"Is it a "two nations divided by a common language" thing?" Topic

I've just had a peek into the Dawghouse and was surprised that the comments of Rabbit and Rapier have been construed as 'politics' and have landed them inside.

There didn't seem to be any partisan side to their posts, just poking fun at public figures. Because they are PUBLIC figures, not because of their politics.

Anyway, as they are both British, I wondered if this is another example of how things can be interpreted differently on each side of the Atlantic? 'Cos this looks to me like harmless pee-taking rather than anyone making a political point!

Should I have entitled this post with the traditional 'Free Rabbit and Rapier' I wonder?

I agree mate, just harmless mickey taking of public figures who have larger than life personalities.

Making fun of his hair is hardly "political".

Stop making fun of his hair! That is one of those jobs that foreigners have no business stealing from us Americans!

Not so fast, you ruddy Colonial!

The British have been mocking people's hair since Julius Caesar's bald spot.

I have often noticed our jovial British irreverence is mistaken for something good more sinister by our friends over the sea. Just wait until we start being ironic. Oh dear

Seems politics is a catch-all, as all currently incarcerated are in for the same moniker. Somebody has a funny idea interpreting what constitutes politics

Dawghousing requires one of two situations to occur.

1) The poster has said something an editor finds offensive.

2) A reader has found the poster's comment to be offensive enough to hit the complaint button and report it to the Editor; who then also must find the comment offensive.

Somedays it doesnt take much for either situation to occur.

I do not find it humorous when American comedy shows, like Saturday Night Live, mock Queen Elizabeth II.

I imagine it does not go over particularly well in the United Kingdom either.

you've obviously not seen Spitting Image, nothing was sacred. The British take the £@#! and mock anything and everything.

We have a long and proud history of vicious and often scatological attacks on distinguished figures, Royal and political, in cartoon form. If our late eighteenth early nineteenth century cartoonists were transported to the present day TMP, they would establish permanent resident status in the doghouse!

Mollinary

Remember this is TMP not The World. Bill has the final say on what is an appropriate posting.

Frankie Boyle has been known to poke gentle fun at Her Majesty.

We've had a thousand years to cultivate a fine sense of irreverence. I'm sure TMP will catch up in a few centuries :)

90% of my doghousings are from jokes. So jokes are more dangroues then political talk

Karl Marx, Jonathan Swift or Lenny Bruce. When you tweak the nose of power, you bring peril closer to home no matter which side of the puddle you abide in.

Well as one of those Yanks I think my views on this kind of thing are best expressed by one of the grand comedians of British comedy, John Cleese. I agree completely with his sentiments from this posted video below.

YouTube link

Political correctness and the inability of far too many of my fellow countrymen to understand that open discourse is a principle foundation of a democratic society is an issue for concern.

Frankie Boyle has been known to poke gentle fun at Her Majesty

Mr Boyle's allowed: he's British

John T

Dear Martin

You say "I have often noticed our jovial British irreverence is mistaken for something good more sinister by our friends over the sea. Just wait until we start being ironic."

Sorry-- no-- we over here in the colonies aren't fools, we know when someone is p{urinating]ng on our shoes and calling it rain.

Politics is a serious business in the US and many people have a deep personal stake in it. It's called patriotism, wichever side you come down on , and when you make fun of either side you're gong to enrage feelings. This is especially true in heated elections.

You don't have a holiday like our Thanksgiving where families come together and all the old sores and wounds for the past hundred years are opened up just like the Turkey. Unka mort and unka Al are still fighting over the Vietnam war, Aunt Mildred still wants to eviscerate Aunt Edith for stealing her boyfriend in high school, and all the rest. They'd like to eviscerate each other like the bird is, and its a marvel with all these people liberally marinated in alcohol and surrounded by a veritable dungeon of carving instruments, knives etc., they don't. Put it down to the wisdom of god that made the central beast a creature so loaded with tryptophan that it renders everone stuperous.
When you take enter into it, it's like going to a family thanksgiving and acting as a rabble rouser. You'll get sliced up by both sides.

So no your alleged sarcasm and irony will gain you no friends.

Uh…wow…

Chill Otto!!!!!!

Yeah.

Can't help noticing that heartfelt patriotic serious-business deep-personal-stake US politics equates to a 65% voter turnout…,

And sarcastic ironic flippant cynical UK politics equates to a 65% voter turnout.

We say 'po-tay-to'….

You don't have a holiday like our Thanksgiving

For which I am truly thankful as Christmas is bad enough

Best remark comes in my opinion from kallman, nothing to add except : wasn't there also some fuss about cartoons in France ??

Otto. Are you suggesting that politics is not a serious business elsewhere?

Have you considered seeing a psychiatrist about your Brit-phobia? It seems to be truly eating you up and driving you to make irrational statements.

Affirm Kallman, and as Ricky Gervais put it so well "Just because you're offended it doesn't mean you're right"

Having a sense of humour about ones own politics is a great antidote to the political polarisation that plagues modern political discourse.

Politics has too serious consequences to be talked about with reverence. Reverence leads to fanaticism.

You guys need to come over and join the Blue Fez. It really is not as bad as they say.

Kevin

No Northern, I don't have a brit phobia. I rather like them, and have good relations with most. By "phobia" about any is as I said about people who tell me "they're "just joshin around" because they're not.

But you answer me something Monkey? What place does ANY politics have on a site about war games, toy soldiers and hobbies. I can't think of anything more distant and which should have no legitimate occasion to be mentioned at all. Those who bring it up have no purpose but to score points and attempt to get a dig in on the feelings of others. Liberals, conservative, right wing, left wing, all should be able to meet here and talk about the hobby. If you bring it up here and not on the blue fez, then you WANT to pick a fight and send out a shotgun blast you don't know who will be it. Do not be surprised when you get people shooting back.

