just curious as to why people see it as wrong if it's a teacher and a student, but not if it's people from different social classes.

Don't get me wrong, I know why such laws are in place (such as to keep away, or at least persecute pervs and abusers of power), but I'm curious as to why it's actually wrong when it's not the case?

I think the better question would be a teacher and student from separate schools. The examples you list don't have the male in a position of direct social power over the female, which he is in the case of a male teacher and female student. Even if they're in the same school but he doesn't teach any of her classes, eyebrows still get raised.

THAC0

2010-02-27, 02:10 PM

Don't get me wrong, I know why such laws are in place (such as to keep away, or at least persecute pervs and abusers of power), but I'm curious as to why it's actually wrong when it's not the case?

Basically, it's because we as a society have chosen to hold our teachers to higher standards. It's not really that different than fraternization rules in the military.

Moff Chumley

2010-02-27, 02:24 PM

Let's boil it down to this: it's not necessarily amoral in and of itself, but it's illegal and he knows it's illegal. Therefore, it is amoral to some extent.

Solaris

2010-02-27, 02:49 PM

Basically, it's because we as a society have chosen to hold our teachers to higher standards. It's not really that different than fraternization rules in the military.

Yes, but in the military a relationship like that is only forbidden if they're in the same chain of command. My artillery unit has an NCO who's married to an LT in the MEDDAC, for example.

EDIT: Not arguing for teacher-student relationships, just throwing in a coupla cents.

Pyrian

2010-02-27, 03:28 PM

School, military, and (most) workplaces all use the same standard: do not allow people be in positions of judgment and/or authority over their romantic partners. Obvious, really.

Syka

2010-02-27, 05:54 PM

Yes, but in the military a relationship like that is only forbidden if they're in the same chain of command. My artillery unit has an NCO who's married to an LT in the MEDDAC, for example.

EDIT: Not arguing for teacher-student relationships, just throwing in a coupla cents.

And if the teacher was from a different school as the 18-year-old student, likely the outcome would have been different.

As is, they ARE in the same 'chain of command'. Any given teacher at a school can discipline any given student at that school. If I'm not mistaken, this authority does not extend to other schools, but it does extend to all students at their school.

So even if he didn't have her in a class or whatever, he is still in an authority position. If things were to go south, he could easily make her life hell in ways he wouldn't be able to if he taught at another school.

(Just a note, I'd be saying the same thing if it was female teacher/male student.)

Umael

2010-02-27, 06:08 PM

(Just a note, I'd be saying the same thing if it was female teacher/male student.)

There was a situation a while ago where a female teacher was in a very bad mental space (bad divorce, lots of issues). She had sex with several male students, and from the sounds of it, it was more them taking advantage of her being emotionally vulnerable than she taking advantage of them for having a position of respect and authority.

The judge handed her the minimum sentence and basically said, "it's not like they were damaged, but you are, and we can't let there be a precedent. Sorry, go clean yourself up."

Linkavitch

2010-02-27, 09:48 PM

Usually the only drama we get at my school is fights, and kis getting tased every now and then. That's not really considered much off a big deal anymore though.

Dude, your school is awesome. Any school where kids getting tased isn't a big deal deserves a high-five.

Stormthorn

2010-02-27, 09:57 PM

Few things churn my stomach like abuse of authority. I don't care if the teacher was some sort of prodigy and was teaching at 18. Being in that sort of position of authority over a student is just terrible.

Why do you assume abuse of authority was involved?

Well, as long as one is a student and one is a teacher, even if they aren't directly in the same class, there's still a power difference.
That logic is so effed up it just blows my mind.
So, since im a college student, i shouldent date ANY teacher? Should i not date anyone who makes les money than me too? Anyone less smart than i am?

Note that THACO was repsonding to a comment about a Senior and a teacher of 8th grade math. Who, depending upon where you live, may not even be teaching at the same school the student is attending.

Solaris

2010-02-27, 10:02 PM

There was a situation a while ago where a female teacher was in a very bad mental space (bad divorce, lots of issues). She had sex with several male students, and from the sounds of it, it was more them taking advantage of her being emotionally vulnerable than she taking advantage of them for having a position of respect and authority.

The judge handed her the minimum sentence and basically said, "it's not like they were damaged, but you are, and we can't let there be a precedent. Sorry, go clean yourself up."

There've been a few situations like that. One I recall, the female teacher was the more predatory of the pair. Generally, the female teacher gets off fairly easily compared to a male teacher who does the same thing.

