"Some subjects are tabo[o], just not worth the effort"

The whole concept of "taboo" is unnecessary and unjustifiable. Of course the site owner has every right to block topics that he believes are inappopriate, but if I want to start a thread about, say, necrophilia, I'll do it.

Pretending that uncomfortable and awkward topics don't exist is entirely counterproductive.

Speaking of...Jack, I'm still waiting to hear from you why you think faeces are an inferior form of food? (for flies, that is).

The frequent use of the term "bully" in these forums puzzles me greatly.

In my understanding, bullying involves trying to exercise power over another person through intimidation or physical violence. It seems to me impossible for bullying to occur when the parties involved are not personally known to each other, as is the case on OLO. While there's lots of nastiness around here, I haven't seen anything that can be described as bullying.

The definition of bullying on the Victorian Department of Education's Safe Schools site is followed by a section on What Bullying is Not: http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/wellbeing/safeschools/bullying/defbullying.htm#H3N400059

"There are three socially unpleasant situations that are often confused with bullying:

Mutual conflict:

In mutual conflict situations, there is an argument or disagreement between students but not an imbalance of power. Both parties are upset and usually both want a resolution to the problem. However, unresolved mutual conflict sometimes develops into a bullying situation with one person becoming targeted repeatedly for ‘retaliation’ in a one-sided way.

Social rejection or dislike:

Unless the social rejection is directed towards someone specific and involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others, it is not bullying.

Single-episode acts of nastiness or meanness, or random acts of aggression or intimidation:

If a student is verbally abused or pushed on one occasion they are not being bullied."

In OLO's particular context, it most definitely is not bullying to point out to someone that their words are hateful, ill-informed, destructive, abusive or ignorant. Further, doing so can never be a means of exercising power over that person.

Some of the ugliest lines I have ever read were here on OLO. Still (in response to TRTL’s question) I believe that the way to deal with prejudice is to name it, to shame it, and then to counter it with reasoned alternatives. The fact that OLO is often a platform for the very worst in our society exposes to those unaffected by bigotry the hatred that minorities experience on a daily basis.

Ugly opinions are not of themselves bullying, nor is arguing against them.

Begging your pardon. It was me that said "bullying". I stand corrected.

See?;-I told you it wasn't me!

I do rise to jibes and far too often, but I am trying to not bother doing it again.
2 posts seem to think I am a bully, well maybe I bought that on myself by biting too often.
Few threads are of limits to me, like us all I have views on every thing.
Strangely my views are shared by most, but sometimes I do not express them well hence that view of me.
Foxy I have had much worse than you, see my union dragged into debate almost weekly and my party, see threads totally diverted just because I started them.
But I join a large group by not conversing with just a very few who respect only their own views.
In my job and my life I have come to know that any person in a group can be the one to solve the problem , new ideas can come via the cleaner.
Paradigm I think it is called and it is also true education is no measure of common sense.
Manners however speak more about us than anything.
We would not have to search far to find insults being exchanged instead of ideas.

Belly,
Agree with your assessment of the state-of-play on OLO.
But would add, it's also characteristic of the greater community.
The media is often not very accepting of non-conformist ideas and just loves to vilify certain personages.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Belly, you're one of the good guys on OLO ( there are not many of us left/right )– you must have been a liberal in one of your past lives!