I generally call folks on it when I see the name-calling happen over and over again, but I don't see it every time it happens, so I couldn't call Pisshead on something that I hadn't seen. I'm not a fast enough reader to read every post on here.

Actually, that wasn't an attack on Bong's literacy. It was my opinion stated in "I language." There's a difference, and not even a particularly subtle one. But it's not an attack, and if he took it that way, I'd trust him either to tell me so or ask about it to clear things up. Bong, I hope you're not feeling attacked!

Here's my deal. I've got a real up-close-and-personal look right now with a sister who's got a terminal disease at how truly short life is. It's frighteningly so. And I honestly believe that we've got to try our best to try and treat others with respect and decency. That includes not name-calling, not flaming them with profanity, not whirling around on them and suddenly coming out at them defensively and angrily but instead checking out our own perceptions before we assume they're out to get us. For me, it involves standing up for myself in conversations I'm involved in or have an intellectual stake in by calling folks on the bad-mannered stuff.