THAC0

2010-02-27, 10:13 PM

Why do you assume abuse of authority was involved?

That logic is so effed up it just blows my mind.
So, since im a college student, i shouldent date ANY teacher? Should i not date anyone who makes les money than me too? Anyone less smart than i am?

Note that THACO was repsonding to a comment about a Senior and a teacher of 8th grade math. Who, depending upon where you live, may not even be teaching at the same school the student is attending.

First off, college is different. College students are legally adults. Most elementary through high school students are not adults. Completely different situation.

Anyway, bottom line is - it was a violation of the teacher's contract and the teacher was aware of it. Too bad for him.

Stormthorn

2010-02-27, 10:14 PM

First off, college is different. College students are legally adults. Most elementary through high school students are not adults. Completely different situation.

Anyway, bottom line is - it was a violation of the teacher's contract and the teacher was aware of it. Too bad for him.

The comment you were responding too mentioned that all parties were above age of consent.

I cant argue that such an act is a breach of contract assuming they are at the same school in that hypothetical example. But that doesnt make it morally wrong.

THAC0

2010-02-27, 10:16 PM

The comment you were responding too mentioned that all parties were above age of consent.

Yes, I am aware of that. Age is only part of the reason for these rules. Quite frankly, if someone doesn't understand the difference in power between a teacher and a student, even if the student isn't directly in the teacher's classes, I can't help them. So, in that case, see the bottom line I posted above.

Stormthorn

2010-02-27, 10:22 PM

Yes, I am aware of that. Age is only part of the reason for these rules. Quite frankly, if someone doesn't understand the difference in power between a teacher and a student, even if the student isn't directly in the teacher's classes, I can't help them. So, in that case, see the bottom line I posted above.

Power differentials shouldnt matter if they arnt being abused.
Otherwise i WOULD never try to date someone with more money than me or a job in a legal or megical field. These people could eff up my life pretty bad if they wanted.

And im sorry if i come across as touchy but this is an issue i care a lot about.

ForzaFiori

2010-02-28, 11:23 PM

My teachers son is still missing. Its been almost a week. I'm really worried about him. He's only like 16, and his gf (who he also ran off with) is 15.

Solaris

2010-02-28, 11:40 PM

My teachers son is still missing. Its been almost a week. I'm really worried about him. He's only like 16, and his gf (who he also ran off with) is 15.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Like as not, he'll come back when he gets tired of being hungry.

pendell

2010-03-01, 05:49 PM

Check me on this -- but even in the case both teacher and student are of legal age it's still a bad idea (as in college -- not "illegal", just "unwise") to form a romantic relationship. The other students will think it's a "GM's Girlfriend" situation and it's rough on the teacher if he has to, say, fail the student.

Far better to wait until the student has graduated and is of legal age.

For that matter, that simple line of thinking works up-and-down any chain of command, whether officer/enlisted or boss/employee. It's very hard to maintain the necessary professional detachment from someone you're romantically involved with. Best to wait until the authority relationship doesn't exist any more.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Syka

2010-03-01, 06:12 PM

And by 'authority relationship' we don't just mean 'this person is more powerful than me in society'. We mean 'this person has direct effect on what is happening to me in situation X' be it work or academic.

It's just a Bad Idea of the first degree.

Sure, someone in the legal or medical (I assume that's what you meant) can try to make your life hard, but without actual evidence it's far more difficult than, say, a teacher failing a student with whom their relationship has soured. Or a boss promoting a significant other who does not deserve the promotion. Or a student giving falsely good ratings to a teacher who's bad because to do otherwise would adversely affect the relationship.

Whenever there is a DIRECT authority relationship, it's a horrible idea to get in a romantic relationship. Even my friend, whose boyfriend is of a higher rank in the military than her, but in a totally different unit and unable to affect her promotions/anything else in any sort of way...even their CO's were hesitant with the relationship.

Silly Wizard

2010-03-01, 08:52 PM

I went to Southeast Raleigh High School, it was so filled with drama.

Right as we came into freshman year, our principal Modest got in some poo for having an affair with a librarian.

Not too long later (sophomore or junior year), our assistant principal Dr. Larry Jewell was arrested for sexually abusing someone in his care, as well as having child pornography. Later that year, my math teacher Mr. Hovey was arrested for soliciting sex with underage girls on the Internet.

