I believe I just encountered the dumbest freeper-type alive

[Sydnie]

I posted the story from the Providence Journal at another forum tonight. It's a mixed forum (libertarians, repugs, liberals and moderates) with really a small group of posters there.

Link to the story for those who may not have read it - http://www.projo.com/news/bobkerr/projo_20060426_wedco26.a4cf005.html It's the story about the mother that got a letter from her soldier son ... and he said he was hungry. It really hit a nerve with me and I wanted to bring it to their attention.

Well, most of the posters there read it, but did not respond. That happens often when the story is just so compelling that it finds that even the repugs there can't make a snarky statement about the issue. Until Jeff read the thread. Jeff is, IMHO, the exact type that Colbert had in mind when he spoke of backwash. The type that uses the word liberal as a sword, whether it fits the issue or not.

So, I post the story and he responds with this:

"So they're claiming they were only fed 2 meals a day - HOW LONG AGO?? Back in '03???? Thanks for the big news flash, with the false title that they ARE being starved, suggesting it's happening now. And since you're a liberal that's probably good news that at first, there wasn't a huge supply of food for them. You guys don't view them as anything but "murderous occupiers"
anyway."

So, I explain that the article is current, written just two weeks ago, although he has posted bogus old stories as "proof" of his position before and deleted them when called on them. Guess he thought I was trying to pull something over on him though. After I explain that it is current, he responds with this:

""Nick told his mother that he and the men in his unit WERE all about 10 pounds lighter IN THEIR FIRST FEW WEEKS in Iraq. They WERE pulling 22-hour patrol shifts. They WERE getting two meals a day and they WERE not meals to remember.

I admit not reading the whole article, but I know past tense when I see it."

Bolding is his, not mine.

How are we ever going to reach people like this ... dumb as dirt and not aware that they are dumb as dirt? His first response ticked me off ... his second made me laugh right out loud.

We are down to the bottom of the barrel. All those with any sense of reality at all, even if it is painful to them to admit they were used, have begun to back away from their staunch support of the lunacy in the White House. But these guys, this type of parrot, are unreachable.

I am convinced that blivet's** numbers will continue to fall, but not because they have finally seen the light, but rather because someone now comes along and tells them to think something different than they told them to last week. They will be moved only by people that they have listened to and trusted and repeated all along. Until then, the backwash will fight to the death for their man because they just plain don't know how to think for themselves like adults should.

Intelligent design, my ass!

[sakabatou]

1. You can't teach backwash

They're like jocks. They spawn from dirty locker room floors.

[Kerrytravelers]

2. Yes, the 1/3 backwash. jeff sounds like saliva to me!

[seabeyond]

3. i went to a mixed board myself a week or two ago.

the first couple interactions about bush or iraq or any political issue i saw the same refusal for fact. it jsut is impossible to communicate about this stuff with people. they refuse. i have no desire t waste my time with a bushbot on these issues. the picture is there for them to see, yet they will give a totally different story on what they see and i sit there dumbfounded.

[Sydnie]

6. This is the political section of the board

and I have been posting there since well before the 2004 election. It's quite a strange group - two preachers, both repugs, one who is at least literate and the other is totally batshit crazy. (the crazy one made really nasty comments about Kerry's ex-wife when she died because he hates Kerry. Some preacher he is, huh?) There are two libertarians that just hate on everyone equally. One or two moderates that piss in everyone's cheerios depending on the issue and a few good progressives. And then there's Jeff. Out standing in a field all his own.

The more the news is not going their way, the more the repugs freak out and get nastier and nastier. That is to be expected. But even with them, I see a change coming on. One even admitted the other night that he has "issues" with Georgie ... but he will never vote for a democrat no matter how bad the repugs get. :::Sigh::: I can take what they say with a grain of salt. But this guy, he just jumps the shark every time he posts anything at all. But tonights, just took the cake even with his asinine post.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. I post on one of those kinds of boards too

And I have been there for a long time - longer than I have been here. We have about the same mix of people. Most of us get along fine even though we are on opposite sides of many issues. I like it because I see a range of opinions.

And yes, we have one crazy koolaid drinker who calls me a 'loony leftist', thinks el pretzeldente is God and that the war in Iraq is going well. I check rush's website periodically and - you guessed it! - this koolaid drinker is quoting him nearly word for word. I even post links to rush once in awhile and ask him if he is writing rush's scripts for him and boy does that ever piss him off.

