The assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords

[rick957]

Oh hell, I know I said I was done with this thread, but now I'm back.  Sorry, deal with it.  :)

There are only a relative handful of people on this site whom I think of as forming the core of the Elliquiy community.  Even though I've been active on the site for about a year, I don't think of myself as an integral member of the community; I've dealt with only a tiny percentage of the members.  The few whom I think of as integral to the community are the staffpeople -- gods/goddesses/genies and satyrs/sirens/sidhes, and presumably Vekseid -- and the mentors.  I lump all those people together simply because (unlike me) they've all put time and effort into either building, growing, or maintaining the site and community.

Vekseid has a special status on this site; whether he likes it or not, he's the single member whom everyone thinks of as being most responsible for Elliquiy's existence and maintenance.  At least that's my impression, and of course, his efforts on behalf of the site are appreciated.  However, because he's tied so closely to the community, his opinions and behavior reflect more strongly on Elliquiy than other people's opinions and behavior, at least in my mind, and in the minds of others here, I think.

As I explained earlier in this thread, Vekseid has made numerous remarks here that I consider careless, insupportible, and inflammatory.  He has also said a couple specific things, and has taken an overall tone, that I find personally offensive.  When I pointed out those things, he neither apologized, nor withdrew or reconsidered any of his statements.

So far, only a small handful of people have said anything to challenge any of Vekseid's statements.  None of those who have spoken out have been staffpeople or mentors. 

The silence of the rest of the community suggests tacit approval and agreement with Vekseid's opinions and behavior. 

I understand not all of you out there have seen this thread or read much of it closely.  I understand there's a lot of you and you have lots of other things to do.  All I'm saying is, this thread has seriously changed my impression of this entire community, and not for the better.  More importantly, I think it will do the same for at least a few of those who read the things that were said here and see the responses in this thread so far. 

I hope a few more will speak up, if only so that I can better gauge how closely Vekseid's views characterize those of the rest of the community.  Seriously, even if you agree with the things he has said and the way he has said them, if you would just please stop in and say so, I would personally appreciate it.  Maybe you can say something that would help me to reevaluate my conclusions about his positions, if not his behavior.

Thanks.

P.S.  Several of those who have commented in this thread have been talking about other issues related to the overall topic and haven't said a whole lot in agreement or disagreement with his points, especially the most controversial ones.  This also suggests tacit approval, general agreement with him, particularly because he launched the thread with a post expressing his views.  If you don't approve of anything he's said, please say so.

[Jude]

I'd say that the inanity that we allow in discourse is more responsible for this than the overall tone.  Political discussion in this country has more to do with sloganism and emotion than dispassionate examination of the complicated cause-effect relationships in our society.  [From looking into the matter]  It seems to me that people on the whole are fundamentally ill informed and have no interest in learning anything that might invalidate their ideologically motivated points of view.  In America confidence is sexy, and what you see here is the dark side of that:  being so confident in your views which have no rational basis in reality that you're willing to kill for them.  I completely disagree that this is a phenomenon that is unique to the right, it's simply more prevalent there as the Christian Right, which seems to almost entirely control the party these days, is especially deluded.

I would respond to your concerns Rick with:  I don't agree with the things Vekseid has said and I have found them to be lacking in civility -- which is why I circumventing any direct dialogue there.  My silence isn't tacit approval as much as avoidance of butting heads with the management on an issue he's very passionate about, partially out of the interest of self-preservation (though that sounds overly dire, I don't think he's going to kill me or ban me or anything, I just doesn't seem like a wise thing to do).

EDIT:  I think some of it stems from the fact as well that arguing with him is a daunting task because of the reverence other posters have for him and the wealth of information that he has at his disposal.  I always feel like I'm flooded with claims to analyze whenever I have a discussion with him, to the point that it's difficult to really form criticism given the overwhelming amount of evidence he offers (even if I find that the quality of any particular piece isn't very compelling).  I'm not sure if this stems from a lack of education on my part or what.

[Neroon]

I'm locking this.

Vekseid is a human being and has a right to his opinion.  He also has to follow the site rules and generally does so to a higher standard than any other member.  Vekseid and the staff are not above the rules and it is right that this is the case.  However, Vekseid has a right to the same protection under the rules as everyone else.

Rick, your post was simply out of order.  You are taking an interpersonal issue between you and Vekseid and are now asking others to join you in attacking him.  That is victimisation and goes against the procedures for dealing with such matters laid out here.

If you have an issue with this, then you can bring it to me directly by PM.