In which I get a very delightful email

June 28, 2017 • 8:45 am

This lovely email came yesterday afternoon. What a nice thing to brighten up my day!

Judicious Googling revealed who this person is, but to avoid embarrassment for Mr. Peter, I’ll keep that information to myself. Read and LOL:

Hi Jerry,

Can I just ask where evolution went wrong with you? You say evolution is about reproduction? Why didn’t you reproduce then Jerry? Evolution is also about functioning as a society, and that means growing up and taking responsibility. In animal societies with [sic] one does bad he is punished by the rest of the pack or outcast. [sic: should be “cast out”]

You don’t see the head lion letting the cub off citing a lack of free will. Evolution went wrong with you, you didn’t reproduce and you don’t believe we should live in a society when one takes responsibility for ones actions. You must have a genetic disorder. Sorry to hear that. That would explain the face as well.

I like how you hide behind a computer screen when you type your “no free will” fairy stories. Maybe a family of holocaust survivors won’t take very kindly if you told them Hitler was blameless face to face. The families of our dead war heros [sic] in Iraq wouldn’t take very kindly if you were to dare express your views that their son really was praiseless for dying for his country. Dying for our FREEDOM. But given the oppitunity [sic] to say it to their faces, in both cases, you would run a mile . You just hide away behind a screen writing stories that absolve Hitler for genocide, absolve Ted Bundy for his murders and smears the name of all our national heros. [sic] What a really nice guy you are, shame on you and your parents.

You are as bad as the creationists when it comes to this subject. Despite all the criticisms and contrary findings you still support a paper done by Libet in the 80’s and ignore all evidence that shows otherwise. You strike me as a man who is deeply ashamed of something and deeply upset that he never had kids, so the only way to cope with this is to say ” I have no free will, I’m not in control, I’m not to blame

I feel sorry for you, a pathetic 69 year old man who has wasted him life, you should go to see a doctor Jerry if you are depressed. They can help you.

I know you desperately wanted to be a hero, to have someone look up to you, but it just didn’t happen did it.

Enjoy your retirement with your cats, after all, that’s all you have

Peter

My responses to this rant (not sent to Peter):

  1.  Yes, evolution is about differential reproduction, but who said that we’re supposed to follow evolution’s dictates? I suppose Peter would send nasty emails to everyone who puts on a condom, uses birth control, or masturbates. And hey, Peter, what about all those priests?  Have you written them nasty emails saying that they’re not doing what evolution says they should, and need professional help because they decided not to have kids? As for me, I have no qualms about not reproducing, as there are too many people in the world anyway. What I worry about is whether Peter reproduced, for if he did, some poor kids would get indoctrinated with the kind of ignorant blather espoused by their dad.
  2.  Peter hasn’t either read or hasn’t understood my take on free will: I believe people should be held responsible for their actions (and incarcerated if necessary), but I find the notion of moral responsibility problematic, as it assumes the person could have behaved differently. And that idea is deeply imbedded in our judicial system.
  3.  As for the “head lion”, Grania asked me to say this: “Also, please point out that Free Will Lions MURDER innocent baby cubs for being born from the wrong dad and they never get arrested or go to jail or anything for it. It is almost as if animal societies don’t care that baby killers walk amongst them.”
  4.  Ah, the Hitler canard! Again, of course Hitler was responsible for what he did and should have been punished—for sequestration of a homicidal maniac to protect society, for deterrence, and (not so likely) for possible rehabilitation. Poor Peter hasn’t absorbed what I’ve written–and written many times, about the notions of determinism and responsibility.
  5. The experiments of Libet, showing that one can predict with significant accuracy a binary decision before one is conscious of it, have only been supported by later studies, and the time period and accuracy of prediction before conscious “will” comes into play have been increased.
  6. I have not the slightest regret for not having kids. I’m happy that others have had them and like them, but it just wasn’t for me.
  7. I’ve racked my brain, but I can’t find anything to be deeply ashamed of. Seriously.
  8. I’m 67, not 69. Peter can’t even be bothered to use Wikipedia.
  9. I never wanted to be a hero; in fact, anyone who knows me will tell you that I shy away from attention and try not to let it affect my character.
  10. Peter clearly has a fixation on reproduction; I find that creepy.
  11. As for my face, well, I’ll quote the old limerick:
    For beauty I am not a star,
    There are others more perfect by far,
    But my face I don’t mind it,
    For I am behind it,
    It is those in front that I jar.
  12. Finally, Peter, you moron: I DON’T HAVE A SINGLE  CAT, much less multiple cats.  I won’t recount the other “blessings” in my life, but I’ve had a good run, and, unlike Peter, I don’t feel the need to contact strangers and chew them out, flaunting my ignorance in the process.

