Duke to Adjust Lemur Population

[CathyCA]

Because it has nothing to do with you as a person. It has to do with what you're saying. You could easily rephrase that as "your post sounds really ridiculous." And that's the same thing I'd write if someone suggested Duke start Jordan Davidson or the U.S. invade Canada. That's how I've always viewed "personal attacks," at least.

Then, if it wasn't a personal attack, why didn't you rephrase your post as "your post sounds reallly ridiculous?"

The DBR joke was in poor taste. Tilly and others were offended, and posted about their feelings. I think that your comments directed to Tilly seemed fairly personal, and weren't directed toward her post, but toward her, especially since you used the word "you" instead of the words "your post."

How about a simple apology?

[ndkjr70]

Granted, I've been here less than a month, but isn't 3 pages of bashing because of an April Fools joke making a mythical statement about a leemur a tad... oh, I dunno, ridiculous?

[Lavabe]

FWIW Madagascar and Madagascar II are two of my favorite movies. I will stick to posting about sports as to not ruin anyone else's day.

My "Bye" earlier was going to be my last in this tiresome thread, but your last post has me wondering:

1) M & M2 are two of your favorite movies? Movies are DEFINITELY worth posting about, and guaranteed not to ruin anyone else's day. Need ... more... Jason Evans review threads!

and;

2) Forgive my ignorance, but WHO is the dude in your avatar?

[allenmurray]

Duke houses lemurs. In Duke Forest. Where (perhaps for the benefit of those of you who do not live in Durham) Duke recently had to make the decision to "cull" the deer herd in Duke Forest because of overpopulation.

I don't think anyone was seriously suggesting the killing or eating of lemurs. My guess is that were it not for the recent issue with the deer this whole thing probably would not have been a topic for an April Fools Day joke. (the deer issue was/is somewhat serious - numerous car accidents, deer literally malnourished due to overpopulation, etc. - all in an area where hunting is somewhat dangerous due to heavy recreational use of the forest.)

I thought I had left the craziness behind when I curtailed my frequency to the PPB - this is even more nuts - I may have to quit DBR altogether to get away from the pettiness.

[jrb3]

Lemurs are the predecessors to other primates like humans. We humans have a lot to learn from our ancestors. If you care to learn more about lemurs, please set up a tour at the Duke Lemur Center, it is extremely enlightening.

Just for clarification, let me quote from the lemurs.us site that you linked in another post:

"Native only to the island of Madagascar and the neighboring Comoro Islands, lemurs resemble the oldest ancestors of primates which existed tens of millions of years ago. "

My point is that neither lemurs nor any other living primates are predecessors to humans, although lemurs do resemble one of our common ancestors.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Tilly could be a wonderful, delightful, saint of a person.

She is, Jumbo. You can take my word on that! And ask Ima what she thinks of Tilly!

[SupaDave]

So at what point was Tilly gonna take into account the whole "death by lasers" thing?

[Jumbo]

So at what point was Tilly gonna take into account the whole "death by lasers" thing?

To be fair, they were going to be operated by sharks ...

[Stray Gator]

I wish every day were April Fool's Day. Then EarlJam could come back without fear of ridiculously, uptight moderation.

I wish every day were April Fool's Day, too. Because I really enjoy the humorous prank lead stories on the DBR Main Page that Julio and Boswell come up with each year on April 1 to give us a good laugh. After all, one of the main purposes of this site has always been to entertain and share some humor. And if every day were April Fool's Day, not only would those of us with a sense of humor be able to enjoy starting the day with a good laugh, but before very long, those who suffer from hypersensitivity and are either unable to appreciate the humor of our hosts, or simply lack the common courtesy to resist criticizing their humor, would eventually go away. Then we wouldn't have to spend the rest of the day experiencing a steady stream of buzzkill as we read their posts indignantly demanding apologies and unceremoniously dumping on our hosts' efforts to evoke a smile with what any reasonable person would recognize as an innocuous attempt at humor. That's what I wish.

[TillyGalore]

That's not right to attack her personally like that. She, like others on this site, found the joke to be in poor taste, including myself. Because she expresses her opinion does not make her sound rediculous.

Then, if it wasn't a personal attack, why didn't you rephrase your post as "your post sounds reallly ridiculous?"

The DBR joke was in poor taste. Tilly and others were offended, and posted about their feelings. I think that your comments directed to Tilly seemed fairly personal, and weren't directed toward her post, but toward her, especially since you used the word "you" instead of the words "your post."

How about a simple apology?

She is, Jumbo. You can take my word on that! And ask Ima what she thinks of Tilly!

Thank you all for your public support.

[Fish80]

As many of you know, I'm an animal lover. I even avoid killing bugs and spiders, preferring to put them outside when found in the house. Upon my first read, I was mildly amused by the Lemur joke.

Most of my amusement came from thinking that some people would be tricked into thinking for a moment that the story might be true. After reading all of the comments, I understand why some of you did not see any humor and even took offense.

What's interesting to me is the emotional response. Most of us found humor in the cheer for Sean May: "Please don't eat me". I wonder why the emotional response is so very different for the Lemur joke than it is for the Sean May cheer.

[CathyCA]

Thank you all for your public support.

You're welcome, my dear! ((((HUGS))))

[CameronBornAndBred]

I wonder why the emotional response is so very different for the Lemur joke than it is for the Sean May cheer.

Because Sean May isn't cute and furry. And he wasn't being killed off.

[Windsor]

But May is (probably) human AND was aware of the 'please don't eat me'

The cute Lemurs (free range in Duke forest or otherwise) are oblivious to the 'joke' at their expense

so,
saying something 'bad' about cute furry animals is more offensive that cruel comments to a live human?

