BF good outlet for debate

bunsen burner

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One of the things that attracts me to BF is the abilty to participate in no-holds barred debates that you can't really do it most social situations. Last night was at my GF's friends for NYE. Basically about 6 guys and 6 girls sitting around drinking.

The topic turns to everybodies' favourite man, John Howard.

Some guy called Mick:

"John Howard's f***ed because he runs surplus budgets and then spends it on crap. We should all be better off than we are."

Bunsen:

Thought 1: Don't talk politics unless it's with close friends
Thought 2: Yes and no that we should be better off. Yes because the Govt could spend that money better (a lot better), but no because we've got it pretty good, i.e. no govt will ever optimise spending because they need to work the system and that means spending on getting votes.
Thought 3: Let's let this one through to the keeper.

Mick:

"John Howard won the elction because of the Freemason vote. The Freemasons rule the world and they placed him there"

Bunsen:

Thought 1: Alarm bells ring. Imaginary plane flies past my eyes towing an advertising banner. It reads: "Warning! Warning! Possible fruitloop."

Mick:

Over the next hour Mick proceeded to come out with the following revelations:

1. The Freemasons run the world
2. Bush is a Freemason and they're doing all sorts of dodgy conspiracies

Bunsen:

At this point I'm thinking, "Yep, very confident that there's all sorts of conspiracies going on in the White House and there always has been as world politics is very big business". BUT, not sure about how accurate he is with the Freemasons running the world stuff. Certainly could be true, but this guys trying to pass it off as fact.


Mick:

3. Freemasons are devil worshippers
4. When the Queen wanted Princess Di bumped off she got onto the phone and called the freemasons and they did the job.

Bunsen:

Thought 1: Advertising plane flies past my eyes again "Warning, this man is a fruitloop"
Thought 2: Could this man be Dan Warna?
Thought 3: This guy has read a Mike Moore style docco and thinks it's absolute gospel. Fruitloop

At this stage I'm saying nothing. Had to disconnect the wire from my brain to my mouth.

Mick:

5. The Freemasons killed Kennedy. Turns out the own all the land arounf the repository and grassy knoll.

Bunsen:

Thought 1: Looks like he's upped the stakes. Could be true of course but once again he's saying like he's giving us a history lesson.
Thought 2: Plane flies by again with banner, "he's officially crossed the line"

Mick:

6. The Freemasons run The Red Cross

One of the girls trying to steer the conversation into a positive direction:

"Well that's a good thing. The Red Cross are good"

Mick:

"But where do the red Cross have access to? Behind enemy lines. They're all Freemason spies."

Bunsen:

Plane flies past. Advertising logo has once again changed: "Confirmed fruitloop"

Mick:

7. The Freemasons are like Big Brother. If you're on the Internet they can come and access your computer and have a look at anything you want. All through your directories and can even look at all the stuff you've deleted.

One of the girls:

"But what about passwords?"

Mick:

"Passwords are nothing. Easy to crack"

Bunsen:

Thought 1: No
Thought 2: 128-bit encryption
Thought 3: plane flies past: "wtf is this guy on?"


Now they were just some of the main points that I made mental notes of. In between all this were al sorts of other conspiracy theories about the Freemasons including devil worshipping, US money being full of hidden cryptic devil meanings etc.

Now it's just not etiquette to go to someone's house as a guest a shoot such people down. In one respect it would have been funny (I would have liked to watch someone take him on), but in the other respect it would have been a damper. So that's why BF is an excellent forum to debate without mincing words. You don't have to worry about an uncomfortable atmosphere.
 

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- PC -

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#4
I'm dissilluiosned now BB, I would have sworn you would have let him have it

I agree to a certain extent that in a situation it is best left, but also if you rebutted him politely on the first part , he may have got the hint he wasnt the intellectual political genius he thought he was.
 

bunsen burner

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skipper kelly said:
sounds like you would make a good opening batsman. Im afraid I would have spoke up, just for the hell of it.
Just couldn't do it. last time I was at one of their parties there was this guy there who was trying to tell me that the vast majority of heroin addicts are addicted because they were once in an accident and were given morphine in hospital and this lead to them leaving hospital and going out and buying smack to compensate for the morphine.

