It HAS become the fashion of the day Jeri. There are dozens of reasons I guess, but laughing at something that pokes fun at YOU, just seems to be a reaction of the distant past.

I guess I'm one of those Mudcatters who often thinks that a bit of a joke can distract a couple of people who are bent on out 'Blue clickeying' each other, but it certainly doesn't have the same impact it had four years ago. My guess is that they're just as combative in 'real life', and that's seriously bad for the heart.

I saw something about an hour ago that was simply pathetic in it's predictability. We were caught in a traffic jam, with a streetcar about five cars ahead of us. It wanted to turn left, but the oncoming traffic was blocking the intersection. Heather and I were talking so I wasn't watching closely, until..... a woman behind us, got out of her car and knocked on the window of a double-parked car on the other side that was INADVERTANTLY (they were waiting for grandma or something) causing the whole Jam.

"He's gonna get mad, and tell her to fuck off", I said....and sadly that's exactly what happened. After she'd shrugged her shoulders and went back to her car, the guy looked around and realized he'd only have to move two feet to free up the traffic. He did.

That's a little different than the situations you probably had in mind Jeri, but it was just one more human being simply WAITING to be offended.

Cheers....GREAT thread.

Rick