I love the satirical comedic aspect of the names. Don't want that to stop.
The whole thing is complex. That article/study you posted touches on this issue for me. What is my intention in what I post? Codyroo got to the heart of it all with that question. My intention had been benign (though tone deaf). However, then there is a second question: what is the impact of my action on others? Answer: not benign for a certain segment of people when coming from site owner.
Laura, SNL, Randy Rainbow, John Oliver, Ward Sutton, and many other satirists have done amazing work in helping us to laugh at this situation. People have been doing that here with those names. Don't stop whatever helps you to be creative and laugh.
@jeanne-mayell, besides addressing your legitimate concern that we remain under the radar, I believe your intentions were good. A call for creative expression. Nothing wrong with that. Besides ... it keeps us sane!
I loved reading everyone's input in this thread. I've sometimes felt ambivalent about the name calling; I see T. calling people names, and I don't want to be ugly and match his lower energy. For example, I'm very uncomfortable making fun of how someone looks (although admittedly I do often say "Turtle"). Making fun of someone's physical appearance has nothing to do with their internal spirit and soul, unless what you're seeing outside is a manifestation of the inside. I agree that the "intention" is important.
Regarding T.'s name-calling: besides being mean-spirited, so much of what T. calls people isn't even accurate -- it's stupid stuff you'd hear from an elementary school bully. What works for me is if there is a grain of truth in the appointed name -- as Jeanne stated, that "satirical comedic aspect." And so many of the names people have come up with here brilliantly illustrate that.
I do want to comment on something funny that occurred today. When I got up this morning and read the new topic name, Taking it to a higher Level, I said to myself "I really like that. Makes total sense to me. I will make that my intention." Then I turned on Morning Joe as he was airing the video of Sean Spicer on last night’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Spicey was banging the drums and dancing around in a day-glow, lime green salsa shirt. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone, then said to myself "Taking it to a higher level ..."? I'd find Spicey's performance strangely charming, had he not lied incessantly for T., and continue to lie for him. A name began to form on the tip of my tongue ... but I refrained. For now.
Then I laughed out loud -- at myself.
Cheers to you sweet Jeanne!
As I have been reading your posts in this thread, two quotes from Maya Angelou spoke to me. (I really like her words of wisdom.)
1.) We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
2.) Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
The way that I see it, you and your site are the epitome of these 2 quotes.
You are still in the process of creating this beautiful evolving place for us all to gather together. The glorious butterfly is a symbol which brings the message of beauty, endurance, vibrant joy, transformation, hope, and life. You are creating a garden to nurture a host of emerging butterflies (in all their various stages) and in the process you are becoming one as well.
Beautiful! isn't it?
@lovendures. Funny, been thinking about butterflies all day today! Ordered more milkweed so I could help the monarchs come back to life.
Jeanne, I understand your intent on starting the thread and then on deleting it. As others have said, this is your site and we are grateful to you for making it available to all of us.
I don't think you can put yourself in the same category as Donald Trump when doing things like that. You are good, he is evil. But I understand the collateral damage this could have on innocent people.
I'm just disappointed I wasn't able to come up with something in time to participate. But all the good ones were picked. I also heard all over the web other nicknames: from the Yeti and Uncle Sham to Liar of the Free World and Agent Orange...
My current favorite is Codyroo's Benedict Donald. I also like Moscow Mitch. I agree with Deetoo that I don't want to make fun of someone's looks, ethnicity, age, disability, gender, sexual preference.You and anyone else can use your creativity to come up with a name when you need to refer to anyone here whose name you don't want to use.
After reading all the responses, I realize the impact of anything I do here. People read into others' words much more than was intended. Even after I explained my intention - that I didn't feel the website owner should start a thread like that-- I feel people are now nervous about using nicknames. Damn! I miss those nicknames!
The Human Tanning Bed Warning Label. Tangelo Fruit Roll-up, Stretched Over Kitty Litter. Yellowish-Orangish Kanye. Boiled-Ham-in-a-Wig. Super Callous Fragile Racist Sexist Nazi SROTUS.
...there now, the spell is broken. And i feel so much better!
Taking it to a higher level--Kudos to you for understanding the owners concerns as well as those of many among us who felt uncomfortable and avoided the topic.
While it lets out a lot of steam, name calling of any kind is a reflection of our inner subconscious desires that do not reflect our highest selves.
I felt that my many months earlier prediction to you in a very small group setting online where i told you it was beginning to feel more like Facebook energy on this site came out when we arrived at this point.
For years Facebook became a huge name calling extravaganza of what most laughed at and reveled in what they felt as levity and lighting up their anger.
Really it only lightened up frustration everyone was still angry and couldn't get past it into any level at all of higher understandings or deeper levels of working or understanding or healing their frustrations or angers.
It could be seen as a silly game but its still does reflect on this site. Its like the celebrity predictions sites. Fun for many but whats the purpose, goal or good of them in the long run? We may justify visiting them but they still don't truly serve our growth.
I can see you got it and realized it and now are up where your talents truly do their their/your own highest and best work.
It's a huge challenge. After years here, we go round and round with newcomers, same discussions, same topics, same multi-leveled stages of understanding and growth among all of us. We get scared, we want to give up and more and more (just like Facebook) sites encourage us to post more, like more for their own purposes.
We all want and need to "be liked" to make others laugh, to find commonalities in understanding and touch each others humanity.
You are amazing to keep going, keep adjusting, learning and most of all growing. As you grow, lift up, learn and transform--we all grow and learn and are raised and so is the unseen, unheard of here collective.
A hard thing to admit, accept, and do. I admire and respect you so very much--and now even more so. ?