Some People Say Silly Stuff

Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, April 18th, 2023 - 33 comments
Categories: Satire - Tags:

So, some people do and say silly stuff and sometimes even stupid stuff that perhaps they should not have, in hindsight. With “some people” I mean that we all have done this and are likely to do it again. I have and I will, although I am getting better at avoiding and/or attenuating it, on a good day.

When some people do and say stupid stuff, some other people may get embarrassed and sometimes even offended. Some people choose to feel very offended, insulted even by the other person’s silliness so much that they even take it personally. I never said this is rational behaviour, have I?

When some people feel morally offended they seek recourse, of course, sometimes euphemistically labelled justice. This means that the offender must show deep remorse and throw himself or herself on the ground, roll around, and cover themselves in ashes and dust in a symbolic death by guilt. Publically. When the offender fails to do so, some people look at the leader or leadership. They then demand that the leader(s) take full responsibility for the recalcitrant and unrepentant guilty person. This can only be resolved by a swift public whipping or decapitation followed by throwing the dead or haemorrhaging body under a bus. Such are the Laws of Natural Justice.

If the leadership fails its duty as Public Executioner the angry vengeful mob goes into a frenzy and some people go berserkers baying for so much blood not seen since Spielberg’s epic underwater documentary. Not only will they tear down the leadership tent but also burn the whole village down to the ground and the villagers will be scattered into the hills. Such are the Laws of the Jungle.

Mother Nature is not logical or rational, and one lightning strike can spark a huge forest fire. So, we cannot expect people to be what they are not and when they are fired up, they burn like Hell with no Fury. The sooner we accept this, the better for public discourse and politics in NZ.

33 comments on “Some People Say Silly Stuff ”

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  1. bwaghorn 1
    18 April 2023 at 2:56 pm

    Yes they do, but sometimes that silly comment shows your true nature and or belief,

    • Incognito 1.1
      18 April 2023 at 3:19 pm

      Public opinion will be the judge of that. Guilty criminals always (!) plead ‘not guilty’, don’t they? Law and (Moral) Order nowadays means that in the Kangaroo Court the prosecution always follows the Pig-Fucker charge and accusation, i.e., by default the accused is not-innocent until proven guilty.

      What happened to giving somebody the benefit of doubt and natural justice? Some on the Left are becoming more reactionary than the Right used to be (and still are!) and it’s almost like one-strike-and-you-are-out.

      In any case, one person’s true nature (??) and belief is not another person’s capital sin, is it? Many of my beliefs can be considered ‘silly’. As for my ‘nature’, whatever you mean by that, what happened to live and let live?

      • bwaghorn 1.1.1
        18 April 2023 at 6:40 pm

        Due to might natural belief that most things are about me in some way!!

        I assumed that you were obliquely referring to a certain no1 spot holder of of a local political party who's utterance has become an obsession of mine.

        Silly words spoken ,: aviolence is caused by white cis men,

        Nature, to talk shit so as to impress accompanying acolytes.

        Belief that whites are the devil.

        • Incognito 1.1.1.1
          18 April 2023 at 7:08 pm

          Thank you.

          Have a good evening.

        • Shanreagh 1.1.1.2
          19 April 2023 at 7:54 am

          Yes bwaghorn unfortunately that party is providing a fund of 'what the heck' material. We now have the Kerekere fiasco

          Pity really as while all of this stuff is going on they have diverted from the solid presence of their leader James Shaw and the work he has been doing on climate change. Many of the older (in age ) Greens joined for the expertise in climate change and earlier against chopping down natives for pasture or pines.

          Have a good day bwaghorn

  2. Terry 2
    18 April 2023 at 3:09 pm

    Ever noticed that people are expected to be everything to certain people (the complaining type). But it’s okay when they themselves are far from perfect.

    • Incognito 2.1
      18 April 2023 at 3:24 pm

      Some people have become rather unreasonable and intolerant and when one holds up a mirror, they throw their hands up in horror.

  3. Shanreagh 3
    18 April 2023 at 7:06 pm

    We all make mistakes.

    Humour is not always recognisable or transferable. Humour where people have to explain 'it is a joke' after posts here expressing concern is clearly not humour.

    The trouble is though people say after the event it was a mistake, it was a joke, I was not feeling myself etc.

    Sarcasm where it is not clearly stated/recognised to be sarcasm is often the cause of complaints.

    I said before that the Moaning Minnie virus came in with Covid. We had national outbreaks of moaning. We still may be recovering from this virus.

    Those in the public eye could reflect that we as a country have less and less of the ties that bind and this includes humour. And the equal seconds recognition of sarcasm and irony and satire.

    This seems to me to indicate care with language is a key to success. Don't try a joke if you are unsure it will be received.

    • Incognito 3.1
      18 April 2023 at 7:23 pm

      This seems to me to indicate care with language is a key to success. Don't try a joke if you are unsure it will be received.

