Debate Now Incivility

[BlueGin]

So I think Gracie's caution to be cautious merits much attention. But if we never risk enough to give people a chance, we will all be hermits.

lol. Of which I am. My pets are my company. When I need human interaction..I hit here, twitter and a few other boards. When I want soothing stuff, I head to Pinterest and Google/Bing images of pretty places.
Problem is...one has to choose where to go depending on ones mood. And set goals.
My goals are more positive and less negative. Being hot tempered makes that difficult so it's really up to ME to be careful what I choose to read...or do...or say for the betterment of self and those around me. Ain't as easy as it sounds, either.

I have a couple girlfriends that I have known for years and my kids. So... If I ever need a fun outlet to relieve stress ...I can always count on one or all of them to be up for a concert, movie or short road trip. I pretty much only rely on the internet as filler for my down time. Otherwise... I am out and about doing stuff with the people that really matter.

 

[Bleipriester]

I checked 6 and 7 though 6 isn´t good formulated. I mean "because many others do it".
Many people can´t take other´s success or better-being. They are assholes from the shoes to the hat and their only way to be "better" than others is to put them down.

What I meant by #6 is the 'herd' or 'pack' or 'pile on' mentality. They see their buddies attacking somebody and they join in so they'll be accepted as 'one of the boys' (or girls.) It's like when the first dog attacks, all the others feel braver to follow suit.

I think it a sign of a kind of immaturity when people immediately feel angry or threatened when somebody disagrees with them, and that's when many first lash out. They are so opposed to the other person's point of view, they feel compelled to accuse the other of something or put him/her down to expose his sin of being the opposition. And if they feel they aren't being effective at neutralizing somebody, they'll even call in their friends to pile on. It no longer becomes an exchange of ideas but a pack mentality to destroy somebody.

True. Such gang behavior is unfortunately nothing rare.

 

[Foxfyre]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

 

[Alex.]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

 

[Foxfyre]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

 

[Alex.]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

 

[Foxfyre]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Being nice and courteous takes courage in the face of conflict or debate.

Actually it has nothing to do with courage in my case.

I simply refuse to be dragged down to their abysmal level.

If they want to debate me then they have to rise to my level because I am not stooping down to theirs. If they can't rise to mine then that is their problem and I just laugh at them and move on.

Does that solve the incivility problem? Probably not.

Does it make it any worse? Not in my opinion.

Does it make it any better? Maybe! Others might try to emulate my example but that is not my goal.

I engage in message boards because I enjoy it. If others just want to vent then that is what the ignore feature is for. I don't lose any sleep over those who can't engage in a civil discussion on the merits of the issues.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Some posts aren't because somebody took something wrong. Some are premeditated and fully intended personal insults intended to stir up sh*t. And more often than not they succeed.

I try hard not to take that kind of bait myself--I don't always succeed--but I honestly don't understand how that is fun for some?

It falls under the heading of "master-baiting".

In other words they are playing a stupid mind game where the objective is to get you to lose your cool and start calling them names.

When that happens they "win".

The defense is to recognize the game for what it is and to pull the plug on it early. Simply not allowing yourself to "swallow the bait" because you recognize it as just a ploy to rile up your emotions so that you react out of anger instead of reason.

With practice it becomes easier to spot the games and deflect them. Nothing frustrates a "master-baiter" more than to not have their intended "victim" take their "bait". They will usually move on to find other victims once they figure out that you are on to their games.

 

[Derideo_Te]

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Legislating against bullying makes perfect sense. Not everyone is equipped to handle a bully and bullies are just cowards anyway. The legislation will ensure that no one gets away with being a bully.

As far as the deeming that to be "politically correct" isn't that the premise of the OP?

The OP is essentially asking where does the line get drawn between what constitutes online bullying vs incivility?

It is perfectly possible to disagree without being disagreeable. That is not PC, it it simple civility at it's most fundamental level.

Incivility is when you disagree in a disagreeable manner with spurious name calling, etc. It is not PC is expect others to meet the requirements of civilized discussion in this forum. It is just one of the rules that you either obey or you have to deal with the consequences.

