To Ed, and to all other Democrats and progressives: My advice: NEVER APOLOGIZE TO THE ENEMY.

[backscatter712]

Are people upset that Ed used a naughty word when referring to a right-wing sociopath?

Get over it.

The right wing already understands the point I'm trying to make.

Do you think Laura, or anyone else on their side of the aisle will sincerely accept any apologies we give them?

No, they use them as weapons. What they want is for Ed, and every other Democrat to make the perp-walk before them and submit to ritual humiliation.

Apologies and forgiveness are tools of reconciliation, when two sides legitimately settle their differences and find common ground.

That is something that the GOP is completely and utterly unwilling to do. They oppose things out of spite, just because we support them. They want to dominate us, and they want the ritual humiliation as a tool of domination.

So any apologies we make only make us vulnerable to attack, which is why we should never apologize to the enemy.

The correct response for demands to apologize to Laura Ingraham for calling her a slut is "You have absolutely no intention to make a sincere reconciliation, so no apology will be forthcoming."

[TheKentuckian]

1. That's real

[RandomThoughts]

2. I will appologize if I do something wrong.

Does not bother me if they try to use it against me, what are they going to do, take the beer and travel money they have not yet sent :rofl:

Although I would not apologize if the attempt was to create a false narrative, then again, to show that would mean having to post thousands of pages to explain what is going on.


And remember, they still haven't sent the beer and travel money that is due to me.

Still haven't sent it, hard to believe isn't it, so something has to happen.

[Versailles]

3. So hard to agree with this line of thinking...

While my heart says take it to them and fight their nastiness with our own, never backing down, taking back, or apologizing for attacks for exactly the reason you say, I'm torn. I think what separates us from them is our compassion, empathy, and sense of guilt - and I for one think that all of us should have those aspects. I worry that if we were to abandon those traits, we become no better than those on the right who could care less about the effect their words and actions have.

Again, I'm so torn since I HATE how weak the Dems end up looking comparatively every time we show the slightest degree of compassion but knowing that we are doing the right thing in offering sincere apologies.

If that doesn't make any sense or is convoluted, I only can say, its been a long day!

[Common Sense Party]

6. Compassion and empathy are for the weak and powerless.

No mercy.

Sweep the leg.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[emilyg]

25. You call yourself a Democrat?

[Dorian Gray]

34. Everything

I learned about the world, I learned from the BAD GUYS in The Karate Kid! LOL.

[Common Sense Party]

45. Damn straight. What comes around, goes around.

It's coming around.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occulus]

9. Or we could just respond to the bullies the way they should be responded to

and taking the high road just doesn't work when bullies are involved.

But then, you knew that. I see the game you're playing, I'm copying this response, and every time you post that little pap smear of a comment, I'll be there to paste in this one.

You're going over the top and you know it. I'm shutting you down.

STOP. NOW.

[backscatter712]

15. Thank you.

You said it better than I did.

The high road doesn't work with bullies.

[rustydog]

5. That makes Ed just as bad as them

If you whine about their name-calling, you cannot with any integrity or honesty call them names.

Once you start name-calling, you've lost. You may have won knuckle-dragging supporters, but you have lost.

[Common Sense Party]

7. No retreat. Escalate.

Sweep the leg.

[Occulus]

10. Or we could just respond to the bullies the way they should be responded to

and taking the high road just doesn't work when bullies are involved.

But then, you knew that. I see the game you're playing, I'm copying this response, and every time you post that little pap smear of a comment, I'll be there to paste in this one.

You're going over the top and you know it. I'm shutting you down.

STOP. NOW.

[The Doctor.]

27. Their rules. They create the playing field.

Yes, I know; "Now they can say we're no different!"

Bullshit.

The answer here is not to 'apologize', it is to say we will 'apologize' after they apologize for all the lies, all the disinformation, all the racism, and all the hatred.

If they want us to play nice, they have to stop playing dirty and apologize for it.

