Question for Matt

June 26, 2001 3:05 PM

Question for Matt: How long would someone's MeFi posting privileges be maintained if they posted about "how many niggers" there are on MeFi? Or the number of "kikes"? Is there a limit here, at any point on the scale?
posted by aaron to etiquette/policy at 3:05 PM (32 comments total)

Is this a problem you've been noticing, Aaron?
posted by Doug at 3:23 PM on June 26, 2001

Which specific posts/comments are you talking about aaron?
posted by tamim at 3:30 PM on June 26, 2001

I'm asking a simple question. If Matt answers "No," then that will be that and there will be no need to go further.
posted by aaron at 3:37 PM on June 26, 2001

What's the point aaron?

Everything is relative, and I don't have a strict checklist where I try to enumerate the number of loaded words or namecalling a person uses.

I'm guessing you've found someone here making stereotypical statements regarding caucasians, and you're trying to see if I'll bite?
posted by mathowie at 3:43 PM on June 26, 2001

*ROFL* Yeah, it's all about white power. Boy oh boy do you have me pegged.
posted by aaron at 3:49 PM on June 26, 2001

Anyway, that's it. Everything's relative, that's all I wanted to know. Kill the thread if you want.
posted by aaron at 3:51 PM on June 26, 2001

This will probably clear up some confusion.

The comment in question.

I post this with some measure of caution, since the poster may have made the remarks in jest (never assume malice when ignorance will suffice, etc.), not realizing how offensive someone might find them. However, posting this will probably make this complaint more clear. Try to keep the hate mail to a minimum.
posted by iceberg273 at 3:57 PM on June 26, 2001

See, Aaron, if you would have been straight forward, instead of trying to trap Matt, you wouldn't seem so creepy right now.
posted by Doug at 4:08 PM on June 26, 2001

He *was* straightforward in the referenced thread. Spare us the schoolmarmishness.
posted by darukaru at 4:14 PM on June 26, 2001

So rather than being open here, and discussing what is actually bothering him, he should insinuate that Matt is a terribly biased commie pinko yet again? And we should all know his real intent, because we all read every post in every thread posted every day?
posted by Doug at 4:28 PM on June 26, 2001

Well, Aaron insists he's quite MeFi for good now, so he won't be hear to read this. But I'm also wondering if Matt can answer if anyone's born weighing 350 pounds.
posted by anildash at 5:11 PM on June 26, 2001

Well, people shit themselves when they're born, but they grow out of it. Unfortunately, that sometimes doesn't extend to controlling their linguistic cavities.
posted by holgate at 5:25 PM on June 26, 2001

I knew it was a joke hincandenza. I personally didn't find it funny and I didn't even want to bother with it. But still, it took almost Kaufmanesque balls to write it. I know, we know, aaron knows how eloquent and reasoned you usually are. Therefore I find it hard to fathom why anyone (who's been here a bit) would take it seriously. Sooooo. . .I think we're all adult-"like" and I think aaron should come 'awn back. I personally believe he will be missed.

Bring back aaron campaign begins now. . .
posted by crasspastor at 7:11 PM on June 26, 2001

Well, Aaron insists he's quite MeFi for good now, so he won't be hear to read this.

How many times does the subject of one member quitting have to come up before we recognize that this is classic trolling?

We thought he was gone

But he's come back again

Last week it was funny

Now the jokes wearing thin

everyone knows now

That every night now

Will be Aaron's last night

in town

posted by rcade at 8:57 PM on June 26, 2001

Damn, what do I have to do to get someone to write a rhyme for me?
posted by lia at 10:20 PM on June 26, 2001

So, what is the sound of one member quitting?
posted by darukaru at 10:24 PM on June 26, 2001

Aaron's Last Night In Town? Rock.

If someone chased Steven Den Beste away, we'd have Steven's Last Night In Town.
posted by kathryn at 10:32 PM on June 26, 2001

The biggest tragedy in all this is that my super-witty "Dude Where's My Car" reference was lost in the shuffle.
posted by owillis at 11:09 PM on June 26, 2001

You were so hungry that you had to resoft to eating your glasses?
posted by gyc at 12:50 AM on June 27, 2001

I caught that reference, owillis. :)

Lia: I'm fairly certain it involves a PayPal account.
posted by hijinx at 4:42 AM on June 27, 2001

Aaron, jumping on the oppression bandwagon with your fatness is pretty pathetic and disingenous to say the least.

If someone starts throwing around racial slurs, it is part of a larger network of hate that existed enshrined in law in this country until 50 years ago and lives on today in organized groups such as Neo Nazis and the KKK.

What groups are targeting fat people? Weight Watchers? Who is your David Duke? Richard Simmons?

You can equate small intolerance and frowning glances in the street, but you can't equate what is essentially a cultural standard of beauty with racism that has cost millions of lives through the years.


posted by chaz at 5:12 AM on June 27, 2001

She's a babe in Manila,
I hear she's a killa!
posted by Steven Den Beste at 5:44 AM on June 27, 2001

(Yeah, it's lame. I'm no poet.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 5:46 AM on June 27, 2001

chaz, er, take it to MetaFilter! ;)
posted by hijinx at 6:21 AM on June 27, 2001

Because, you know, it's not *really* hate until someone organizes a group for it.
posted by darukaru at 7:58 AM on June 27, 2001

What groups are targeting fat people? Weight Watchers? Who is your David Duke? Richard Simmons?

This is the sort of arrogant blame relocation that famously gets large threads started. Think before you write.
posted by norm at 8:15 AM on June 27, 2001

I'm sorry.

I rarely if ever get involved with calling out someone's behavior or motives or ideas on a website, but I still stand behind my comments.

My point was not that it's not "really" hate until someone organizes a group for it, but that the existence of such groups is part of the reason why attacks on people's ethnicity, religion, etc. are far more damaging than those on personal appearance.

As for "arrogant blame relocation," I'm not sure exactly what that is. It does upset me that someone tries to equate someone's size with historical persecution (even in its most mild form, name calling). I thought quite a bit about it before I posted.
posted by chaz at 8:24 AM on June 27, 2001

chaz: while I agree that it isn't and hasn't ever been dangerous to be fat (ie you're not going to get lynched for it), I think you can make an argument for job discrimination; I don't know what the figures are, but equal opportunity has always been about being treated with respect in the job and marketplace, with equal opportunities for advancement. that can apply to any group.

black/latino/grrl pride, now that's another matter. that's about being seen as beautiful for who you are, not against an arbitrary standard set by a dominant group. so fat pride is another component, but a different one.

then there's basic kindness and respect in everyday dealings. this affects everyone in a group every day. you can't legislate that, but it's (hopefully) the outcome of greater sensitivity and diversity. - rcb
posted by rebeccablood at 11:52 AM on June 27, 2001

I just came into this thread for the chocolate. Who's got the chocolate?
posted by ZachsMind at 12:55 AM on June 28, 2001

Who's got the chocolate?

Um, I ate it. Sorry. I have a high metabolism and get hungry very easily. Also, I am very thin and I'm trying to gain weight before the family reunion so that no one will make fun of me.
posted by iceberg273 at 9:00 AM on June 28, 2001