Then my senior year, our cop Bloodworth shot a kid in the head after he was threatened. Got pulled out of duty for a few weeks, but came back. Good thing too, he's an awesome dude.

Then May 5, 2009, a schoolmate since elementary school, Kevin Jones dies in a car crash (Rest in peace). My friend Jabari was in critical condition for weeks :(

Apparently my school's faculty is getting better, but the student body is reaching the same lows as my freshman year; my sister told me a kid was sent to the hospital after being beaten with a hammer.

Amiel

2010-03-01, 09:16 PM

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 09:41 AM

I remember when I was very naughty in primary school, the principal threatened to hit me with a massive plank of wood :smallmad:; at that age, everything seemed to be horrendously bigger.

Still, that principal was pretty awesome.

In my high school one of the assisstant principles carried around rulers or small clubs. Never beat anyone as far as i know but we didnt really want to test her.

Then my senior year, our cop Bloodworth shot a kid in the head after he was threatened. Got pulled out of duty for a few weeks, but came back. Good thing too, he's an awesome dude.
I dont care how cool someone is. If they shoot children, i wouldnt want them in the school.

pendell

2010-03-03, 10:08 AM

I dont care how cool someone is. If they shoot children, i wouldnt want them in the school.

A 'senior in high school', at least in the US , is 18 years old. Old
enough to join the armed forces but not old enough to drink :smallconfused:

The poster did say the policeman fired his weapon when he was threatened. Until I learn more, I'm willing to believe the student in question really did pose a potentially lethal threat to the officer or others.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Telonius

2010-03-03, 12:18 PM

Power differentials shouldnt matter if they arnt being abused.
Otherwise i WOULD never try to date someone with more money than me or a job in a legal or megical field. These people could eff up my life pretty bad if they wanted.

And im sorry if i come across as touchy but this is an issue i care a lot about.

Power differences matter, even if the power isn't being abused. By "power" I don't mean "has more money than," or "is higher social class than." I mean "has authority over." Ability to hire, fire, promote, demote, assign work to, and so on. (Drew Barrymore is a lot richer and higher social class than I am, but she's not my employer, and has no legal power over me. Nobody other than my wife would have a legal case against either of us if for some reason we started dating.)

Suppose you have a manager that's in a romantic relationship with an employee. The manager tries to take care to ensure that he treats all of the employees fairly, and doesn't let his romantic partner get off the hook for any work deadlines, etc. But if there are any - and I mean, absolutely any - differences in workload, compensation, or promotion among the employees, that company is vulnerable to a lawsuit. Ditto even if the employee isn't the highest-paid; if she has any result over what one would expect for an employee in that situation, even somebody doing better than she is could sue. Every one of those lawsuits would go to trial. Even if the employer won, it would have to pay an exorbitant amount of money arguing the case. That risk is just too great for employers. In every job I've ever been in or heard of, there are internal policies that are supposed to prevent just that sort of situation.

Same way with a teacher-student relationship. Teachers do have authority over students. If there are any differences in achievement, any of the other students have a case. Squick factor and age issues aside, that's why it's prohibited.

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 05:18 PM

A 'senior in high school', at least in the US , is 18 years old. Old
enough to join the armed forces but not old enough to drink :smallconfused:

The poster did say the policeman fired his weapon when he was threatened. Until I learn more, I'm willing to believe the student in question really did pose a potentially lethal threat to the officer or others.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Not sure what the first part has to do with anything.

It was the fact that we dont know how the threat was presented. If it was a verbal threat the use of force was excessive no matter what the situation. If it was with a shotgun then firing on the student may have been acceptable.
But i tend to be of the opinion that cops are just bullies with guns so im baised towards their victims in any situation. Although i can see my own bias and try to compensate.

pendell

2010-03-03, 05:31 PM

What it has to do with is that an 18-year-old is not a 'child' by any definition save very overprotective parents :). That's what I was getting at.

My understanding is that a police officer is always put on leave after a shooting regardless of the circumstances so the situation can be investigated. There are distinct levels of force a police officer is allowed to respond with, and 'firing his/her gun' is only permitted when confronted by a lethal threat, either to the officer personally or to other parties. 'Lethal threat' means the subject is carrying a lethal weapon such as a firearm, is crazy on PCP, etc. A verbal altercation isn't enough.

My understanding is that a police officer can be fired for even *drawing* his/her weapon in inappropriate circumstances, much less *using* it. I just can't imagine a police officer, working in a high-profile environment such as a school, pulling his gun on a student just because said student is mouthing off. But we don't know the facts.