I was stunned that someone could be so stupid (this was pre-BF days) and told him that that would account for a very very small minority of situations. He then pulled the emotional cat out of the bag and started the "I've got a cousin who's addicted so don't tell me I don't know" and "You don't know what it's like" routine.

Considered telling him that more than likely he thinks that because he wants to think it and that it justifies in his own mind that his cousin really isn't a typical junkie. Thought I'd let it go as I was an outsider to the group.

But later on this same guy was challenging his mates to push up competitions in front of the girls to impress them. Laughing at someone's immaturity is always good entertainment.
 

bunsen burner

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Thread starter #6
SaveFeriss said:
Who's Mick?
Just some nutcase who was at this party. Was a friend of the hosts'. The host's were a couple. The guests were the boyfriends mates and girlfriends/wives. My GF is a friend of the girlfrind host.

So really I was an outsider and it's a bit rude getting involved in a political debate. Don't mind losing friends and influencing people not to like me on BF, and whilst I don't go out of my way to make friends IRL, there's some places you just don't go.
 

bunsen burner

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PerthCrow said:
I agree to a certain extent that in a situation it is best left, but also if you rebutted him politely on the first part , he may have got the hint he wasnt the intellectual political genius he thought he was.
But then I wouldn't have been able to laugh at the rest of the crap he spouted. It just got more and more ridiculous as the night went on.
 

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#8
Im with you Skipper. In my standard mode I would've piped up after about the 3rd mention of Freemasons. I would've openly laughed the second time.

You did well Bunsen.
 

bunsen burner

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SaveFeriss said:
Im with you Skipper. In my standard mode I would've piped up after about the 3rd mention of Freemasons. I would've openly laughed the second time.

You did well Bunsen.
I was hella pi ssed and hella stoned though. Was in the 'zone'. Just kickin back and having a silent chuckle.
 

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#11
bunsen burner said:
Just couldn't do it. last time I was at one of their parties there was this guy there who was trying to tell me that the vast majority of heroin addicts are addicted because they were once in an accident and were given morphine in hospital and this lead to them leaving hospital and going out and buying smack to compensate for the morphine.

I was stunned that someone could be so stupid (this was pre-BF days) and told him that that would account for a very very small minority of situations. He then pulled the emotional cat out of the bag and started the "I've got a cousin who's addicted so don't tell me I don't know" and "You don't know what it's like" routine.

Considered telling him that more than likely he thinks that because he wants to think it and that it justifies in his own mind that his cousin really isn't a typical junkie. Thought I'd let it go as I was an outsider to the group.

But later on this same guy was challenging his mates to push up competitions in front of the girls to impress them. Laughing at someone's immaturity is always good entertainment.
Now I would've loved to bump into that guy! I would've explained how I spent 3 days on a Morphine drip with a broken Tibia or fhibia (the one below the knee) in 2 places. Not only had I been a dope smoker for about 8 years previous, but I continued to be a dope smoker.

I left the hospital after 4 days with a pack of 20 panedine fortes, and never got a repeat prescription. Though the Temazipans helped a stack.

But I made a massive concious decision not to become reliant on the pain killers, as Id seen it happen to two mates who had similar injuries. Ive also been fanatical in my life about never going near heroin.
 

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bunsen burner

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SaveFeriss said:
Now I would've loved to bump into that guy!
Yup. That's what so good about BF - they're all here. It's like a smorgasboard of f***wits. And there's a f***wit to cater for every desire. You bump into guys like that on the street every now and then, but BF's like a mega mart.
 

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#13
And probably makes it easier to chill when you meet em in real life.

BigFooty maybe a great outlet to take your frustrations out, so when you come across em in the street, you have no need to go off tap. That's been released here :)
 

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#16
bunsen burner said:
6. The Freemasons run The Red Cross

One of the girls trying to steer the conversation into a positive direction:

"Well that's a good thing. The Red Cross are good"

Mick:

"But where do the red Cross have access to? Behind enemy lines. They're all Freemason spies."
Where I am holidaying in QLD atm, the town had Red Cross ladies standing in the main street with buckets collecting money from passing cars for the tsunami victims. Whilst Mick seems slightly bereft of logic with most of his arguments, I agree about the Red Cross- dirty stinking mason run organisation!