[emilyg]

8. No woman derves to be

called a slut. What if it was your relative?

[w4rma]

18. Why not? (nt)

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

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[sufrommich]

32. Because women shouldn't be vilified for their sexual history. nt

[backscatter712]

19. Laura Ingraham does.

She calls Democrats a hell of a lot worse.

[emilyg]

22. Then you can be just like her.

[inna]

36. nonsense. it's a perfectly valid term.

[sufrommich]

37. Really? How do you "validate" that a woman is a slut? nt

[Enthusiast]

41. We can make an exception in this case...nt

[NYC Liberal]

12. Would you be advising the same if he had called Michael Steel a "nigger" or

some gay Republican a "faggot"?

[AsahinaKimi]

13. spot on..

We should never ever drop to their level. We are above that, or we should be.

[scheming daemons]

20. "slut" isn't even in the same galaxy as "nigger"... geezus...

[NYC Liberal]

26. Then pick a racial slur that you think is in the "same galaxy" and

the question remains the same.

[Hannah Bell]

38. first tell me in what sense being a woman is equivalent to being gay or black.

[lightningandsnow]

43. As a queer woman, though....

I do find it roughly equivalent to "fag" or "dyke". That's just my experience and I speak for nobody else, but having both "slut" and "dyke" hurled at me on different occasions has felt equally bad.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Prime case in point: the Wellstone memorial service

The Republicans threw a snit fit because of partisan politics at the memorial service for a politician, and the Democrats apologized.

The only proper and effective response would have been: "How DARE you criticize how a state mourns for the unexpected death of one of its favorite politicians?"

The Republicans would have had no coherent answer for that.

[Dawson Leery]

16. Everything you said!

[DainBramaged]

17. Well, we caved yet again

same as it ever was

[lonestarnot]

23. AND NEVER GIVE THEM MONEY!

[LoZoccolo]

24. "So any apologies we make only make us vulnerable to attack"

So you think that not apologizing will not make us vulnerable to attack?

[The Magistrate]

28. Hear Hear, Sir!

"Never apologize, never explain."

[6000eliot]

29. How many horrible things has this creature said about others?

She deserves nothing but our contempt.

[wickerwoman]

30. Since when are women "the enemy"?

Calling Laura Ingraham a slut isn't just an insult to her. It's an insult to generations of women who busted their asses to help create a society where accusing a woman of promiscuity in order to devalue her and everything she has to say could no longer be considered acceptable behavior.

[sufrommich]

31. It's really sad to realize how many people don't seem to get

this simple point.

[Hannah Bell]

39. what is the proper way to devalue everything laura ingraham has to say?

because god knows everything she has to say should be devalued.

[lightningandsnow]

44. To say that nothing she says has value?

That works for me.

Also, here's a few insults you can hurl without insulting women or minority groups:

Asshole, loser, twit, nincompoop, jerk, dumbass, tool, dipshit, asswipe, jackass, ass clown, turd, troll, bonehead....

These would probably get you in a bit of trouble for saying on air, but at least they do not insult groups of people for their race, gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, or disability.

[Dorian Gray]

33. I think

his apology was sincere. He took ownership, and he showed everyone what a sincere apology looks like. Good for him.

[sufrommich]

35. I think so too. I noticed he choked up when he mentioned his

wife. I have a feeling she gave him an earful.

[Hannah Bell]

40. or maybe he's just a good actor. one never knows, does one.

[seabeyond]

42. the shoe shining boy.... if we were to use this to jab at steele, should we just get over it?

we have a culture of ya.... white men, that dont have a single issue degrading and demeaning women and has led to the attack of women in 2011. get over it....

[Pisces]

46. I don't care what the fools on the other side do, we are not them. He should have

apologized, and now he can move on with dignity. If they jump off a bridge we should too?? This is irrational thinking. Do you teach your kids to hit, because they see a bully hitting someone?

No, I respect Ed more for apologizing.