Here you are, Peter:

104 thoughts on “In which I get a very delightful email”

      1. My first thought was that PZ really has gone off the rails, but then I realised I was robbing Peter to pay Paul.

  2. “The families of our dead war heros [sic] in Iraq wouldn’t take very kindly if you were to dare express your views that their son really was praiseless for dying for his country. Dying for our FREEDOM.”

    If we accept ad arguendo that “dying for freedom” is a good thing, the wars in Iraq are a very poor supporting example. The 1990 war there, promoted by Bush 41, was to “free” the Kuwaitis to rule under their monarchy. It had nothing to do with American freedom; the United States of America was not threatened.

    The 2003 invasion of Iraq, promoted with falsehoods by Bush 43, also had nothing to do with freedom, but with pre-empting use of imaginary ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to eat some yellowcake.

    1. The freedom to be groped by the TSA?

      [/snark]

      *Every* bloody war can count tens or hundreds of thousands who died ‘for freedom’, usually on both sides. Nobody ever died ‘for oppression’ or ‘for evil’.

      (But of course Peter is utterly missing the point when he implies that PCC’s stance on ‘free will’ nullifies praise or blame.)

      cr

      1. DULCE ET DECORUM EST by WILFRED OWEN Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime… Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

  3. My favorite line: “I like how you hide behind a computer screen”

    hahahaha! Yes, Peter, you are certainly one to talk!

  4. We know you’re not two-faced, Jerry — if you were you wouldn’t be wearing the one you have on. (Sorry, couldn’t resist that!)

  5. Well, he’s got you there, Jerry. Rock solid logic served up in coruscating prose.

    1. Disgusting? Yes, definitely, but before I got to that one I’d say “pathetic”.

      I mean seriously, can you imagine what kind of sad, pathetic, loser feels the need to write an email like this? There is someone out there who actually thinks being nasty to a fellow human being who has done nothing to him is a good use of his time.

      Even worse, he’s probably really proud of his, ahem, bravery in writing this equally patge5 attempt at literary brilliance.

      He really needs to have a think about the kind of person he himself is before he starts attacking others.

      And I can attest from personal experience that Jerry really is a Genuinely Good Bloke, as we Kiwis say.

      1. Believe it or not, patge5 = pathetic. In my defence, it’s 3am in NZ! Proof I should be asleep! 😀

    2. Peter sounds like a typical trump supporter (shallow thinker with the heart of a bully.)

  8. I think a follow-up sociological study should be done on Peter. The focus of this should be to find out how and why this person is so ignorant and what kind of education this person went through. What social conditions does this person live in and is his family as equally ignorant? Did his upbringing involve hateful religious training? Did he graduate from primary school? It would be fascinating to find out what environment caused this person to be so pathetic.

    3. Obviously not. You’ve produced a coherent sentence, without spelling or grammatical error.

  11. On behalf of humanity please allow me to apologise. The sperm and egg responsible for this ignorant buffoon are probably still trying to allocate blame.

  12. Sorry not to comment sooner to this embecile’s email to you but I was busy explaining to one of my cats why I did not have any children for him to scratch.

    This is that perfect example of why it is best to keep silent but no, go ahead and speak out and remove all doubt. Possibly and member of the Donald Trump campaign for stupid ideas but do not stick around, hit the delete key as quickly as possible.

  13. OMG, I must confess that made me laugh. I was imagining a small angry boy having a tantrum, looking for words that hurt. Yes, in a way “nasty little Peter” made me laugh, but I wonder if he ha a lot of similar friends…. A bad news. He must be having such an bad ass day to go after you Jerry in such a laughable way!

  14. I for one find nothing wrong with PCC’s face, although I am saddened to see the delightful beard of his younger years gone.

  15. Weell, this kind of virtual attack is really disgusting.I have noticed that in all kind of comentaries about any subject all over the internet. People like Peter really get angry and revengfull about other people´s opinions.:-(

  16. i did not realize evolution was so screwed up because of your lack of reproducing. i am shocked and appalled. and fearful of the future. does this mean all evolution ends with you? jeez. even zombie jeebus must be disappointed

    1. I think that number might be part of his obsession with whether Jerry has children and why not …

  19. can’t believe you”ve let down the entire plantet by failing to reproduce. and of course, it’s too late now. very disappointing. probably even zombie jeebus is disappointed. no wonder my african violets will not bloom

    2. “…and of course, it’s too late now.”