      With some people, I can guarantee success. Your disapproval is becoming a compliment of sorts. Your humourless responses of late here suggest you have lost the ability to step back and reflect, which is further confirmed by your usual habit of submitting comments in rapid succession.

      Next time, take heed of the tags of the Post instead of embarking on an exercise in futility.

      • Shanreagh 3.1.1
        18 April 2023 at 8:04 pm

        Tell you what Incognito what I am getting really really tired of are your ad hominems about me.

        This seems to be a less desirable pattern that has come about recently where instead of reflecting on the arguments you reflect on the person or character making them.

        Please stop it.

        PS Only one comment here. So not a whole lot one after another…..?????? Whaaat?

        • Incognito 3.1.1.1
          18 April 2023 at 9:27 pm

          When your comments are starting to resemble bad-faith arguments and/or are missing the point by a mile then it becomes time to reflect on you. FYI, I’ve been close to moderating you, as I consider some of your comments to be counter-productive for healthy debate and wasting precious time of genuine commenters here.

          Obviously, I was referring to all your comments that you submitted here today on TS since 6:07 pm. Hasn’t weka asked you a few times to slow down? And did you not agree to that? Doesn’t seem to mean much, does it?

          I wonder what happened recently to bring about that apparent change in your commenting style & behaviour.

          • Shanreagh 3.1.1.1.1
            18 April 2023 at 10:56 pm

            Weka I understood raised that issue specifically when I was trying to work with her on this linking of Twitter tweets and she was showing me …..I was commenting back on some items before she was able to respond to an earlier post.

            The comments after 6.07pm were in relation to different posts from different people.

            As you don't define what a bad faith argument is I cannot comment.

            I would be happy if you could show me the times when you were going to moderate me…..perhaps send me an email. I think my address will be there behind the scenes. I think it is better if your constant criticisms of me were taken off line and if there is some thing I can learn I will be able to once you provide facts/instances. .

            • weka 3.1.1.1.1.1
              19 April 2023 at 9:34 am

              Please stop telling authors and moderators what to do. This isn’t my post so I’m not going to moderate, but I will make a few suggestions in reply to one of your comments in OM.

            • Incognito 3.1.1.1.1.2
              19 April 2023 at 10:39 pm

              The issues that weka has modded you for were relatively minor technical ones. Nevertheless, they took repeated effort by the Mod and cost time & energy. Mods don’t like wasting their time.

              It doesn’t matter that you submitted a rapid series of comments, typos and all, to different Posts from different people. You missed the point. The point is that you submit faster than you can type and it shows, and it doesn’t make for quality replies here, more like reflexive back-scatter. Slow down!

              I see you treating some other commenters here as bad-faith actors. That qualifies as bad faith for me when it becomes pattern behaviour. You are not the only one here who falls into this category.

              I have no intention to spend more time & effort on this. The point is that I have got close to modding you and if/when that actually happens you will know why – it usually starts with a warning, anyway.

              • Shanreagh …
                20 April 2023 at 9:15 am

                This is an over the top and uncalled for as a response to my posting.

                • Incognito …
                  20 April 2023 at 9:30 pm

                  Was it really?

                  When you're that easily offended why do you want to join robust debate?

                  Anyway, I addressed your comment point by point and you simply can't handle that.

                  • Shanreagh …
                    21 April 2023 at 12:05 am

                    You have started these personal comments recently, for what reason I do not know.

                    I am a great learner. I appreciate wise counsel.

                    I would have reported any other commenter for unnecessary and persistent personal comments but this is difficult for me as you are a moderator as well. Hence my idea that we could 'talk' off line.

                    If I do better in the way of checking for spelling mistakes & limiting my input to TS etc will you please hold back on the personal comments.

                    This is written in good faith as a way to come to some way forward here.

                    • Incognito …
                      21 April 2023 at 10:16 pm

                      I’m struggling with this too, although this might not be obvious. I do want to put this behind me and there are some ‘green shoots’ here on TS, so I have hope!

                      In any case, you’re commenting under my Post here, and commenters always have to be careful when critiquing Authors under there own Posts (and elsewhere on TS). Authors have (somewhat) elevated status here on TS.

                      Everybody does better when they slow down – TS is not Twitter.

      • Shanreagh 3.1.2
        19 April 2023 at 7:58 am

        I have always thought that once an idea is out in the public eye or an article on TS the author is not able to control the thoughts that develop from it.

        My thoughts are not off topic.

        • Incognito 3.1.2.1
          19 April 2023 at 10:26 pm

          Seems that you replied to the wrong comment!? Never mind.

          Of course, Authors write here to generate discussion and a contest of ideas. No Author wants to control thoughts!!

          Authors do have a say over the comments under their Posts. You missed my point. Actually, I’m scratching my head as to where your comment is coming from as the thought of thought-control seems to come out of the blue and is rather far-fetched – it belongs to totalitarian control.

          Your topic is not necessarily my topic or the relevant topic, anyway. Bringing personal hobbyhorses and pet topics into threads to push one’s own wheelbarrow is not best debating practice here on TS, anyway.

