http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=012150

Quote :

"Leave Gary alone Posted: 09.14.2005 Ian Booth If you are new to campus and want to say so to a large audience, skip the high school senior class T-shirts and the asinine requests for basic directions. Those methods have been done to death. No, if you want to announce your inexperience in a fun new way, argue with Gary the Brickyard Preacher. I hope that by this point in the semester, every new arrival has had the chance to hear Gary describe his beliefs at length and with so much animation one must maintain a 10-foot radius around him to avoid being struck accidently about the head and face with his worn-down New King James Version. Anyone around long enough to see his elaborate gestures has also probably been around long enough to know most of the ideas these gestures punctuate are, at best, completely repulsive to American ideals. Gays are bad. Democrats are Communists. Women who wear pants have loose morals. Come to think of it, women who leave home have loose morals. Fraternities are comprised almost exclusively of transvestites(incidentally, I have yet to see any Greek organization protest Gary), the list goes on and on. In fact, in two and a half years, the only two reasonable things I've heard Gary say are, "God is about love," and, "The Klan is bad." With such a litany of offensive ideas, why should people leave Gary alone? Because if he's a loony, he's a harmless one who should not worry anyone enough to elicit so much as an open-mouthed stare of disbelief. I make it a point to spend my lunch hours watching Gary interact with his audience whenever he's in town. At first, his rants were the funniest thing going on, but they have now been surpassed by the ludicrous responses from folks nearby. These responses are generally surefire indicators of who is fresh to campus and who isn't -- the new guys turn red in rage and indignation arguing with Gary, and the old ones all sit back and take the man for what he's worth, which is a laugh. Sure, there's the occasional veteran who has an argument, but in my experience such people are merely bucking the trend. These responses to Gary are, on a small and easy-to-understand scale, examples of something crippling ideological discourse in this country. We don't just pay too much attention to the small stuff -- in this case, our beloved but nonthreatening Brickyard Preacher -- we attack it with rabid intensity. When one lone crazy promotes his ideas to a few dozen students, at least a few people, of various beliefs, are enraged. But when a well-known public figure with more than a million weekly viewers calls for us to assassinate foreign leaders, the response was basically the same despite the clear difference in scale: a fairly small number of people expressed anger, and then they forgot about it. Or take the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which seems about as concerned with the Nuisance Party Ordinance as it is with the Patriot Act. Even if one considers both to be fascist instruments of oppression, the first one is, at the very least, a local and small-scale fascist instrument of oppression. As such it is less worthy of one's concern and activism than the latter. One who treats issues so disparate in importance as equals is hard to take seriously. Thus you will accomplish greater things by focusing on bigger issues, not only because of those issues' scales, but also because, when the time comes, your words will carry more weight. My point is this: choose your battles. If religious crazy men worry you, then do not start a discussion with Gary, who has so little bend and so much smaller an apparent number of followers. Start one with as reasonable a follower of Pat Robertson as you can find. If racists bother you, don't get worked up over a single slur or joke. Get worked up over, for example, the handling of Katrina. I would not agree with you in that case, but this issue is not one of ideological or partisan difference. It's about keeping our attention focused on those things that actually matter on a scale bigger than that of our own daily lives -- and not allowing ourselves to be distracted by every shiny little thing that irks us. "

9/14/2005 1:54:32 PM

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=349762

9/14/2005 1:56:34 PM

lol, i saw that and ignored it b/c i missed the article mention

DELETE

9/14/2005 1:57:36 PM

I hope Raleigh cops cite the NPO and kick the Grumpster's door down next time he's chatting with a few friends.

9/14/2005 1:58:08 PM

i wouldnt be surprised if that happened

that guy gets into more trouble with the law for doing so little wrong than anyone iver ever seen

9/14/2005 2:02:41 PM

That article doesn't really sound like GrumpyGOP... Maybe you know him better than I.

That said, I disagree strongly with some of the points he has made.

Arguing with Gary can be entertaining on the part of the arguee as well, not just the spectator. Sure, he is meaningless, but what do you expect us to do, change the world? If instead of arguing with Gary we wen't and argued with our Senator or President... what? Why would our Senator or President speak to me? Not to mention the time involved, arguing with Gary takes whatever time you wish to expend, while arguing with a legislature takes weeks or months.