      Not technically true, for some men anyway, but I’m rather sure PCC’s not gonna let Peter’s screed provoke him into doing anything rash…

  21. I’m sorry you were hassled about not reproducing. I get that a lot. Welcome to the club.

    1. We should probably be pleased that society has evolved to the point where women aren’t the only ones criticized for that … :-/

      1. Yeah! I don’t get that. Some people can’t. Some people don’t get the opportunity. Some people do not want to…What is there to criticize? Does not make sense.

        1. Some of us won’t, because of abusive parents or bad genetics. I have both, as my mother was abusive and I have BRCA, just like she does. Add to that the fact that I’m on tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer–it can cause fetal harm–and that I’m middle-aged… yeah, not a solid idea for me to reproduce here.

          But there are people out there who will think I’m selfish for not doing so. =/

          1. Ugh! I hated Tamoxifen and stopped taking it (I had it as breast cancer treatment). It must be working for you though if you’re middle aged with BRCA and without cancer! Kudos to you for sticking with a preventative that was too much for many of us.

            I know some women do well with Tamoxifen but for me, it made me so tired, I’d have to quit my job until I stopped taking it.

          2. I don’t have to worry about tiredness but the hot flashes. Oh wow, the hot flashes…! I was warned about them but I didn’t take it seriously. I thought it would be a brief moment of warmness.

            Yeah, I feel like a roasted chicken most days. Thankfully, I have a sense of humor about it.

          3. Yeah I found that too – not flashes at all. I was sweating constantly. I went on on an anti-depressant that helps with those though (it’s a side effect but here they prescribe it for that side effect). I forget the name but it’s a popular one. When I stopped taking Tamoxifen, I stopped taking it cold turkey and it was awful. I got “brain zaps” & everything. My doctor was horrified that I did that.

      2. Yeah I thought that too – if only instead no one was hassled at all. Do I hassle people with kids for having kids? No! So don’t hassle me. I’ve been to sick to have kids for a long time. Would they prefer I have them & then not be able to look after them? I guess so because then they could criticize me for that instead.

        1. Since when was not knowing a person’s situation a reason to stop some people from passing judgement? They also often think silence is evidence of guilt or agreement rather than than not having the inclination or energy to argue. Those same people are usually the first ones to complain when they’re the victim too.

          1. Yes! Much like militant pro-lifers who vilify women who seek abortions, yet manage to justify their own. (Women who identify as ‘pro-life’ still have abortions.)

  22. Thanks for taking this kind of flak for the rest of us. I’ve never liked the term hero but the guys out front with the strength and courage to take the bullets certainly qualify.

  23. If you are such an awful human being, why does Peter want you to reproduce? Clearly, he thinks your genes aren’t worth passing on. However, nothing in his diatribe made sense, so why bother to pick it apart? Peter sounds like a wretched, lonesome soul, and I hope he will cease and desist.

    Have a lovely day, Jerry!

  24. I guess I’ll be the one to point out that its actually not too late for Jerry to reproduce. If Larry King and Tony Randall can do it at an advanced age so can he. And we might learn something on the effects of massive amounts of poutine on sperm viability.

  26. This is the trifecta of great posts, performed step by step (day by day, a fresh start over, a different hand to play, lalalaa…sorry, what was I doing?):

    Step 1: Post idiotic email from idiotic person who is also usually angry because their feelings confuse them

    Step 2: viciously deconstruct idiocy of said person

    Step 3: end with Simpsons reference.

    Well done!

  27. That was the worst part: I hate it when people add years to my age! Hey, folks, give me a chance – I’ll get there!

  28. That is it!! I am getting my cowboy boots out as well as my surfer shirt and stickin to good old Pete!! The nerve. He’s a pear-shaped loser.

  29. “You must have a genetic disorder. Sorry to hear that. That would explain the face as well.” That was my favorite part. Maybe you decided it would be irresponsible to reproduce when you ran the risk of passing on your genetic disorder and your face to your offspring. And how can you not have a cat? Your avatar is a cat!

  30. Wow, Peter, have you nothing better to do?!

    For the record PCC: I like your face!

      1. His face does have a lot of character. One of my favorite photos of him was when he ran out of cherry pie while visiting his adopted parents in Dobrzyn. His pout/grimace while clutching silverware like a kid was priceless.

  32. “Peter clearly has a fixation on reproduction; I find that creepy.”

    This made me laugh.

    What is Peter’s point? He hates reality. My advice, Peter, is there are an awful lot of fun things to do while you exist. No sense to run up hills that actually put you further down than up.

    1. Well, we know who he voted for in the last presidential election.

      IMPORTANT: Read the article in today’s USA Today regarding the PEW survew regarding US image plummeting under Trump. In the survey, both Putin and Xi Jinping are more highly regarded than Trump. It was just a matter of time to see this result.

