Christopher Columbus was one of the most skilled sailors, and bravest, of all time. Happy Columbus Day!

I would have solicited more information about the actual size of the earth so I knew how much food and water to pack and avoid nearly dying at sea. He was lucky he hit Hispaniola when he did.

"One of Columbus' men, Bartolome De Las Casas, was so mortified by Columbus' brutal atrocities against the native peoples, that he quit working for Columbus and became a Catholic priest. He described how the Spaniards under Columbus' command cut off the legs of children who ran from them, to test the sharpness of their blades. According to De Las Casas, the men made bets as to who, with one sweep of his sword, could cut a person in half. He says that Columbus' men poured people full of boiling soap. In a single day, De Las Casas was an eye witness as the Spanish soldiers dismembered, beheaded, or raped 3000 native people. "Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel," De Las Casas wrote. "My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.""

The only thing I could've done better would be to strongly enforce that no raped native american woman could have an abortion.

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

Yes, as long as I can keep mine.

wejo wrote:

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

Wejo,

I generally disagree with 99% of everything L=MD posts but I don't think you should ban his name. You do realize his handle is the name of an actual book written by the RWNJ Michael Savage, right? That book is hugely popular with the far right portion of the GOP.

I agree more civil political discussions would be great (...maybe less entertaining though) but I don't favor a ban.

wejo wrote:

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

I just don't like seeing an entirely positive, non-political thread and seeing the name. It actually upsets me seeing the stupid insult on every thread. I'm actually a conservative but don't feel the need to blast liberals on a freaking running blog just by posting.

Christopher Columbus was not any better or worse than other Spanish in the New World at that time.

Yes ban the name.

It is disrespectful to those who suffer from mental illness. In a juvenile attempt to malign people with different political views, LMD equates mental illness as something to be ashamed of.

The stigma attached to mental illness is not going away any time soon when we have people like him making fun of those who are dealing with such illnesses. It marginalizes them and makes them feel as if they will be ridiculed if they admit to having it or for seeking help.

In a time when we have veterans committing suicide in growing numbers, mental illness is not a joke.

wejo wrote:

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

I say leave it. This is the only way conservatives know how to debate. Their party is shrinking. Instead of adapting they scream louder and use naughty words to get attention. Hell, a reality tv star spent the summer flailing his arms and making funny faces and captured a third of the party. Not the brightest bunch. Cut them some slack.

If wejo chooses, I will respect the ban and choose a name that is less offensive to our liberal friends.

Any suggestions? I realize this is nearly impossible, because everything offends libs.

Don't ban. The self- marginalizing handle speaks for itself. On the other hand, ban the mentally unstable poster who pops up on every political thread raging about guns and libs using stupid email addresses like F**kyou!@f**kyou.com. I half expect to see a footnote after every mass shooting along the lines of " he had little social contact, but was a frequent poster on the popular running website, letsrun.com."

Of course direct abortion is always unjust in that it destroys an innocent human being and it is often brutal. Perhaps it is not coincidental that you mentioned the dismembering, beheading or raping of 3000 native people: roughly 3000 direct abortions occur daily in the USA alone and they, too, often involve dismembering and beheading of human beings.

Don't ban L=AMD. It's a name. Big whoop. If people really get offended by that then they should grow up and stop being such thin skinned little babies. Wejo I get that you want to make the forum better, but I think that's the wrong way to do it.

Let him have it wrote:

Don't ban. The self- marginalizing handle speaks for itself. On the other hand, ban the mentally unstable poster who pops up on every political thread raging about guns and libs using stupid email addresses like F**kyou!@f**kyou.com. I half expect to see a footnote after every mass shooting along the lines of " he had little social contact, but was a frequent poster on the popular running website, letsrun.com."

one a separate note . . I could have swore I saw a web app loading that supposedly negates proxies for super trolls

is this true?

also, the quality of moderation is HORRIBLE

any pro-liberal thread? deleted immediately.

No. The name shouldn't be banned.

You should have a more liberal policy on what people can choose as their names.

Ironically, banning "Liberalism = a mental disorder" would be too conservative.

As far as Christopher Columbus, he was a great man.

He surely wasn't a conservative person who was happy just keeping things the way they were.

He started a great adventure that brought a connection to this world from Europe.

wejo wrote:

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

I would say no. Don't ban the name. It's unnecessary.

1) I really think LRC lets this poster become more mentally stable, kinda providing a way for him to release what grudges he's got on his mind that otherwise would be an unhealthy obsess for him (saving some health bill for seeing a real shrink). It's a good thing.

2) it's obviously by now most LRCers know that who actually might have some sort of disorder, no matter whatever/whoever this poster wants to believe that is. Just let him live in his own bubble.

wejo wrote:

I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?

It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.

It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.

So what do you all think? Ban the name?

If moderators would delete a thread titled "Liberalism = mental disorder" or "Conservativism = mental disorder" then I think that would be a fair and consistent answer.

I'm on the side that feels that there is value to setting some guidelines on language and personal attacks. I don't feel it is censorship to have these minimal standards. One can read YouTube comments, or this board after the recent shootings, to see what happens online when there are no such standards.

Even among those who oppose getting rid of the name, I can't imagine more than one or two appreciate the low level incendiary discourse that this establishes. These are topics that are divisive enough already, they can certainly be discussed without the additional baiting and added hostility. LRC members are able to engage thoughtfully on plenty topics, though I can't remember any topics about politics that haven't resorted to basic juvenile name calling both ways. More broadly, seeing such inflammatory threads nearly always near the top of the first page feels out of place and I have to imagine it turns plenty of people away, regardless of political affiliation or whether they agree, as it's not pleasant having name calling and politics shoved in your face at all times.

this thread has the highest concentration of reasonable and rational posts I've ever seen.

shocked really