Sometimes a person needs to know how they are projecting themselves. Some people are so myopic and refuse to see that there is any other way of thinking that only a precise and accurate name is what penetrates the mental mutton. My opinion. We're all adults, no?

To me it depends on context and what is being conveyed. A "snotty nickname" in one context might be just plain mean and in another it may be a simple tool to underscore a snippet of humorous sarcasm, especially in politics. It's part of the diversity of our culture as a caricature expressed in words rather than an image. It's nothing new as graffiti scrawled on walls in ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt attests (I wish I could remember the book I saw examples in, but the Romans were particularly nasty - and hilarious!).

With that said, I totally agree with civil discourse between people having a conversation on various forums, including this one. There is no reason for the folks that come here to be mean to each other in that way. However, there have been many examples of humorous/affectionate name calling between participants here in the Gulch. We all "get it" and have a good time.

Good points, AJAshinoff, especially about hashing things out, but does the heated arguments need to be filled with snarky nicknames?

Exactly, Commander! I hate seeing those derisive and other names used and that is when I go away from the not-so-civil discourse.
Abaco, I would like to chuckle about it, but it is no longer humorous to me. It seems like the rational mind we all claim to have is hijacked by the language spewed forth. Yet, everyone here within this thread has been polite and making sense. Further,everyone of you has managed to be civil throughout (thank you for that), but can it be sustained in all the forum threads?

It seems to me that as soon as separatist terms (as you called it Commander) are used, the rationality of the arguments go out the window. Moreover, it almost leaves no room for any kind of dissenting opinion as one would be called out (as Abaco was irrationally called stupid).

We all are fans of Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged or otherwise we wouldn't be here, so is it too much to ask for polite civility even if we don't particular care for any one politician/person?

Thank you all for weighing with rational thoughts.

Right. Now I do find some of those names amusing, but still, I try not to do it myself. It lowers the tone of the site, It means I cannot quote that thread/post to someone outside.

I just closed 30 years of manufacturing business.
I have moved from MN to eastern WI and have applied for 4 teaching positions in manufacturing tech. If accepted, will be income. Easy to make a living with my skill sets.
Impetus for decision; to look after my folks and to teach.
I'm currently, also, forming an authorship on the human condition. For a decade I have tried to punch holes in The Objectivist's Ethics. I have been putting the Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to test, against what I think is the most profound document in human history. Through this process I had to ask myself repeatedly about that which I had learned and the validity of the learning. I had to reflect on my bias through this learning; my percepts and precepts of what I am. I realize my bias may show in the metaphor of my language useage. I am changing my language, not to be placative; to be succinct. The most important discovery through this process has been the growing awareness of empathy I have. Discovering the more upset I became, the proportional care I had for the subject of discomfort.
I made a profound choice. Not to enjoin in rhetoric; to seek solution at the most fundamental level. Not to use terminology of separatism; to use that of inclusivity. To understand that there are 7.5 billion personalities on this planet and that we share 3 common aspects; comfort / discomfort, happiness / unhappiness, equitable or inequitable interaction, Regarding this post, the use of derogatory, defaming language....is learned, somewhere, to be acceptable exchange. We are what we learn. If children were to use some of the epithets I have seen here......I'd wonder as to what kind of congregation / group they'd been exposed to or were growing up within that accepted those expressions.
I'll never shrug from humanity. My Gulch is within me. From First Nation's Lakota: Mitakuye Oyasin! We are all related!

Ah. I hear you. Well...sometimes those names make me chuckle. But, I see your point.

The unreconciled emotion that both Dagny Taggart and I have is that we are trying to preserve the great work we created so that we can provide well for ourselves while meeting and exceeding our paying customers' expectations at a time when the rest of the world is crumbling rather quickly all around us.

Defining the line when it is time to totally shrug is highly dependent on how invested you are in the current reality, especially when you love what you do.

And....you reason through it? Reconciliation. I shall concede that awareness precedes the choice in action.

There is a lot of unreconciled emotion for all of us who have personalities more like Dagny Taggart.

When dialog becomes argumentative it is a sign of unreconciled emotion.

Perfect sense. When I see the following posted here: Leftist, Democrap.Hildebeast, .....etc, I reflect to one of my favorite TV characters......Archie Bunker. I cannot help but feel sorry for the conditions that bring about the derisive, separatist terms. I do understand the source. Emotional expression of frustration and ignorance and condition of self esteem. Janet Hagberg's "Real Power" and Morris Massey video lecture, if you can get a copy, "What You Are Is Where You Were When", are clear expressions of the development of values, self worth and self esteem.
I, and many others here will not be drawn down into the emotional fray.....it's not reasonable. LOL

It was when they first automated the process.
It really wasn't a big deal and it did annoy me at the time but it worked out,

The Gulch has been a very good place to hash things out for quite some time. Most of the people I befriended here I still chat without outside the Gulch and I've even met a handful. Even so, my perspective tends to butt heads with some objectivist perspectives and things have gotten a bit heated but I think we all learned something.

The US is 320 million different people. A good portion of them are scary ignorant and hashing things out here (not clubbing them with ideology) can change peoples perspectives.

I respect Ayn Rand, she was a visionary but for me she was not 100% on target.

I am sorry to hear that, Abaco. Nobody deserves that, and you are right, it doesn't contribute to the discussion. It actually shuts it down.

I guess what I am trying to say about name calling is this:
To me, if someone wishes to talk about a political leader, use their name as it is, not some made-up disparaging name. Why does it have to be insulting moniker? Am I making any sense here? Commander? edweaver? AJAshineoff? Abaco?

You reported yourself? Awesome!

I just leave and don't come back, and I really felt that this was to be a great place to discuss issues.
so while I may disagree, I am not going to express my opinion in such a way as to be rude.

I don't like it other places either, but over time, I have found it to be rampant here. Discussing issues, that is great, but once I see disparaging monikers, I know that I will rarely comment.

It isn't so much that people here name call other users; it is more that people disparage political leaders, past and present, by coming up with a name that is making fun of the person.

I will be the first to admit that I don't like what some of Washington crowd does (their policies and philosophy), but I am not going to be rude about them.

Philosophical differences are one thing, but name calling, well...the point of the argument is lost when it becomes childish.

Thank you for the post.
Name calling is a byproduct of arrested development. The inability or lack of will to continue to question. Quest-I-On? or Quest-Shun? A choice.

Congregationalism is a concept of gathering where comfort is felt. Perhaps it is time to make a "push" on the comfort zones of the transgressors, I'll bet reasonable identification of the behavior results in angry insult.

Your thoughts?

Although it happens here, it is nothing compared to other"not so social" media. Most will say something inconsiderate in anger but usually apologize at some point.

I got myself banned for a few days by reporting myself. Lol!

Sorry but I still know that person is likely what I called him way back then.😆

And yes, sometimes you need to unpack your adjectives.

I was called stupid here last week. It didn't really contribute to the conversation, now that you mention it. Haven't noticed much of that here, really.

Although it was obvious that Ayn Rand did not like certain characters, she rarely evoked name calling or nicknames in her novels and other writing. Not by her characters (for example, Howard Roark's response to Ellsworth Toohey was that he didn't even think of him).