We're college students, we have no ability to change the world in the 20 minutes until our next class so we interact with Gary instead, spreading our beliefs to all the brickyard that are listening, including the author of this piece. This is a cost free activity as we could never lose the argument to Gary.

Also, the local chapter of the ACLU has no business railing against the Patriot Act. That is what the national chapter of the ACLU is for. In a Republic, all levels of legislative government must be kept in check, not just the Federal Congress. And arguing to the city council against the Patriot Act would be silly because the local legislature had nothing to do with that Act, something that cannot be said about the NPO.

9/14/2005 3:16:10 PM

The piece was produced at the last minute because my original topic was co-opted by a more senior columnist. I do not particularly like it, although I do agree with my point that you are hard to take seriously when your "big crusade" is something minor.

9/14/2005 3:22:29 PM

someone with rags on their head should go and start praying to Allah while facing Mecca, right in front of Gary. that shit would be hillarious.

9/14/2005 3:39:55 PM

It's been done. Some of the Muslim groups that make it a point to regularly have savage arguments with Gary are the ones that got me on this bent anyway. If you're just killing twenty minutes poking the hornets nest, fine. But if you regularly and systematically try to shut him down, you're a douche.

9/14/2005 3:54:10 PM

First off, the ACLU doesn't have a single main topic. Nowhere is there a claim that is even REMOTELY CLOSE to your disgusting misinformation. if you would go to the website, you could see that clearly considering that it is the 3rd of 4th topics in the issues column. if it was the main topic wouldn't it be all over the website?

if you took THE LEAST BIT OF TIME to gain any information, you'd know that the ACLU at NCSU has members who have their individual main issues. you would have definitely seen that if you had gone to the meeting i invited you to.

but you'd rather take a cheap shot because you are incapable of producing a quality argument.

i'm glad to see the continuing lack of journalistic integrity in the editorials.

9/14/2005 4:14:50 PM

well, have those muslims ever thrown paper airplanes at Gary as a symbolic gesture?

you know, the way they throw stones at the rock that symbolizes the debil

9/14/2005 4:19:40 PM

or to symbolize flying planes into....oh never mind

9/14/2005 4:29:01 PM

Quote :

"GrumpyGOP: If you're just killing twenty minutes poking the hornets nest, fine. But if you regularly and systematically try to shut him down, you're a douche."

sounds like TSB debates...

9/14/2005 4:48:42 PM

Alright, cookie, let's dance:

Quote :

"The essence of a local chapter must be lost on Booth. The purpose of local chapters of any organization is to tackle both national and local issues."

True enough, and perhaps I'd be with you more here if your "local issue" wasn't so...well...lame. You're out there fighting tooth and nail (albeit totally ineffectually) for the right to get drunk and rowdy. Now, I know, I know, someone will say, "OMF TEH PO-PO IS USING TEH NPO TEH QUI3T PARTIES!!!1", and I'll agree that that much is bullshit, but somehow I don't see the ACLU around these parts being satisfied with saner enforcement.

Quote :

"Are small scale issues not PERFECT for small scale chapters? Isn't this exactly what you are suggesting, that they pick their battles?"

I never said you shouldn't be in a hissy about the NPO because of your size, I said you shouldn't do it because it's such a fucking weak cause.

Quote :

" How is a local ordinance that is abused regularly against the very students of this university inconsequential?"

There is a sliding scale to this. Your rights can be violated to a lesser or greater extent. You've got the NPO on one end of the spectrum (guess which end!) and you've got ethnic cleansing somewhere down at the other end. I'm going to try to stop you from shooting me in the face much harder than I'm going to try to stop you from punching me in the face.

9/14/2005 5:00:18 PM

Quote :

"There is a sliding scale to this. Your rights can be violated to a lesser or greater extent. You've got the NPO on one end of the spectrum (guess which end!) and you've got ethnic cleansing somewhere down at the other end. I'm going to try to stop you from shooting me in the face much harder than I'm going to try to stop you from punching me in the face."

Yeah, but I've never heard of anyone around here getting harrassed because of the Patriot Act. It doesn't really affect me or the people I know. Now the NPO hasn't affect me personally either (I'm not a big party person), but I've at least heard a few stories. Overall, my feeling is that the NPO is far more likely than the Patriot Act to mess up the daily life of a State student. Because of this, I consider it quite reasonable for NCSU students to care more about the NPO than they do about the Patriot Act.

