How about we stop using the word 'Sheeple'?

[powernoodle]

As a show of unity and reconciliation, I am wearing a sheep costume as I type this.  Well, actually just a sheep head, a kilt (commando) and nothing else, but you get the idea.

I guess where I respectfully differ with Lynn is in my view that there is an objective right and wrong on the issue of knife ownership and usage.  It is objectively and demonstrably moral, legal (depending on locale) and utilitarian to safely carry and use a knife.  I can objectively demonstrate that I have never decapitated someone with my Vic Classic.  Those who disagree with that assertion are objectively wrong, and I feel no moral compunction to pretend otherwise.  I am right, and they are wrong.  This is quiet different from discussing which color is the prettiest, in which case there is no objective "right", and all opinions are equally valid.  But there are many issues in which all opinions are not equally valid, and legal and responsible knife ownership and usage is one of them.

Now, the corollary is that we should "reach" rather than "repel", as we cannot change the hearts and minds of those who dwell in darkness if we have first offended them so grievously that they will not listen to us.  So the gratuitous usage of "sheeple" is never warranted.  But I never hear that terminology used except on the interweb fora, where we are engaging like-minded people in the first place.  Were I to encounter a "sheeple" in person, I would engage her with gentleness and respect, and would try to change her heart.  Chicks dig me, so it wouldn't be that difficult anyway.  Especially when I am dressed like this.

Rock on.

[Mr. Whippy]

As a show of unity and reconciliation, I am wearing a sheep costume as I type this.  Well, actually just a sheep head, a kilt (commando) and nothing else, but you get the idea.

I guess where I respectfully differ with Lynn is in my view that there is an objective right and wrong on the issue of knife ownership and usage.  It is objectively and demonstrably moral, legal (depending on locale) and utilitarian to safely carry and use a knife.  I can objectively demonstrate that I have never decapitated someone with my Vic Classic.  Those who disagree with that assertion are objectively wrong, and I feel no moral compunction to pretend otherwise.  I am right, and they are wrong.  This is quiet different from discussing which color is the prettiest, in which case there is no objective "right", and all opinions are equally valid.  But there are many issues in which all opinions are not equally valid, and legal and responsible knife ownership and usage is one of them.

Now, the corollary is that we should "reach" rather than "repel", as we cannot change the hearts and minds of those who dwell in darkness if we have first offended them so grievously that they will not listen to us.  So the gratuitous usage of "sheeple" is never warranted.  But I never hear that terminology used except on the interweb fora, where we are engaging like-minded people in the first place.  Were I to encounter a "sheeple" in person, I would engage her with gentleness and respect, and would try to change her heart.  Chicks dig me, so it wouldn't be that difficult anyway.  Especially when I am dressed like this.

Rock on.

[Cupboard]

I think I agree with Lynn on this one. Sheeple is an offensive term and whilst it can be appropriate to occasionally use an offensive term I think it should be used very sparingly.

It a term that often comes up in the context of a "sheeple friendly blade", a Vic Classic being very sheeple friendly for instance. But isn't it more about the context? A Vic Classic will open a package just as well as a UKPK despite the UKPK being perfectly legal. I think even I would probably get a raised eyebrow or two if I started carrying one at work, and I work on a farm where everyone carries knives. OTOH a sensible locking folder would go pretty much un-noticed because it's clearly a utility thing that's appropriate to the surroundings.

There is something very scarily sheep like about many readers of the Daily Fail (a terrible UK tabloid that's full of poorly research scare stories to try and provoke a reaction among gullible readers whilst masquerading as a proper newspaper) and the term could probably be used to describe many of the reactions that such a publication provokes. I don't think that someone reacting to something out of place, like a tactical folder in surroundings where you've got no good reason to have a scary stabby thing, should be classed as a sheep.

That said I did get a "are you allowed to carry that thing?!" reaction when I pulled out my CT34 to cut some tape a few days back. That shocked me a bit. I then reeled off the law which amused them somewhere.

[kirk13]

Cheers mate,nicely said

[jzmtl]

But without sheeple, who is going to keep the big baaaaaaaaaaaahd wolf away, you know he is out trying to get us with baaaaaaaaaahd guns and knives, corrupt our children with baaaaaaaaahd video games. We must save ourselves by baaaaaaaaaaahn them all, because the baaaaaaaaahd guys will sure follow the law and stop going baaaaaaaaahd thing, and our children will baaaaaaaaaahorn into baaaaaaaaaaahest society even sheltered from the baaaaaaaaaaaahd things we baaaaaaaaaahnned.

