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It's been one heck of a week:
Against the backdrop of record-setting numbers of COVID-19 deaths and infections in the US and around the world, there was turmoil in Washington, DC. As court cases surrounding the presidential election were filed and dismissed, a close race in Georgia was coming down to the wire and with it control of the US Senate. While the US Congress was completing the Electoral College tally and certification, a mob formed outside — and eventually broke into — the US Capitol. This resulted in a 4-hour lock-down. Eventually, the intrusion was repelled, and the Electoral College count was completed: Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was confirmed as the 46th president of the United States of America.
Conspiracy theories have flourished. Propaganda has streamed forth across multiple platforms. Tempers have flared.
And SoylentNews has been there for you. And have you ever spoken up! Two of the most-commented stories in the site's nearly seven-year history were posted in just the past week!
Insomuch as the activities in the US Capitol were far from the US' most shining moments, neither were things all unicorns and rainbows on SoylentNews. Tempers flared. People were attacked and called names. I even accidentally deleted a story and the 17 comments attached to it! [NB: Problem addressed: the delete button no longer appears by default for our editors.]
IRC (Internet Relay Chat):
Even our IRC service was not free from controversy. We had a spate of nick (nickname) impersonations. Going forward, IRC users are free to use whatever nick they like with the following caveats:
- Prefix / suffix of a nick is fine for practical purposes (e.g. ${nick}_laptop)
- Impersonation or misrepresentation will not be tolerated
- The use of another user's website nick or derivative thereof on IRC will be subject to sanctions up to and including perma ban.
Further, we understand conversations can easily ramble from subject to subject, but there are separate channels for different topics. (Use the /list comand to see what is available.) As #soylent is the default landing channel, we want to keep the discussions there civil. Name calling and personal attacks are grounds for a timeout. I have had discussions with deucalion (the site's CEO and also IRC-maintainer) about these activities.
NOTE: we are NOT going to sit there watching every discussion, poised to take action. But, if such activity is seen by staff on IRC, they are free to take such actions as they deem necessary.
Aspirations:
As I approach posting my 10,000th story(!) to SoylentNews, I think back to when it all started. How a group of people got together. They shared freely of their expertise, of their free time, and of their hard-earned funds. They tried to create a place free from corporate overlords where people could engage in discussions that focused primarily on technology, but with a dabbling in other areas and current events.
SoylentNews provides a forum for discussion. It also provides tools so the community can express themselves in the comments and moderate those comments, as well.
This got me to thinking. What are our aspirations today? What are our guiding principles? I will list some of my guiding principles, and I encourage the community to share what guides them in the comments.
- "Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong." --H. L. Mencken (cite)
- "People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -- Isaac Asimov (cite)
- "If you speak when angry, you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret." -- Groucho Marx (cite)
- "Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean."
- "Don't get furious, get curious" -- Miley Cyrus (cite)
- "Humiliation is when someone points out my shortcomings. Humility is when I confess them myself."
- "I need not participate in every fight I am invited to."
- The most difficult behaviors to observe in another person are the ones I dislike in my own.
- "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." -- John, Lord Morley (cite)
How about you? What sayings guide your aspirations?
Thank You!
Lastly, I thank all of you for supporting me as Editor-in-Chief. I have no formal background in writing or management. I've made mistakes, but I've tried to own up to them as they happened. I strive to be fair, impartial, and open-minded. Under the watchful gaze of the community, I have grown. It is my hope that I may continue to earn your respect and continue in service for many years to come.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @06:53PM (5 children)
No, the way he means it is *exactly* as the founding fathers intended. This [monticello.org] is a quote from Thomas Jefferson. I assume you know, but if for some reason you do not, he is the man who literally wrote our constitution. The length is necessary for I find quotations without context to often be subject to misinterpretation. Jefferson makes his views impeccably clear here:
Jefferson specifically references and condones rebellions driven by what he felt was ignorance. Because he felt it was important that government is constantly reminded that they are there only by the grace of the citizenry they 'rule'. In this case he's referencing Shay's Rebellion [wikipedia.org]. Shay's rebellion was when a ragtag group of about 4,000 people ran around attacking courthouses and various government properties to interfere with the normal operations. They were upset by the state's tax and banking policies (resulting numerous foreclosures on farms) and demanded change. This culminated in them aiming to attack a federal armory, seize the weapons, and overthrow the government. They met with an organized private militia. After taking a single shot of grapeshot, the rebels scattered and were eventually fully routed and dispersed.
(Score: 4, Informative) by DannyB on Monday January 11 2021, @07:13PM (2 children)
So that was a state tax, not a federal tax?
Regardless (or is it "irregardless" on SN?), taxes are something that politicians do. You do have the power to vote them out. Or not have voted them in. Generally, politicians are heavily questioned about their policies long before the election,
This is as it should be.
From what I read:
If you don't like the government: VOTE!
If you don't like the outcome of the election: Try convincing people to your point of view. Debate.
If your point of view is that everyone should live in a lawless anarchy, then try moving somewhere and forming such a government. I recently saw video about how parts of Antarctica are still unclaimed.
In redneckistan the highest form of intellectual debate is a gun. Some here now advocate for congress members to have guns in the chambers of congress in case -- OMG -- Pelosi says WORDS!
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday January 11 2021, @11:26PM
Guns are an overkill, but don't dismiss the (good or bad) power of words [aljazeera.com].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 12 2021, @04:37PM
I'm glad you at least acknowledge that there should be a dramatic difference in the way we treat words versus actions. That's atypical for many people, such as you, now a today. So I applaud you.
However, the reason for the firearm is obviously not to protect against words. Were this a genuine purposeful, organized, and violent coup attempt, the lives of the congress-people could have genuinely been jeopardized. Arming yourself means that even in a scenario like this you will never be helpless. You might imagine they'd have their guards to protect them but see, for instance, the attempted mass homicide [wikipedia.org] of congresspeople at the congressional baseball game. The only thing that saved their lives in that case was the fact that the shooter couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Were he a capable marksman, he easily could have killed a dozen or more congresspeople.
See, for contrast, the 2016 BLM shooter [wikipedia.org]. He was a veteran and skilled shooter. And at a BLM protest with a very heavy police presence he was able to kill 5 police officers and wound 9 others. And the only reason those numbers are as "low" as they are is because the people he was shooting at were also armed. If it were him at the congressional mass shooting, the body count would have easily been in the dozens.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 11 2021, @07:30PM (1 child)
No, he wasn't. Jefferson was the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence. James Madison was the one who wrote the "Virginia Plan" proposal that became the first draft of the Constitution (the Convention further modified many things before compromising on the final version submitted to the states for ratification). Jefferson was serving as Minister to France, and was therefore in Paris, during the Constitutional Convention debates. Jefferson's contribution was limited to various letters he sent to members of the Convention with his opinions, that's all.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nobuddy on Tuesday January 12 2021, @02:56PM
Careful. Using facts and reality on a trumptard will trigger a fight or flight response. It is something new and scary to them.