9/14/2005 5:10:41 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, but I've never heard of anyone around here getting harrassed because of the Patriot Act."

I would think this speaks rather more to the harmlessness of the Patriot Act than it does to the terror that is the NPO.

Quote :

"Because of this, I consider it quite reasonable for NCSU students to care more about the NPO than they do about the Patriot Act."

Reasonable, yes. Self-centered and hard for me to have any particular respect for? Also yes.

9/14/2005 5:14:20 PM

Quote :

"I would think this speaks rather more to the harmlessness of the Patriot Act than it does to the terror that is the NPO. "

Sure. Perhaps the NPO is actually more "Facist" than the Patriot Act. In that case you shouldn't even have brought up the matter.

Quote :

"Self-centered and hard for me to have any particular respect for? Also yes."

Yeah, well, maybe you should be off saving babies somewhere then...

9/14/2005 5:33:36 PM

Quote :

"asinine requests for basic directions."

Really, what's asinine about this? Asking for directions is natural...

9/14/2005 6:40:52 PM

It was supposed to be a reference to freshman activity that people would catch. You know, standing around, looking lost, having to ask where pretty major landmarks are, etc.

Quote :

"Perhaps the NPO is actually more "Facist" than the Patriot Act. In that case you shouldn't even have brought up the matter. "

I don't know one way or the other, but based on their word the ACLU should think the PA is a shitton more oppressive than the NPO.

9/14/2005 7:10:03 PM

Yeah, I know. A standard sentiment, but actually somewhat unfair.

But hey, bashing n00bs is fun I guess.

9/14/2005 8:15:28 PM

Quote :

"True enough, and perhaps I'd be with you more here if your "local issue" wasn't so...well...lame. "

this is where you are STILL misguided. the NPO is NOT our main issue here. we have roughly 4 issues that are discussed regularly.

Patriot Act, NPO, Soft benefits, and the Death Penalty.

If any emphasis is given over the other it is by individuals. don't be so fucking obstinate.

Quote :

"Self-centered and hard for me to have any particular respect for? Also yes."

Self-centered? It has nothing to do with us actually. We just happen to think it is utter bullshit for them to rewrite previous ordinances into a vague and easily abused ordinance.

One of the reasons we are trying to fight the NPO is because it harasses university students. this is an issue that a good percentage of the campus knows or has heard about. We're most assuredly not being self-centered. GODDAMN if you came to one of our meetings, i'm sure as fuck you would realize that. maybe 1 of us "parties". But it's much easier to talk about shit you don't know, isn't it? not to mention get a few jabs in there because you can't write a whole article. nor a decent one.

Quote :

"I don't know one way or the other, but based on their word the ACLU should think the PA is a shitton more oppressive than the NPO."

i love how you think we don't care about the PA. i'm sure you don't know the current situation of it concerning the city council. THAT WOULD BE TOO MUCH TO ASK OF YOU. if you had any pride, you would check you facts. and here they are: Due to the city council's cowardice to pass legislation contradicting the federal gov't, the council has adopted a resolution that was editted twice drastically from the original proposed by the state chapter along with several other groups. the final wording of the resolution leaves it as saying that the Constitution is the most important legal document, and that no law of congress can be passed that contradicts it. Which is basically nothing of the original resolution to actively oppose the patriot act. But i'm sure you were at all of those meetings of the city council to know this. .We have done more work on the PA than ANY OTHER ISSUE to date. If there was ever a main issue of our chapter, it was definitely the Patriot Act. ONCE AGAIN. you do not know what you are talking about.

9/14/2005 9:03:49 PM

Oooh, I seem to have struck a nerve with ol' puss. He's so blinded by rage he apparently can't read the words I type.

Personal attack? I guess. But until he starts arguing against me instead of this other guy he's conjured up, I'm offering nothing better.

9/14/2005 11:06:17 PM

Grumpy, I'll back you ... I liked the article ... there is nothing to appologise for ...

9/14/2005 11:33:30 PM

what the fuck is your point, praytell? you don't like what i do with my time?

is it to choose your battles? hasn't this already been defeated?

what lousy argument do you even have? you're still just a joke.

and i love the rebuttal to my counter argument against us disregarding the Patriot Act. Oh wait, there wasn't one. sometimes i forget who i am dealing with here.

