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Jan 5, 2021
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Tom Worster's avatar

Wally, you have complete authority over your judgement that Ralph is this, that or the next thing. It's *your* judgement.

In my judgement Ralph is overly sensitive.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

That may be true. It was late at night here and I was feeling alarmed.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

You wrote, "This bothers you. Good." You sound like a professional criminal. We are discussing US politics here. Are you from the US? And since you want to "bother" me, what are your own political positions? It is one thing to write nonsense, something else altogether to use the language of intimidation.

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Jan 6, 2021
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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Absolutely not. I will not continue any substantive dialog with someone who uses the language of intimidation, either subtly or openly.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

You sound like a genuinely dangerous megalomaniac.

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Jan 6, 2021
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Ralph Dratman's avatar

I will not exchange comments with someone who uses language in the way you are. It's obvious bullying. You are not expressing yourself like an American and personally I do not think you are one.

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Jim Trageser's avatar

Um ... Wally is NOT the bully in this conversation, Ralph.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

If you feel I am bullying him, I'd appreciate if you would tell me what I wrote that sounds like bullying to you. I hope I was not doing that.

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Jim Trageser's avatar

"genuinely dangerous megalomaniac" I can list more if need be.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Describing someone pejoratively is not bullying. Bullying involves a threat that is either expressed (I will hurt you) or implied (it would be too bad if anything happened to you). I wrote neither an expressed or an implied threat.

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Jim Trageser's avatar

Now you're Samuel Johnson, too, changing the definition of words? What you describe is not bullying, but criminal assault. (Battery is if you act on the threat.) Bullying is behavior that is designed to intimidate others into acquiescing to the bully's demands - such as getting someone to shut up or stop their line of argument. Britannica defines bullying as "Noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others"; the American Psychological Association defines it as "Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort."

I stand by my statement.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Jim -- What kind of work do you do -- and what is your background?

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Jim Trageser's avatar

25 years as a journalist; taught at a private university for 7, currently oversee operations at a medical device company. How is any of that relevant to the discussion at hand?

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Tom Worster's avatar

Let's all stop bullying poor Ralph. He doesn't deserve it. What did he do to earn it?

Literally, what did he do to earn so much attention?

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Carol Jones's avatar

Time for you to find another thread Ralph

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Why do you say that?

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Jan 6, 2021
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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Why would I want to delete my own posts? This is not a war or a propaganda battle. I assume this is a constructive dialog. No one is going to win or lose here.

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Ralph Dratman's avatar

Exactly. You are not expressing yourself like someone whose purpose is constructive dialog, aimed at trying to reach consensus or truth. You seem to be expressing yourself like someone who wants to intimidate the other party. Why would I want to have a dialog of that nature? It is pointless.

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