[Jumbo]

Because Sean May isn't cute and furry. And he wasn't being killed off.

With lasers. Don't forget that the lemurs were being killed with lasers.

[allenmurray]

I wish every day were April Fool's Day, too. Because I really enjoy the humorous prank lead stories on the DBR Main Page that Julio and Boswell come up with each year on April 1 to give us a good laugh. After all, one of the main purposes of this site has always been to entertain and share some humor. And if every day were April Fool's Day, not only would those of us with a sense of humor be able to enjoy starting the day with a good laugh, but before very long, those who suffer from hypersensitivity and are either unable to appreciate the humor of our hosts, or simply lack the common courtesy to resist criticizing their humor, would eventually go away. Then we wouldn't have to spend the rest of the day experiencing a steady stream of buzzkill as we read their posts indignantly demanding apologies and unceremoniously dumping on our hosts' efforts to evoke a smile with what any reasonable person would recognize as an innocuous attempt at humor. That's what I wish.

Well said, Stray

With some regularity a debate pops up on the Main board about posting isues, rules about civility, rules about criticizing players and Coach K, etc. In the end it is always resolved this way - the board does not belong to us, it belongs to J&B. We are guests in their home. If we don't like the way they decorate, the food they serve, or the air freshener they use we are not being held captive. But if we want to stay we should act like guests and refrain from violating the standards they set or the behavior they expect.

There is a paralell here. They put some effort (as they do every year) into creating a front page joke for April Fools Day. (I continue to believe that it was not about killing lemurs, but a play on the Duke Forest/deer situation). Some thought it funny, some did not. But if anyone thinks for even a second that they meant you personal offense you are taking your own status here way too seriously. Does anyone think they really want to kill lemurs? That they don't care about the environmental issues in Madagascar? Of course not. But instead of seeing it as a (possibley failed) joke, folks are acting as though the creators/owners of this board have some responsibility to take into account the personal feelings of all readers. Guess what - they don't.

If you were offended, remember this. You went into a friend's home. They told a joke you didn't find funny, perehaps one that was even a bit offensive. But instead of remembering that they are your friends, who invited you into their home, and had no ill intent (but instead had the intent of offerring hospitality) you act as though they were interested in personally attacking you.

[Stray Gator]

Then, if it wasn't a personal attack, why didn't you rephrase your post as "your post sounds reallly ridiculous?"

The DBR joke was in poor taste. Tilly and others were offended, and posted about their feelings. I think that your comments directed to Tilly seemed fairly personal, and weren't directed toward her post, but toward her, especially since you used the word "you" instead of the words "your post."

How about a simple apology?

In my opinion, the only people who are owed an apology here are Julio and Boswell. They open their online home to people, offer them a free source of information and entertainment, as well as a free place to hang out and interact. In return, what do they get? Publicly criticized by their "guests" in their own house for offering an utterly innocuous--and transparently satirical--parody. And then, those who are themselves criticized for rudely disparaging the "poor taste" of our hosts have the audacity to demand apologies? Where I come from, that's goes far beyond "poor taste"--it's such a complete distortion of perspective and repudiation of common courtesy that it virtually turns the relationship between host and guest on its head.

If people are offended by the DBR owners' humor, why don't they simply find someplace else to perch that is more compatible with their sensitivities? If you are offended by The Onion's humor, don't go to its webpage. If you are offended by Saturday Night Live's humor, don't turn to NBC at that hour. Are you writing letters to The Onion and to NBC complaining about being offended by their articles and skits? Am I the only one that thinks it's enormously presumptuous of one of many guests to demand that the hosts change the way they behave or stop telling jokes in their own house for the purpose of accommodating that one guest's personal preferences?

Seems to me that some people here are taking an awful lot for granted.

[roywhite]

In my opinion, the only people who are owed an apology here are Julio and Boswell. They open their online home to people, offer them a free source of information and entertainment, as well as a free place to hang out and interact. In return, what do they get? Publicly criticized by their "guests" in their own house for offering an utterly innocuous--and transparently satirical--parody. And then, those who are themselves criticized for rudely disparaging the "poor taste" of our hosts have the audacity to demand apologies? Where I come from, that's goes far beyond "poor taste"--it's such a complete distortion of perspective and repudiation of common courtesy that it virtually turns the relationship between host and guest on its head.

If people are offended by the DBR owners' humor, why don't they simply find someplace else to perch that is more compatible with their sensitivities? If you are offended by The Onion's humor, don't go to its webpage. If you are offended by Saturday Night Live's humor, don't turn to NBC at that hour. Are you writing letters to The Onion and to NBC complaining about being offended by their articles and skits? Am I the only one that thinks it's enormously presumptuous of one of many guests to demand that the hosts change the way they behave or stop telling jokes in their own house for the purpose of accommodating that one guest's personal preferences?

Seems to me that some people here are taking an awful lot for granted.

Got your point.

Was not offended by the satire or by the content and forum that J&B provide. Many thanks to them; they've created a terrific site.

I was offended by the conduct of one particular poster toward Tilly Galore. I suspect that several other posters here might agrree.

[allenmurray]

The DBR joke was in poor taste.

That is not a statement of fact, but an opinion. I think the killing of lemurs is horrible. But because I saw the article as satire, I therefore did not think it was in bad taste.

Had it appeared on a day other than April Fools Day, and had it not been so transparent, I do think it would have been in bad taste. But to look at it out of context is not fair to J&B who I doubt meant any harm.

[tbyers11]

To be fair, they were going to be operated by sharks ...

I heard through the grapevine that they were unable to procure the sharks with lasers attached to their heads and had to settle for sea bass. Assurances have been made that the sea bass were ill-tempered, however.