9/15/2005 12:16:46 AM

I skipped over it because

1. every year someone decides to write the same article about him
2. these columns are never interesting

[Edited on September 15, 2005 at 12:21 AM. Reason : you should go over all the columns for the last year and not repeat a topic]

9/15/2005 12:20:30 AM

would you be interested in it if it had exclusive photos of gary's gay lover francis?

this week in the sun

9/15/2005 1:04:51 AM

^^do you want a paper or don't you?

[Edited on September 15, 2005 at 1:08 AM. Reason : a]

9/15/2005 1:08:04 AM

It wasn't about Gary. Gary was just the lead-in.

Quote :

"you should go over all the columns for the last year and not repeat a topic"

I'll get right on it. That'd only be how many columns? If it's like five I'll read it.

9/15/2005 1:09:09 AM

^Well, there are only a few archetypes for technician columns. Besides, it's up to you whether you want to be an also-ran or whether you want to actually increase the quality of the paper. You taken the first step down the former path.


p.s. Paternalistic, obvious advice columns also fall in the "also-ran" category.

9/15/2005 1:22:33 AM

Must not be that obvious, at least to poor, dear cookie.

I hate to tell you, hoss, but when you run 14 columns a week over the course of two years, the potential for a completely original one that do not in any way resemble an old one gets kind of slim. We're supposed to write about things that will affect State students, that they care about or at least should care about.

That in and of itself limits the field dramatically. I asked a bunch of people what they thought I should write about, what would interest them. I heard beer and I heard sex. If there's a permutation of those topics that hasn't been written about lately then ship me to Stockholm because I'm the King of Sweden. Another guy I suggested writing about how stupid it is that people buy books at high prices from huge stores when we have places that rent them for free. Original? Maybe. Remotely interesting (to most)? No.

9/15/2005 1:27:57 AM

You should have written a column on how much Bush sucks.

9/15/2005 1:32:56 AM

^^ so your solution was to pick a topic that was neither interesting nor original?

sounds like you signed up without knowing what you were getting in to.

9/15/2005 1:39:28 AM

I only got into it for all the pussy.

Also, I can't remember ever seeing a piece about my real point, which is that some of you bitches protest the most insignificant shit.

All that aside, I'm not going to pay much mind to the hatas until I've put out enough to be righteously hated.

9/15/2005 2:27:00 AM

you know what is obvious to me?

1. you don't know what you are talking about.
2. you have no interest in knowing what you are talking about.
3. you cannot back up your arguments with any evidence.
4. you cannot write an entire article on the same train of thought without grossly contradicting yourself.

9/15/2005 10:07:17 AM

Why are Technician writers afraid to use contractions? Is there some kind of style restriction?

9/15/2005 10:20:12 AM

i beleive it is generally regarded as poor form to use contractions.

[Edited on September 15, 2005 at 10:58 AM. Reason : so ive been told, i never use them in papers either.]

9/15/2005 10:57:31 AM

^^
Some write columns like a conversation, others write them like an English paper. There're plenty of contractions in the former.

9/15/2005 1:11:29 PM

cookiepuss is wearing his defensivepants today.

9/15/2005 1:56:26 PM

Quote :

"I hope that by this point in the semester, every new arrival has had the chance to hear Gary describe his beliefs at length and with so much animation one must maintain a 10-foot radius around him to avoid being struck accidently about the head and face with his worn-down New King James Version. "

Too many words for this "joke" to be funny.

"struck about the head"?

9/15/2005 2:23:07 PM

Wow, cookiepuss is a dude. I guess I just always assumed he was a chick with a s/n like that.

9/15/2005 2:36:33 PM

^^ You can be beaten about the head.

I guess "struck" would work as well.

9/15/2005 2:47:04 PM

^^ haha. it happens.

doesn't make sense if you know anything about the beastie boys, though.

9/15/2005 4:25:58 PM

yoyoyo, can i speak to cookiepuss?

9/15/2005 4:29:16 PM

spookyjon,

I wasn't questioning his grammar. The whole sentence reeks of pretentious-college-kid-trying-to-be-funny-ism.

For some reason, when folks go to college they try to write like they think Vincent Price talks. It pisses me off.

9/15/2005 5:13:19 PM

Quote :

"asinine requests for basic directions"

gg, pick on people for not knowing their way around campus

9/15/2005 8:09:01 PM

Socks``, you've been reading my posts in here long enough to know that it's just how I fucking write.

9/16/2005 12:37:36 PM