I put my head out the window of my car and gave this Red Cross collector (she would have been 65+) a mouthful of abuse so severe, she nearly jumped 3 feet in the air. I am happy to report that she was not collecting money 5 minutes later. Dirty liars those masons.

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#17
crocodileman said:
Where I am holidaying in QLD atm, the town had Red Cross ladies standing in the main street with buckets collecting money from passing cars for the tsunami victims. Whilst Mick seems slightly bereft of logic with most of his arguments, I agree about the Red Cross- dirty stinking mason run organisation!

I put my head out the window of my car and gave this Red Cross collector (she would have been 65+) a mouthful of abuse so severe, she nearly jumped 3 feet in the air. I am happy to report that she was not collecting money 5 minutes later. Dirty liars those masons.

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Give your donations to Care Australia.
Quite funny, but wasn't Steve Pratt working for Care Australia when he and 2 other Care workers were arrested in the fmr Yugoslavia, he was incidentally reporting troop movements.
 

WA ROO

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#18
"Mick" should realize that the 3 quickest ways to start a fight at a party is to talk about politics,religion and football.
Also BB your restraint was amazing I would have got stuck into him after the first stupid statement even if pished,stoned whatever.
Your new found mate Mick is a loony tune and seeing how you treat loony tunes on BF you should be congratulated for not tearing him a new arse
But then again I am a little disapointed you didn't
 

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#21
mantis said:
I'm not, in fact it's the way I always thought he would be IRL.
Meow pfft pfft

Are you implying he would be all bluff and bluster online and a kitty cat off?

Shame on you mantis, dont you know we are all the same off as we are on. :rolleyes:

I am still that 6'4 muscleman with a huge ..... who knows the words every woman wants to hear...'' my tongue is so hard for you right now''

Or I could be the short fat man with no d...
 

bunsen burner

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Thread starter #22
mantis said:
I'm not, in fact it's the way I always thought he would be IRL.
Well, not quite.

Inappropriate as a guest and an outsider to shoot down an inner circle guest at function. It simply depends on the circumstance. In some situations I'm diplomatic because there's other factors involved, in some situations I'm harsh and unforgiving, and in others I'm anywhere inbetween these two extremes. Fortunately I have a bit of flexibilty and I'm not a one-trick pony like yourself.

BF is different. I have no desire to be popular. I don't care who I upset. There are no exterior considerations. BF has the advantage that people don't have to be diplomatic for once and can really say what they think. Of course you get your chumps who think diplomacy is a must on BF, but f*** em.
 

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#23
Bunny

I can't believe you let a chance like that slip.

personally I consider myself economically conservative and social policy liberal, however with a chance like that presenting itself I couldn't help but indulge is torturing such a person.

I would have relished in taking up an antogonistic opinion to such a demented person and either...

1. reinforcing his opinion by making even more outlandish conspiracy claims and watched their response.
2. pretended to be a freemason and confirm subtly his opinion of the world.
3. taking up an fictional antogonistic view and claiming it is the gnomes of zurich/reverse vampires/bavarian illuminati controlling the world and the freemason battle them to liberate the world
4. tore down his little fantasy world with logic and countering arguments which are too easy to present themselves.

any I way I wouldn't have missed an op shot like that, amazing self control bunny boy you have shown :D
 

littleduck

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#25
bunsen burner said:
Inappropriate as a guest and an outsider to shoot down an inner circle guest at function. It simply depends on the circumstance. In some situations I'm diplomatic because there's other factors involved, in some situations I'm harsh and unforgiving, and in others I'm anywhere inbetween these two extremes.
All you need to do is pose a few of the major questions on the other side of any debate without actually directly answering any of them. That way you sound like a well rounded thinker while the inner circle guest sounds like a one-sided puppet of one side. Then when appropriate you can go further and take a side...

Sound good?
 
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