Whink, et al:
I've watched with growing disgust the general deterioration in the "quality of life" around here lately. Coddling and making nice with the new batch of trolls is ineffective, so I'm deriving some small measure of personal satisfaction from hitting them with a mallet.
Ignoring the fact that someone has walked in and pissed on your recliner doesn't discourage them from doing so again, nor does it get the smell out.
Look around - a lot of the "Old Guard" are a lot more scarce than they/we used to be, because the signal-to-noise ratio has dropped so much lately.
Do I have a solution? Not anything that wouldn't come across as too draconian or restrictive, though I'd be happy to share my suggestions with Imaginos or Palomine or St. Stephan [or all of the above] if it's something to be pursued.
I'm an intolerant asshole when it comes to public stupidity. I own that, and am comfortable if it doesn't always make me the nice guy. But I'm sick and bloody tired of watching places I once found worthwhile to hang out and socialize deteriorate as they are infested by people who are, by choice or design, **86** or unable to rise above the lowest common denominator of shitty behavior towards others.
If I wanted to have feces thrown at me and those I hold dear, I could go for a walk in the primate house. Rather than sit idly by and hope the poor behavior ceases on its own, I'm going to make it quite clear that such behavior is -not- appropriate for a polite environment, and -will- be met with disapproval.
Even the nicest clubs have bouncers, folks. And sometimes, the regular patrons themselves are called upon to throw an undesirable out on his ear for gross misconduct, unofficially.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox. I'll be helping people in the Tech Forum if anyone needs me. This "Falling Down" act gets frustrating and tiresome if it doesn't rally enough community support, and I don't fancy playing the martyr because I'm disinclined to shut the fuck up.