Example: Why politics & religion aren't welcome here

[K-Sci]

I'm not into arguing on the internet so this is the one and only post I'm going to make on this subject.

On the original thread I thanked WW for moving this part of the discussion because I found the derailed thread and personal attacks tiresome. If you scroll back though this thread you will see that I didn't respond to even one of the very offensive and provocative attacks directed at me. Perhaps the mods should consider sanctioning those who intentionally sought to start arguments and engaged in personal attacks in actual violation forum rules rather rewarding that bad behavior by censoring opinions on topics where people should be capable of respectfully disagreement.
-Keith

[Clawhammer]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

I'm not into arguing on the internet so this is the one and only post I'm going to make on this subject.

On the original thread I thanked WW for moving this part of the discussion because I found the derailed thread and personal attacks tiresome. If you scroll back though this thread you will see that I didn't respond to even one of the very offensive and provocative attacks directed at me. Perhaps the mods should consider sanctioning those who intentionally sought to start arguments and engaged in personal attacks in actual violation forum rules rather rewarding that bad behavior by censoring opinions on topics where people should be capable of respectfully disagreement.
-Keith

You post a racist dog whistle in your signature and then act like you are all innocent.

You have shown yourself and you continue to do so. Please continue

[YetAnotherOrchidNut]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

I'm not into arguing on the internet so this is the one and only post I'm going to make on this subject.

On the original thread I thanked WW for moving this part of the discussion because I found the derailed thread and personal attacks tiresome. If you scroll back though this thread you will see that I didn't respond to even one of the very offensive and provocative attacks directed at me. Perhaps the mods should consider sanctioning those who intentionally sought to start arguments and engaged in personal attacks in actual violation forum rules rather rewarding that bad behavior by censoring opinions on topics where people should be capable of respectfully disagreement.
-Keith

Hey Keith, I asked you to leave the politics out of the site, I asked politely, but you ignored me and left your signature unchanged, even now after the moderators stepped in your signature contains a politically charged statement that I feel is inappropriate in this forum. There are places where that kind of thing has a place, in the comments section in your local or national newspaper, whatever, but here is NOT the place.

If you had just stuck to plants we would all be getting along, you wouldn't be offended, they wouldn't be offended and we would be talking orchids and not politics. So I ask you again, for the sake of community peace could you please please just remove your signature so we can move on?

Thanks!

[Grautier]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherOrchidNut

Hey Keith, I asked you to leave the politics out of the site, I asked politely, but you ignored me and left your signature unchanged, even now after the moderators stepped in your signature contains a politically charged statement that I feel is inappropriate in this forum. There are places where that kind of thing has a place, in the comments section in your local or national newspaper, whatever, but here is NOT the place.

If you had just stuck to plants we would all be getting along, you wouldn't be offended, they wouldn't be offended and we would be talking orchids and not politics. So I ask you again, for the sake of community peace could you please please just remove your signature so we can move on?

Thanks!

Have you ever considered that YOUR statement is the problem? Haven't you ever felt, at least in your youth, that 'comply and obey' is just strenghtening the rulers?
I understand you might want to play 'this is a safe place', if OTHERS obey, they won't be coming for ME. You are wrong. (And I'd love to be mistaken with this.)
There is only one place really, where conditional freedom exists. It is the same place where 'lockdowns' are from: jail.
Your polite request isn't polite at all. You see that?

I ask the administrators of this forum again to delete my account, as I feel 'free' to continue posting if not.

Edit: 'conditional freedom' perhaps in better english should be 'freedom on probation'? English is not my strengh, sorry for that.

[Ray]

A general comment to any of you that have posted:

Did your parents not teach you to be decent and polite? If they did, and you continued to follow their teaching, we would not have a need for guidelines or rules.

Too many people today focus on “me” and “my rights” and not on “we” and everyones’ rights.