The interesting thing is that most of the rest of the group is as tired of his hateful crap as I am. The libertarians and all of the republicans except him now hate bush and post every nasty article they can find about him. They thought the Colbert deal last week was hilarious.

One of the libertarians is now lurking over here and sounds more and more like a progressive every day. LOL

[Sydnie]

13. I agree with the differing points of view

Hearing what they have to say makes me think and that is never a bad thing. "My libertarians" are really out there and just spew hate for everyone. They occasionally say something that rings true, but most of the time is spent telling us all how wrong we are. They actually are entertaining most of the time.

I keep going back because I see the changes that are taking place and it is good to see, even if it is slow at times.

I was surprised to see most of the response about Colbert was very moderate. I was surprised to see how many watch his show regularly and "got it" even though they don't buy into what he is saying. They got the humor all the same. And not one of them called Colbert a liar. I thought that was very remarkable.

Seeing other points of view either confirm what you thought or challenge you to think. That's not a bad thing.

[annabanana]

16. I think there are self nominated plants at

mixed boards.. Just a couple of loudmouths there to stifle debate. Backing down just abandons the field to them.

[HopeFor2006]

4. You will never reach people like this

He is probably one of those who believes the war in Vietnam was lost only because the liberal media forced an early withdrawal of troops.

[SeattleGirl]

5. Folks like that, I don't even want to waste my time on.

They are so delusional, and hang on so tenaciously to those delusions, that it's not worth it. I'd rather spend my time and energy dealing with folks who aren't so lost in those delusions, with whom there might be a chance to make headway, even if it goes slowly.

BTW, I call the kind of "argument" this guy was trying to make "illogical logic". Of course, many of us can see through that immediately, but for others, including the people who make these "arguments", things seem perfectly logical to them, even though, of coure, it's all illogical.

[annabanana]

17. For every bloviating loudmouth

there are dozens of unconvinced lurkers..

We can't afford to leave that audience thinking that the loudmouth has won.

[Catrina]

7. I started out posting on a mixed board in 2001. I met several people like

that and was stupid enough at the time to have endless arguments with them, never getting anywhere. They were programmed and no amount of proof (which they always asked for and always rejected once you gave it to them) could change their minds.

There were others though, that simply had different opinions and would accept proof, even if reluctantly, if it was good enough. They are the ones who are now turning against Bush, imo. They had concerns about the Patriot Act, the War etc. but set them aside back then, because of 9/11. I think now, they regret that. They really did think the war would be over in a few months and never believed it could get this bad. Those of us who did, were called 'liberals' who would like to 'give Saddam therapy' etc. etc. I might go to visit just to say 'I told you so'!

I think as Bush's numbers sink even lower it will be people like the freeper in your OP who will make up the 20% or whatever is left who still support him in the end. They are pretty hopeless, imo and we don't really need them, thankfully. I feel sorry for them in a way ~ they so want to believe they were right and they were and are, so wrong.

[Sydnie]

9. You made a good point

There are posters there that do read facts and accept them, sometimes it takes a small amount of effort, but they are reasonable to some extent. Many of the conversation on that board can go into the high double digits as far as post counts are concerned because there is real dialog taking place. (With only about 10 or so posters, that is a feat really)

But this guy, he is beyond the pale. He has said ridiculous things before, but to argue over the tense of the word was just the final straw.

I had to respond like this -- "Can't put anything past you Jeff" and let it go at that.

It is sad really that there are people like this out there that can vote!

[genieroze]

8. How are we ever going to reach people like this?

Send them to Iraq????

[Sydnie]

10. He would be one to be found guilty of friendly fire I fear

He's just that dumb.

[NightOwwl]

11. And this is why I love DU.

Don't have to deal with absolute morans.

[XOKCowboy]

14. Send him recruitement forms and tell him to Prove It! NT

[baby_mouse]

15. An extremely large proportion of ordinary people are SHOCKINGLY STUPID.

You have noticed this, of course.

[Nikki Stone 1]

18. Past tense can be used for something that happened a second ago

Like: "I posted this reply"

That response, as obvious as it seems, needs to be made for the lurkers.