Grateful Dead

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jonapiI accept your invite to be "Chief Jobbie Weecha" of the Clan Dead. Although I do not feel worthy of the honour after my recent misdemeanours I will attempt to carry out my duties with the utmost humility and grace. Now where did I put those 'doggie bags'? p.s. Sorry the Haggis escaped at the weekend and we are presently searching the local moors looking for a replacement.

that "n" word is another of my personal faves :-P********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde

Absolutely. Point taken.Knew you'd bring the serenity! (could that symbol be a nazi salute? just asking...............). tee heeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

IF I may be so bold. As we have all seen, sarcasm and irony in writing can occasionally fly over other readers' heads. Maybe we should have a signal for when we are intending to be sarcastic. Like the dreaded emoticon wink or something ;-). It might save some missunderstandings in the future. Let's put our brains to use by practising how to express our opinions without using words that might offend the more delicate or younger readers. Let's try to read each post that might upset us 2 or 3 times before we blast back, or even ask outright whether what we understand to have read is what the poster intended-BEFORE we open verbal fire. Otherwise it is heartwarming how this recent "testosterone-driven blast" has calmed itself down!! I think we can all handle rage against current events, but rage against each other is much harder to cope with, so maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure out logical ways to minimalize that. Now where's my peace-pipe??? Packing the brats and jammies right now! ********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde

Only joking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before i say anything else, another massive apology to TigerLilly for that pesky c-word; i've apologised to you via private message before as you know, so it's not done on purpose. I do regularly forget that the word is not widely used so much in the US; it's spoken much more freely here so it just slips out. I only use it for punctuation here but that is besides the point. Once again, my sincere apologies. I would be mortified if i felt that others were turning away from something that they used to enjoy because of an idiot who needs to reign in his language. It's a fine line sometimes between having the right to say what you feel and thinking that it's all about you and being blind to the community. Sorry. I'll keep certain words in check!! The other thing that would really irritate me would be for female users to feel that too much tiresome male testosterone was being sprayed over the Forum. I LOATHE that aggressive posturing and chest-beating behaviour. Have done all my life; it's repulsive. I guess these posts have made me realise that it's really difficult sometimes to convey in writing (well it obviously is for me by the looks of it!!), humour, especially sarcastic humour without it getting lost or simply being taken for hatred and seething aggression. Which i must make clear, speaking for myself, i do NOT intend. As i've posted elsewhere, in England we've had a steady diet of this type of, well, i wouldn't say snarling, but sneering, dark comedy, performed by both men and women so you take it for granted that others will laugh too. The US does too of course; Bill Hicks, the mighty George Carlin, South Park etc. Anyway, i'll try and make it clearer for people in future. Regarding any of the other content in the posts, i really don't see any problem with it. Marye, i do agree that if it's turning people away then a bit respect needs to be given for the benefit of the whole, absolutely. But i really don't think we'll be "trotting down the well-worn path to toxic cesspit that's happened on many another site by giving free rein to abusive jerks". I feel that's a bit strong. Everyone here involved in these recent posts have ALL posted comments on a huge variety of topics, with absolutely sincerity, grace, compassion, respect and understanding. It's not as though someone has suddenly joined with the express purpose of hating people or laying into other users for the slightest disagreement a la Youtube. I really believe that, certainly the 5 or six people above respect each other's views and kinda knows what attitude someone is going to bring. If we've all laughed, or shared memories of departed ones or got excited about music in other topics then none of us here should be offended or insulted by what others have to say. People must be allowed to say what they feel (reigning in some of the curse words for the sake of others i do understand though, and i personally will cut down on that a bit); i don't think anyone here with half a brain would see the above posts as being in ANY way racist. Riggsjr, quite openly and rather wonderfully, expressed his feelings of why he suddenly is getting more angry; hand on heart, i think the VAST majority of people in the world think the same. You do start to see people in a different light when injustice is going on around you. Happened to me when reading the Dalai Lama's autobiography and reeling at the appalling behaviour of the Chinese; the way they are "investing" in Africa with absolutely no benefit for the people who actually live there; the continued grief they give Japan for past errors, including demanding money; the continued idiotic booing of Japan in football games, even during the National Anthem. And when it's one thing after another, it's easy to fall into that terrible trap of treating everyone the same way. You start casting the general population in the same light as Government which of course is absurd. And it's something that can easily be applied to other countries and peoples. I think a large part of the UK certainly equates all Americans with your Governments policy and actions. That's the beauty of spun news i guess. It's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. But that's why it's so important to talk about. This Topic IS for current events, politics, sport, whatever's happenin' out there. And some of it isn't pleasant. And as lamagonzo agreed, Sharia Law is odious; that Choudary creature is a cretin. I wouldn't stop him from spouting whatever hateful nonsense pours from his head, he has every right to do so. I, with words, not violence or physical harm EVER, will oppose him. If i think he and his deluded puppies are going too far, or intimidating and tainting other Muslims (because that's the real sad fact here), i will speak out and make fun of him. It is very important for people to understand and to read things properly before making rash judgements; the above posts by myself and riggsjr made it quite clear that we were talking about those select few, the extreme idiots who are imposing nonsense on others, NOT making sweeping statements about Islam or any other faith for that matter. Just those particular people. Many beautiful, tolerant, respectable, kind Muslims are saying the same thing, wishing that their beliefs are not overtaken by hatred, corruption and debasement. They just don't use the c-word when doing it, that's all. Everyone is cool here; i have a massive amount of respect for lamagonzo, riggsjr, TigerLilly, johnman, cosmicbadger, marye and many others (apologies if i've forgotten obvious ones!! the ol' grey cells should be up on charges for desertion). I'd definitely pass over any supposed lamagonzo insults riggsjr; that's not his style. He's a real thoughtful person who, like a lot of us, has things he really wants to say. He speaks his mind and i bless him for it. Everyone must remember what others have posted in the past to get the bigger picture; just gloss over a lil' paragraph if you know that someone's just sayin' stuff. Well, that was another long one! My pleasure! For the record, i most sincerely apologise if people feel they no longer want to post because of a certain atmosphere or they can't get a word in edgeways. That is not right, not right at all. Turning people ON should be our creed not off. To music, to art, to literature, to causes, to enlightenment, and to everything in between. Lastly, i've posted this before but i would definitely recommend watching this short talk by John Perry Barlow, in case anyone missed it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYpB1NzCO6g Okay, pyjama party at mine everyone!!!!!! johnman, you bring the beers, the cookies, the security and the common sense (we'll need a good smack upside the head of cool bearded logic when we get too full of ourselves!); lamagonzo, you bring the spiritual calm and the insight; TigerLilly, you bring the brätwurst, the serenity and your posters of Ranaldo (we need a dartboard); cosmicbadger, you bring some omlettes and truffles dammit!; marye, you bring your dogs, your camera so we can photograph them after we've dressed them in Edwardian costume and any Betty Boards that are missing from our collection and riggsjr, you bring the haggis, the heroin, the tatties and neeps and the paper for cleaning the jobbies!!!! Me? Oh, i'll try and pop in; i'm washing my hair that night..... Awwwww, i'll be there!!!!!!!! With a cheeky grin, a joint for all and a monster sound system that will propel you into the stars. Seriously, let's stick together folks. Much more fun going through life holding hands than holding yourself.