You are certainly entitled to your own opinions, but that does not mean you are entitled to foist them on others, especially if that opinion bears no relationship the the subject at hand. There is even a word for that - “inappropriate”.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by YetAnotherOrchidNut

Hey Keith, I asked you to leave the politics out of the site, I asked politely, but you ignored me and left your signature unchanged, even now after the moderators stepped in your signature contains a politically charged statement that I feel is inappropriate in this forum. There are places where that kind of thing has a place, in the comments section in your local or national newspaper, whatever, but here is NOT the place.

If you had just stuck to plants we would all be getting along, you wouldn't be offended, they wouldn't be offended and we would be talking orchids and not politics. So I ask you again, for the sake of community peace could you please please just remove your signature so we can move on?

Thanks!

I read the post this responds to three times through to be sure I am correct here. The post you reference contains not one word of political content. There was nothing that should cause a reasonable person to be upset over. The post stated facts and an opinion on forum rules. Nothing more.

---------- Post added at 09:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:01 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

A general comment to any of you that have posted:

Did your parents not teach you to be decent and polite? If they did, and you continued to follow their teaching, we would not have a need for guidelines or rules.

Too many people today focus on “me” and “my rights” and not on “we” and everyones’ rights.

You are certainly entitled to your own opinions, but that does not mean you are entitled to foist them on others, especially if that opinion bears no relationship the the subject at hand. There is even a word for that - “inappropriate”.

In answer to the first question, obviously not. Common decency, like common sense, is not common.

[Mountaineer370]

There are plenty of opportunities and venues for people in the USA and many other (but of course not all) countries to freely express their opinions and concerns on any and all topics. The difference here is that this is a hobby forum devoted to the topic of orchids. There is simply no reason to bring up controversial, divisive topics here, which only result in argument and anger. Hey, we get enough of that just talking about orchid care! Yes, even in the "Off-Topic" portion of the forum, I think it's just good manners to be polite and civil and not bring up inflammatory topics.

I'm not saying that politics, religion, racism, sexism, pandemics, climate change, etc. are not important topics. Of course they are! But this is not the place to bring that up. This is a place many, if not most, of us come to escape those types of issues that we are constantly bombarded with from other media sources. To not talk about such things here is not censorship, it is not to bury our heads in the sand and pretend they don't exist; rather, it is to allow the OB to be a kind of sanctuary, a safe place we can come to talk about something as beautiful as orchids and take a little break from the constant strife in the world.

[Clawhammer]

Let's be sure to place the blame squarely on K-Sci's shoulders. He updated his signature to contain a racist dog whistle with the intent to "trigger the libs". His signature is visible in every post on every thread he participates in. All reactions to this provocation were appropriate even though division was his goal.

Asking people to not bring politics into the Orchid Board is entirely reasonable. Asking people to tolerate a racist sh** stirrer is a whole other moral proposition.

[Dimples]

Originally Posted by Ray

A general comment to any of you that have posted:

Did your parents not teach you to be decent and polite? If they did, and you continued to follow their teaching, we would not have a need for guidelines or rules.

Too many people today focus on “me” and “my rights” and not on “we” and everyones’ rights.

You are certainly entitled to your own opinions, but that does not mean you are entitled to foist them on others, especially if that opinion bears no relationship the the subject at hand. There is even a word for that - “inappropriate”.

When someone is intentionally rude to any population, that behavior should not be tolerated from that member. At that point, pointing out their inappropriate behavior thus becomes acceptable. Comments of a derogatory nature were made towards atheists. That's unacceptable.

When someone knowingly posts inflammatory writing of a political nature repeatedly by way of their signature on a board where people would prefer it not be posted, that behavior should not be tolerated. Responding then becomes acceptable and imperative behavior.

The original problem has been dealt with by the mods. Let's move on.

[Jmbaum]

I find it wonderful that orchid bring us all together. This is an international diverse community and it is both inappropriate and ineffectual to project niche political leanings in such a forum. let stick to celebrating the commonality we have instead of the differences.

It is a pretty big head scratcher why I'm seeing any mention of critical race theory or communism for that matter.