Bullying is when you attempt to victimize someone who lacks the ability to defend themselves. At this point it is no longer PC and has instead become a violation of the law IMO. No one has the right to threaten and harass others either virtually or physically.

 

[Alex.]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

 

[Foxfyre]

An article in "Psychology Today" some years ago caught my eye when it came out, and I was able to relocate it. In all honesty, I really bristled when I first read this article because it was so strongly 'left wing' in its identification of presumed 'conservative' or 'right wing' sinners as the perpetrators of incivility in America while omitting the dozens of 'liberal' or 'left wing' examples it also could have included.

But because the thesis of the article so directly addresses the topic of this thread, let's set that aside for the purposes of this discussion and focus on the concept presented:

. . .So what is to be done about incivility? Forni, co-founder of the Civility Project, defines the basics of civility as the Three R’s: Respect, Restraint and Responsibility. These fundamental components of civility were echoed strongly in our research. When Americans were asked to define “civility,” the words “respect” and “treating others as you would want to be treated,” predominated.

Civil communication begins early. The more that incivility infiltrates our culture, the more we may become dangerously indifferent to its existence and pass it down to the next generation. Many Americans agree that there should be civility training at school and at work. Perhaps a national public education program starting in the schools, cities and public squares across America could turn the tide on incivility and help restore respect and pride as a country.

“A national public education campaign endorsed by political leaders, schools, PTAs and corporate America and distributed through the media might be an important first step towards bringing civility back to our shores,” argues Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick.

A second step may have to be legislation that proscribes incivility. In the U.S., 20 states are exploring legislation that would put bullying on the legal radar screen. In Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec have passed legislation that addresses workplace bullying, although both countries are far behind some European nations and New Zealand.

One thing is for sure; if the culture of incivility, and along with it bullying, continues to escalate in America, it could fan the flames of violence and anarchy.
The Rise of Incivility and Bullying in America Psychology Today​

So what do you think? Do you want the feds to legislate civility? Or would that put us on a slippery slope of a different kind of bullying as we see in political correctness? Or no doubt some will disagree with me on my point of view about that.

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

 

[Alex.]

Society should be self governing and experience be the guide. Different sectors of society have different norms.

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

 

[Foxfyre]

So if you don't think "Big Brother" should be given authority to demand that we be civil to each other, how do you go about accomplishing that through self governance? (I'm playing devil's advocate here of course.)

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

So we can say we now have your vote in favor of federal laws mandating civility?

 

[Alex.]

Like water rises to it's own level, society develops it's own norms over time.

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

So we can say we now have your vote in favor of federal laws mandating civility?

Civility no, criminal behavior under certain circumstances yes.

 

[Foxfyre]

Which I take to mean you don't wish to answer that question. LOL. Okay, that's cool.

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

So we can say we now have your vote in favor of federal laws mandating civility?

Civility no, criminal behavior under certain circumstances yes.

But when it comes to incivility, what constitutes criminal behavior? Certainly I think slander and libel laws should apply when a person's reputation is falsely compromised or such as that, but we already have laws on the book addressing that. Certainly threats of violence or other harmful actions constitute assault and there are already laws on the books about that.

But--and this is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken literally by anybody--if I call "Fred" an ignorant numbnut, what damages can be claimed that could be addressed by law? If I get on Facebook and tell embarassing stories about him that happen to be true, or make uncomplimentary comments about his appearance or mannerisms or whatever, what damages can he claim? The insult a minute expected from certain members of a message board may spoil somebody's enjoyment of the board but are great fun for others. What laws would address that?

 

[Alex.]

lol let me try another way. Societal norms take time to develop, for example what may be accepted in in a blue collar environment may not be acceptable in a white collar environment. The only way to know that is by seeing what works in each environment.

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

So we can say we now have your vote in favor of federal laws mandating civility?

Civility no, criminal behavior under certain circumstances yes.