..looks like things got a bit ugly while I was away I have lots to say on racism, immigration and name calling but I think in this week I'll just leave it to Jerry to keep it simple

:)

Yes, after the deep breath. To all, I am taking two weeks off from posting in this thread. The Dog Days of August have hit hard on this site for many reasons (The Days Between) etc.. I'll be back, just need to clear my head and create space for new voices on this thread.

lamagonzo,Having taken a deep breath and read your post I feel I need to review my comments. It was not my intention to hurt anyone's feelings or indeed in the case of Tigerlily to stop people entering their own forum for fear of the tone of the debate. My original comments re racism were perhaps not put in print in the manner intended. I was trying to explain the FEELING of APPEARING racist when confronted with some of the "injustices' we see in our society were people who have never contributed to the 'common fund' come and take from it then decide they do not like our society and want to change it to something more like what they left behind. It just appears to me that if you voice these thoughts in any discussion these days you are looked at by certain people as being racist. I actually feel the same about this as those people who decide they are are not going to give to society but simply take any benefits from the community purse that they can. The whole idea of the Socialist state was to have funds for the common good in order that we did not see the very scenes we witness year after year in those unfortunate states like Ethiopia happening in this country. However certain people now see these benefits as a 'RIGHT' rather than a privilege including immigrants. This country would not have been so successful had it not been for the immigrant influx of the 60's bringing many talented people to ensure that our health service and many other industries were the envy of the world. However I feel,as do many others that we are seen as a 'soft touch' when it comes to providing free care for all comers. Finally I am appalled that I have been part of a thread that has caused that moderator to have to step in with comments showing how this particular post has gone down a very dangerous route. Can I just offer an apology to anyone I may have offended with the tone/language used in previous posts as it was certainly not my intention to cause anyone any discomfort or stress. This site and community is too important to me to jeopardize any relationships I have built up over my time on here, I wish everyone peace and hope that the conversations we have in the future may take place after the deep breath and not before.

riggsjr....I don't think Gonz meant anything near what ya thought he did....c'mon back maaan