However, I'm inclined to believe the review board -- which is ALWAYS convened after a shooting -- looked into the case very, very carefully.

The police officer was allowed to return to duty.

Given the fact that this is a school, and both parents and newspapers would go ape**** if there was the SLIGHTEST doubt about the officer, I suspect that review board thought long and hard about a decision which could have catastrophic consequences not only for students, but for their personal careers, if they were wrong. And they still chose to return the officer to duty.

Thus, I am forced to conclude that is was probably much more like the situation *I* envisioned, then the case of a 'bully with a gun' killing a student in an unprovoked attack.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 05:45 PM

{Scrubbed}

KuReshtin

2010-03-03, 06:00 PM

{Scrubbed}

Wow. Reading a bit much into it, aren't you? Considering that he ends ALL his posts with the same "Respectfully"-sig.

Syka

2010-03-03, 06:05 PM

Wow. Reading a bit much into it, aren't you? Considering that he ends ALL his posts with the same "Respectfully"-sig.

This, that's just how Pendell ends his posts.

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 06:48 PM

Wow. Reading a bit much into it, aren't you? Considering that he ends ALL his posts with the same "Respectfully"-sig.

{Scrubbed}

Syka

2010-03-03, 06:54 PM

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 07:01 PM

Um....if he didn't post with "respectfully" all the time, I could totally see it. But he's never done any exceptions to it before. When I used to sign off with "Cheers", which I did for years, every now and then I get someone saying how it seemed like I was talking town or something.

Seriously, what stick do you have up your butt to think that suddenly something they always use as a catch phrase is condescending when spoken to you?

Also, TVTropes doesn't apply to real life. Just sayin'.

ETA: Also, that's a general "You" not "you specific" in my second paragraph. English really needs a proper plural you form.

Tropes do, however, apply in real life.
Although i was just using it for a quote, not to link to a particular trope.

And i didnt think it was condescending until that post, whereas he had made others directed at me. Honostly i would have prefered blatant hostility to "respectfully" because even if saying that is just a habit of his, clearly no respect was intended.

But i suppose i have no right to be offended. Sorry.

Pyrian

2010-03-03, 07:16 PM

...All of my posts these days end with "There are no words to express my disdain"... :smalleek:

Solaris

2010-03-03, 09:46 PM

Wow. Reading a bit much into it, aren't you? Considering that he ends ALL his posts with the same "Respectfully"-sig.

And I wasn't seeing any disrespect, either. Stormthorn, you were reaching for what simply wasn't there. If you consider disagreeing with you - and providing some pretty good points - to be disrespectful, then that's a serious problem. I can see misinterpreting something someone else posted - Lord knows I've done that one - but still.

Stormthorn

2010-03-03, 10:58 PM

{Scrubbed}

toasty

2010-03-03, 11:37 PM

{Scrubbed}

So what your saying is that it is just about impossible for you to get into a reasoned, passionate, but ultimately harmless debate with most people? See... that's strange.

Though, as a disclaimer I do have to remember that its not my fault if the people I'm debating with are complete idiots. Still, I do try.

Roland St. Jude

2010-03-04, 12:07 AM

Sheriff of Moddingham: Please keep it civil in here and steer clear of our inappropriate topics. Thanks.

pendell

2010-03-04, 02:09 PM

{Scrubbed}

Stormthorn,

I did not read your response before Roland the Gunslinger got to it. Perhaps that's best for all around.

I'm assuming that you somehow took offense at my signature. All I can say is that I meant no insult to you. I disagreed with some of your assertions, and attempted to do in a polite and civil fashion.

I sign most of my posts "Respectfully" because that is the demeanor I attempt to use in all my posts -- polite, civil, and courteous. To the best of my ability, I offer those things to my correspondants. I review every post I meet to see if it meets that standard. If it doesn't, I tone it down. If whatever I do it is inconsistent with that adverb, I will substitute another one, such as "tongue-in-cheek" (if I'm being funny) "Sadly," (if I'm not happy at all about what I just wrote) etc.

If you disagree with my assertions, I will be happy to debate them with you civilly. But I don't typically insult people on web boards, or get sarcastic with them. There's no profit in it for me, but there *is* a potential to be sanctioned or banned.

So I wan't attempting to insult you. Just disagree with you.

Respectfully,

Brian P.