But when it comes to incivility, what constitutes criminal behavior? Certainly I think slander and libel laws should apply when a person's reputation is falsely compromised or such as that, but we already have laws on the book addressing that. Certainly threats of violence or other harmful actions constitute assault and there are already laws on the books about that.

But--and this is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken literally by anybody--if I call "Fred" an ignorant numbnut, what damages can be claimed that could be addressed by law? If I get on Facebook and tell embarassing stories about him that happen to be true, or make uncomplimentary comments about his appearance or mannerisms or whatever, what damages can he claim? The insult a minute expected from certain members of a message board may spoil somebody's enjoyment of the board but are great fun for others. What laws would address that?

Fred needs to make a decision, if he does not like what is being said either he ignores it or leaves IMO. The TOS agreement should also help him and everyone else understand what is acceptable and what is not. People have said mean things about me, who cares I know it is not true, and if it is true then I have an evil laugh because I probably had fun at being an ass.

 

[Sun Devil 92]

Support Builds for Killer Who Broke Cycle of Fear - NYTimes.com

I've followed this one for years.

This is the case of a "bully" who the law would not reign in.

Fearing for his life, a retired Navy Commander blew the guy away.

He got 2nd degree.........then a judge reduced it.

Many felt the guy should never have done a day.

I recall a 60 minutes report on this story. A whole neighborhood felt the guy was a hero.

 

[Foxfyre]

Of course each society develops its own culture and what is acceptable or faux pas. But what does that have to do with dealing with incivility if one believe incivility is a detriment to our society and way of life?

Adding detrimental puts a different spin now I would hope that a ruling council would step in and make that behavior taboo, if the society(parents, clergy, elders)cannot step in and provide a remedy to the situation.

So we can say we now have your vote in favor of federal laws mandating civility?

Civility no, criminal behavior under certain circumstances yes.

But when it comes to incivility, what constitutes criminal behavior? Certainly I think slander and libel laws should apply when a person's reputation is falsely compromised or such as that, but we already have laws on the book addressing that. Certainly threats of violence or other harmful actions constitute assault and there are already laws on the books about that.

But--and this is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken literally by anybody--if I call "Fred" an ignorant numbnut, what damages can be claimed that could be addressed by law? If I get on Facebook and tell embarassing stories about him that happen to be true, or make uncomplimentary comments about his appearance or mannerisms or whatever, what damages can he claim? The insult a minute expected from certain members of a message board may spoil somebody's enjoyment of the board but are great fun for others. What laws would address that?

Fred needs to make a decision, if he does not like what is being said either he ignores it or leaves IMO. The TOS agreement should also help him and everyone else understand what is acceptable and what is not. People have said mean things about me, who cares I know it is not true, and if it is true then I have an evil laugh because I probably had fun at being an ass.

I think you're missing the point. If the only recourse we have to incivility in our lives is to remove ourselves from it, that is all well and good if we have someplace to go. In the case of persons targeted for incivility, however, they are forced to give up something they value--their job, their school, their job, use of social media, participation in public activities, participation on a message board--or the incivility continues. So the innocent pays the price and those initiating and perpetuating the incivility can high five each other and celebrate their victory.

There has to be a better way.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Speaking of incivility this might shed a little light on the topic;

Matthew 5:22

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.​

So this establishes that incivility has been around for centuries and that it was considered to be a serious enough offense to condemn name callers to perdition.

Then there are these verses from Ephesians 4;

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26“In your anger do not sin”d : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.​

If the demographics in USMB are similar to the nation as a whole, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, then about 85% or so of USMB posters are Christians.

In which case incivility would not be a problem if they were acting in accordance with the teachings above.

So where is the disconnect? Either USMB and every other message board in the entire nation is infested with a tiny uncivil minority who are not Christians or the incivility is being practiced by those who profess to be Christians.

It most certainly can't hurt for Christian preachers to take a leadership position on the issue of incivility and bring it to the attention of their flock that they should be setting examples of what it means to be Christians on the internet too.

And it would be far easier for them to do than to try and get anything passed in the current inept gridlocked Congress.