Further Monkey, if it's a serious business elsewhere then show it. Do not dismiss important issues with a flip snide insousance picked up from the late night television comics. Trear it like a serious issue. If you do and it is important then you're a feckless fool who doesn't care about his own politics.

If politics is important, then treat it as such. If it's not important why mention it at all.

If you REALLY want a solution to this then have Bill ban ALL mention of politics, all mention of political opinion. and restrict it ONLY to gaming. Otherwise, let it rip and moderate no one.

I have a Blue Fez.
As if that wasn't already cool enough, it was a present from the irrepressible Henry Hyde.

Otto, war's a bit of a serious subject too, perhaps we shouldn't make light of it by associating with games. Let's all go back to using the internet for what it was invented for, looking at naked ladies.

I note that the currently DH'd members had several decades to make fun of . Prior to 2015 he was entirely available for appropriate abuse.

Rabbit and Rapier were simply late in their observations.

I am uncertain as to TMP rules when and ?

Have I, in fact, violated the rules myself by this post? Perhaps. But Politics has nothing to do with it.

Dear Foxweasel

But we are not talking about war. War games has nothing to do with war. It is a game and a hobby. We play with toy soldiers nothing more. By the same topic real-estate is serious, should we have monopoly? Life is serious, should we have a game of it? Organized crime is serious, should we game it. We are talking of a land of make-believe and in our own mind. Games are a past time. Keep the politics separate. Making jokes about leaders and policies has nothing to do with gaming.

Well that's about the daftest thing I've ever heard "War games has nothing to do with war". I'm signing off this particular discussion before I get DH'd again.

Political humor is a funny thing. (Ha ha!) One side's jokes are usually not funny to the other side. So one side makes their "joke," the other side responds with what they think is a "joke," and it ends up a mess.

If you want to make jokes about political candidates, go to The Blue Fez. Knock yourself out. But not here.

Is this restricted to US politics and political figures or is it a World wide prohibition?

Because I have no issue with people taking the out of the War against Terriers Barnaby Joyce.

Oh Lord! A shaggy-dawg story! Please stop before I pee myself laughing! You're a wicked man Starlight Samurai, I salute you!
Here is one from Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon which sums up this thread:

The WWII British spy Harry Lime was on board a US submarine en route to his next assignment, when he unexpectedly began seeing double vision. The sub was off the eastern US coast, and so plans were changed so that Lime could be seen by a doctor at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. The sub's captain was suspicious that Lime was actually faking the illness, presumably to go visit a former flame in Annapolis. When the sub pulled into port, he ordered the spy, "You go straight from the sub, Lime, to the Reed oculist!"

Cheers.
Rod Robertson.

"You don't have a holiday like our Thanksgiving"

If its even half as dreadful as you suggest I am truly thankful that we don't inflict its horrors on ourselves as you do!

I find it odd that a mild poke at a public figure should result in a Doghousing, on a thread about television about ancient aliens.

The absurdity level is astounding.

Oh and Mr Trump is not (yet) a Politician, he has no mandate, no office, no experience, just a probable candidacy.

And if TMP has a no politics rule, why does it have an Ultra Modern and threads on the dangers of Putin, these are just as much politics. In fact had the name been Putin in the original doghoused comment, a lot of laughs and no actions.

So therefore does it only apply to American celebrities dipping their toes into politics?

'So therefore does it only apply to American celebrities dipping their toes into politics?'

Pretty much as far as I can see. Be as political as you like about Russians, Iranians, ISIS, etc, but don't even think about being political about those seen as being on 'our' side.

Incidentally, wars are (mostly) started and run by politicians – so whenever you run or discuss a campaign you are running or discussing something political.

Pretty much as far as I can see. Be as political as you like about Russians, Iranians, ISIS, etc, but don't even think about being political about those seen as being on 'our' side

Well said. One man's terrorist is indeed another man's freedom fighter.

The nature of (largely) anonymous web forums is to draw out this sort of toing and frowing, surely. Don't we all understand that?

Personally, I largely don't care one way or another about most folks views (as stated on the web) of politics (dangerous, armed nutters aside) as, to be honest, I view almost all politicians with equal contempt so it follows that, in all probability, almost any views on them may well be valid.

I believe that, with very, very few exceptions, the old adage "how can you tell if a politician is lying to you? Answer: his lips are moving" can be applied almost universally.

So… Trump, Clinton, Putin, Cameron, Obama… I'm really not fussed: criticise away.

Two caveats, though:

A) let's try and keep it adult and intelligent – leave the ranting "you suck – well you suck more" type comments on facebook and youtube

B) it's Bill's forum and he can do what he likes. And does!

John T

Just glad I do not have thanksgiving at Otto's house.

So in the case of Trumps hair, since that was the topic for debate, would it be okay to make fun of his hair if you specify that its his hair from 10 years ago, rather than his hair today?

I'm trying to fit 'Hair today, gone tomorrow' into this discussion.

Oh, for pity's sake… have you got no shame?

That is terrible….

So hair-say is not admissible on TMP; if you do post it you're going toupee for it. Got it!

"…You're going "toupee" for it."

SIGH… :O)

Isn't that what politics was always about…. wigs and Tories?

Reminds me of the old Amazing Stories episode, "Hell Toupee" ( imdb.com/title/tt0511100 ).

Which in turn reminds me of John Steinbeck's "The Affair at 7, Rue de M--" ( PDF link ), which concerns a living blob of bubble gum that MUST. BE. CHEWED!

Somedays it doesnt take much for either situation to occur.