Okay I suck at writing, deal with it. 

[derekmac]

But without sheeple, who is going to keep the big baaaaaaaaaaaahd wolf away, you know he is out trying to get us with baaaaaaaaaahd guns and knives, corrupt our children with baaaaaaaaahd video games. We must save ourselves by baaaaaaaaaaahn them all, because the baaaaaaaaahd guys will sure follow the law and stop going baaaaaaaaahd thing, and our children will baaaaaaaaaahorn into baaaaaaaaaaahest society even sheltered from the baaaaaaaaaaaahd things we baaaaaaaaaahnned.

Okay I suck at writing, deal with it. 

[jzmtl]

Damn it, I just realized the first word should be baaaaaaaaaht.   

[nate j]

While it might be difficult to argue that "sheeple" has a positive connotation, it is not (with all due respect to Urban Dictionary) intended primarily as an insult, which is why there is no singular form of the word.  Rather, it is useful shorthand.  It is much quicker to say or type "sheeple" than "people who don't know much about knives or guns except that they are afraid of knives and guns and anyone who carries either one".  This is both convenient and descriptive in the context of such statements as "I need a sheeple-friendly knife for my trip to NYC.", "He double-checked that his pistol was well-concealed before entering the store so as not to alarm the sheeple.", etc.

The concept of "sheeple" is closely linked, at least in my mind, with the "sheep" of Dave Grossman's essay, On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.  If you haven't seen it before, you may find it insightful, or at least thought-provoking.  It may be found here:
http://mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

[jzmtl]

so that's why nutterfancy goes on and on about being sheepdogs...

[Lynn LeFey]

Yes, and because he LOVES hearing himself talk.

[sawman]

Well Lynn, I'm guilty of using that word and if it offends you in this way, I will try to refrain from now on. I never mean any harm... 

[nate j]

so that's why nutterfancy goes on and on about being sheepdogs...

I did say you might find it enlightening.   


The analogy/vocabulary is used to succinctly describe different mindsets and approaches to the world we live in, and therein lies its value.  However, some people become so wrapped up in the analogy that they fail to recognize salient points that don't fit into the analogy, and or miss the forest for the trees entirely.

Perhaps this next bit should really go in the MT.O Lovin' thread, but...IMHO, despite some obviously strong feelings on both sides of this issue, the fact that this thread has run well into three pages without getting locked and without anyone personally attacking anyone else is a credit to both the admin/mod team and the rank-and-file membership, and also illustrative of the uncommonly high level of civil discourse generally found here.
 

[pfrsantos]

Funny enough, calling something 'gay' as a derogatory popped up at work the other day,as is the use of n*gg*r in the men's locker room.

Interesting how you can write gay (even if between '') but can't write nigger...

Ultimatelly, these are just words! It's people who make them "good" or "bad". Lenny Bruce had a great number on this subject, I'l try to look it up.

 

[pfrsantos]

From Wikiquote:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lenny_Bruce


Are there any niggers here tonight? Could you turn on the house lights, please, and could the waiters and waitresses just stop serving, just for a second? And turn off this spot.

Now what did he say? "Are there any niggers here tonight?" I know there's one nigger, because I see him back there working. Let's see, there's two niggers. And between those two niggers sits a kyke. And there's another kyke— that's two kykes and three niggers. And there's a spic. Right? Hmm? There's another spic. Ooh, there's a wop; there's a polack; and, oh, a couple of greaseballs. And there's three lace-curtain Irish micks. And there's one, hip, thick, hunky, funky, boogie. Boogie boogie. Mm-hmm. I got three kykes here, do I hear five kykes? I got five kykes, do I hear six spics, I got six spics, do I hear seven niggers? I got seven niggers. Sold American. I pass with seven niggers, six spics, five micks, four kykes, three guineas, and one wop.

Well, I was just trying to make a point, and that is that it's the suppression of the word that gives it the power, the violence, the viciousness. Dig: if President Kennedy would just go on television, and say, "I would like to introduce you to all the niggers in my cabinet," and if he'd just say "nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger" to every nigger he saw, "boogie boogie boogie boogie boogie," "nigger nigger nigger nigger nigger" 'til nigger didn't mean anything anymore, then you could never make some six-year-old black kid cry because somebody called him a nigger at school.

    - From Julian Barry's screenplay for "Lenny"


To me, this is a very intelligent argument from a very intelligent man. Still, I can understand if someone doesn't feel confortable with this post. If that is the case and if it's too late for me to edit/remove it, I wouldn't mind if the admins would remove it.