  4. Anne 4
    18 April 2023 at 7:52 pm

    Satire is a form of humour, but some people seen incapable of comprehending satire. Its happened many times on this site and, intolerant person as I can be, I cannot tolerate stupid people who can't relate to satire.

    Now what that makes me I don't know and to be honest I don't care. angel

    • Shanreagh 4.1
      18 April 2023 at 8:07 pm

      Yes I found it sad when one of the commentators on Stuff had to have a label at the top of their article saying 'satire'. It might even have been someone as non threatening as Joe Bennett.

    • Incognito 4.2
      18 April 2023 at 9:05 pm

      Some people consider sarcasm a form of aggression. And there might be some truth in that.

      Many of us here use sarcasm tags and/or emoticons to warn others of our intention. But not always. And even with those trigger warnings in place, it sometimes is taken the wrong way, often by overly sensitive souls with obsessive beliefs and opinions. For me, this begs the question why they think they want to join robust debate here on TS …

      PS this Post has an ‘excessive sarcasm’ tag, i.e., ‘enter at your own risk’. Yet, some seem to think they can and must whinge, whine, moan, cry, complain, shout, or criticise and tell an Author what to write and how to write it. The irony is those same whiners also tend to whine about ‘free speech’. FFS!

      • Shanreagh 4.2.1
        18 April 2023 at 11:06 pm

        Yes I would like there to be a sarcasm emoticon.

        I usually write /sarc and hopefully that is a warning.

        Yes I have heard that many of the forms of speech are seen as aggression. Not just sarcasm…'lowest form of wit'. I don't agree necessarily, though if I was a politican I would make sure my speech had as few of these figures of speech that others don't understand/misunderstand as possible.

  6. Tricledrown 6
    19 April 2023 at 12:45 pm

    Trumps latest interview with Tucker Carlson is an example of people saying silly things normally people saying that much delusional bs would be taken away in a straight jacket but as Carlson rolls his eyes looks completely gobsmacked he doesn't challenge any of Trumps completely unhinged rant.Fox news should be called the department of silly rants

    • Incognito 6.1
      19 April 2023 at 1:18 pm

      This is the paradox. On the one hand, mis- & dis-information and fake & false news (aka BS) have become normalised. Not only do we shrug it off with some people, but also have we come to expect it from some people, with impunity. On the other hand, we come down like a tonne of bricks on other people and expect super-human standards & perfection from them and even the slightest stumble or gotcha becomes a mortal sin that demands capital punishment. There is no rhyme or reason, no balance, no fairness, and no end in sight.

  7. roblogic 7
    19 April 2023 at 3:42 pm

    Not sure what particular silly discourse you have in mind Incognito. But IMO the Pareto principle applies to any human-organised structure. At least 80% of it will be bullshit, or more likely 95% will be silly nonsense.

    The challenge when entering these spaces is to clear away the garbage and find the nuggets of gold.

    Reminds me of a conversation I had with the driver of a sewage truck. He drives around in his overalls pumping crap out of Portaloos, and he said "there's a ton of money in this crap" 😀

    • Incognito 7.1
      19 April 2023 at 10:13 pm

      Not sure what particular silly discourse you have in mind Incognito.

      That’s fine – I definitely did not have you in mind. It is based on a collection of observations over the last little while – I read an awful lot and not just here on TS. There is a strong overlap between these observations, a common theme, and it was a matter of time for something to make me speak up and write a Post.

      Talkback and shock-jocks live for and off BS and I’d say they don’t follow the Pareto Rule.

      • roblogic 7.1.1
        19 April 2023 at 11:05 pm

        It's a fine balance – I need to have some motivation to bother composing a comment. But DNFTT is also a good rule of thumb. Better not to post in anger. A tip I heard from an anger management guru:

        1. Stop (don't act yet, feel the moment, but don't go for a kneejerk response)

        2. Think (gather the facts of the situation, consider what is an appropriate response)

        3. Act (hopefully making a strategic or useful contribution to a problem)

  8. Mike the Lefty 8
    20 April 2023 at 7:34 am

    The latest notable "saying silly stuff" candidate is National candidate (now ex-candidate) Steven Jack for another rancid joke, this time about Jacinda Adern. Although the Ford Ranger driving brigade might think its funny, these kind of offensive jokes about our former PM have been circulating through the country for the last year or two and by sharing them Jack shows himself to be a crass oaf and unfit to be an MP.

    National indeed has a problem because it relies too heavily on its traditional farmer boy/professional girl image for its candidates, forgetting that New Zealand is a lot more of a cosmopolitan society than it was 50 years ago.

    As I said in a previous post, when a different type of candidate is selected, it is usually in a seat in which National has little chance of winning, or it may be a token list candidate aiming to attract Asian voters.

    The longer this campaign goes on the less National looks like a viable alternative government and more it looks like an undisciplined rabble.