Thanks.

[gregozedobe]

The concept of "sheeple" is closely linked, at least in my mind, with the "sheep" of Dave Grossman's essay, On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.  If you haven't seen it before, you may find it insightful, or at least thought-provoking.  It may be found here:
http://mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

Thank you for that.  It is the first thing I've read that helps me understand (in some way) why so many Americans feel a strong need to carry a gun (and therefore why they are so determined to protect that right).

As an Australian I just haven't been able to get my head around the concept.  We have very little gun crime in my country, and most of that is criminal on criminal attacks, consequently very few "civilians" (non-LOE, Security etc) feel the need to carry a weapon.

This thread has been an interesting and respectful discussion thus far, so I hope this post will not lead down the political rabbit-hole where people from entrenched positions lob textual grenades at "the opposition" rather than trying to understand different attitudes and points of view. Keep up the good work 

[lister]

I always tought sheeple is an apt description of homo sapiens sapiens in general with no exceptions whatsoever... But I suppose it is an inevitable consequence of us being social animals like you know... the sheep. 

[Magic Bus]

I always tought sheeple is an apt description of homo sapiens sapiens in general with no exceptions whatsoever... But I suppose it is an inevitable consequence of us being social animals like you know... the sheep. 

My thoughts too 

[charlie fox]

Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups...perhaps "Leeple" (lemmings+people) would be more appropriate?

[jerseydevil]

 

[Cupboard]

The concept of "sheeple" is closely linked, at least in my mind, with the "sheep" of Dave Grossman's essay, On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs.  If you haven't seen it before, you may find it insightful, or at least thought-provoking.  It may be found here:
http://mwkworks.com/onsheepwolvesandsheepdogs.html

Thank you for that.  It is the first thing I've read that helps me understand (in some way) why so many Americans feel a strong need to carry a gun (and therefore why they are so determined to protect that right).

As an Australian I just haven't been able to get my head around the concept.  We have very little gun crime in my country, and most of that is criminal on criminal attacks, consequently very few "civilians" (non-LOE, Security etc) feel the need to carry a weapon.

This thread has been an interesting and respectful discussion thus far, so I hope this post will not lead down the political rabbit-hole where people from entrenched positions lob textual grenades at "the opposition" rather than trying to understand different attitudes and points of view. Keep up the good work 

I'm inclined to think it would be all together more helpful if the civilian sheepdogs carried first aid kits instead...

[derekmac]

Speaking of sheep, I think I might wear wool socks tomorrow. 

[ironraven]

I won't lie, I use the term, although I can't recall using it here.

To me, it means people who have made a choice to leave their thinking to others, and often are unable to think own their own when circumstance forces them be away from the safety of their flock. As a result, they often do things that are not in their best interest because those they've chosen to make their decisions have their own agenda in mind, even though it is packaged as "for your own good". And they often react with hostility towards people who point out they are letting themselves' get screwed over for someone else's fun and profit, or that they are ignorant and easily manipulated. Worse, when they are left to their own devices, you get to hear things like "I didn't know" and "I didn't mean to" to explain why someone is now dead or dieing or important equipment is damaged; these are also the people who poke buttons and flick switches because they are bored, and drive down closed roads because they can always call 911 on their cell phone, and as a result sometimes get EMS and firefighters and cops killed.

It is also sometimes used as a synonym for "manchild", "eaters", "breeders" or the "ruled class". A more extreme case of this mindset may also be termed an "oxygen thief".

And I wear wool socks every day until we are in the 90s.

[pfrsantos]

 

[rickboone]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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[Mr. Whippy]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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I prefer that to twerking.

[ducttapetech]

+1

sent from Nate's mobile

[ducttapetech]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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I prefer that to twerking.

Lmao!

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[kirk13]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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I prefer that to twerking.

Does this mean you've tried twerking ?

[rickboone]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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I prefer that to twerking.

Does this mean you've tried twerking ?

What's this "tried" nonsense you speak of? I'm a founding father of tail feather tossing. Of course, we didn't have no special name for it.


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[derekmac]

Never heard that word but I'm sick of hearing grown mean use the word 'selfie'


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I prefer that to twerking.

Does this mean you've tried twerking ?

What's this "tried" nonsense you speak of? I'm a founding father of tail feather tossing. Of course, we didn't have no special name for it.


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I was going to say this is worthless without pics, but I thought we might loose some members if they were posted!