  33. Thanks for dooming humanity to extinction Jerry.

    May I send you some cats or racoons as punishment?

  35. A quote from my favourite episode of the Canadian comedy series, Corner Gas called Tax Man

    Well it’s not just you. Dad’s cranky, I saw him one time yell at a butterfly. Called it a ‘sonofabitch’, told it to get out of his garden.

  37. Last month our humanist group watched Sam Harris’ talk on free will. In the discussion that followed, one person was really upset by it and argued vehemently against it. This man had previously told me he was a Libertarian, and I think there’s a connection there. Because the Libertarian fantasy kind of depends on “free will”.

      1. Or a ghost rider writer? Flaming skull, always angry to be lighting his screeds on fire! “Damn it! I just wrote 5000 words”!

  39. Peter has a good point though, by not reproducing Jerry deprived a potential child (children?) of having a great father, methinks.

  40. What a piece of drek! I’m sorry you were on the receiving end of that poison pen email. I hope
    he reads WEIT, sees your excellently written rational response. And, I hope he has enough wit to distinguish the difference between his writing and yours. I hope he did not pass his genes on to children. There are not only too many people; there are too many people like him.

    What is it with people thinking it their responsibility to tell any other individual: when to have sex, what kind of sex to have, with whom to have sex, whether or not to use birth control, whether or not to have an abortion if there’s a reason not to have children, not to have children until “mature”, or that one must have children for the continuation of humanity?

    There are too many children alive now who need
    parents, but don’t have them. There are too many children alive who have bad parents who don’t take care of them and abuse them.

    I’m much too old to adopt, but I hope you will consider me and all of us who avidly follow your web site with great interest, your children of the mind. Thank you for sharing with us.

  41. Almost 50,000 people come here to read your peerless daily collation of various unclassifiable nick-nacks(at least half of the stuff I pass on to other people comes from this website); scientific, religious and political debate and old photos of yourself with more hair than cousin It. Along with your books and your academic career that’s about as far from a wasted life as you can get, and these are only the outwardly visible things.

    Sadly, there are people like this letter-writer out there, driven by fury and bitterness, whose sole intention in communicating is not to get any kind of point across; instead they grope around for the areas that they believe will hurt you the most, dig into them with an ugly relish and put the results into an appallingly written e-mail. Think how much effort this berk spent in trying to think of ways to insult and wound you, and think of how desperately empty or otherwise lacking such a life must be.

    And then sit back, light a Cuban, put your cowboy boots up and wait for reader no. 50k to turn up.

  42. I wouldn’t say evolution dictates anything. It’s just a description of what happens when things reproduce. This does not require that everything reproduce.

  43. Dear JAC: May I simply thank you for your intelligent, entertaining and relevant blog. I do not know how you remain so prolific and, let me say, brilliantly productive. I’m not a fan of public expressions such as this but I did want to contact you and yours to determine how I might support and otherwise contribute to your efforts. (I’ve bought your books but that is an insufficient return to you.) I can’t explain what motivates Peter’s unhinged comments. So, if nothing else, I can deviate from my “no comment” policy and allow that you are an incredible, thinking, empathetic and extremely valuable human being. I remain very glad that I stumbled upon WEIT. Thank you again.
    Porkut

  44. I’m 64, almost 65, and I never had kids either. If you think a man not having kids gets a lot of pressure, I invite you to look at the level of pressure to reproduce a woman without kids gets from her Catholic parents. Nevertheless, I knew by the time I was 13 that I was not interested in one more crying baby (I’m the oldest of 7), one more dirty diaper, one more etc. I have good relationships with my siblings’ kids–that’s all I want. People that think we humans are going to go extinct if every woman doesn’t become a baby machine are (excuse me) nuts.

  45. Hi Doc ,sorry that you seem to attract these sad people ,at least he didn’t say anything about you being a secular Jew .

  46. Well, noble, charitable Peter, do you hope to live at least to the age of PCC(E)(and me)? Not everyone does, you know. Every additional day is icing on the cake for me. Obviously, you are significantly younger. You’re not trying to relive your self-absorbed middle school years, are you?

    Pray, tell, what does your own radiant countenance look like? How will you yourself deal with the vicissitudes of aging?

    How do you talk to and treat your wife? (I assume that you are married with children.)

    What do you say is the carrying capacity of the Earth? How old do you say the Earth is? Are humans the special, unique object of regard in the universe by a supervising deity?

  47. My reaction to Peter: What a clueless moron.

    As for faces, (and I don’t claim to have a face anyone could describe as handsome), I adopt this philosophy:
    1. Other people have to look at my face.
    2. I don’t.
    On balance, I win.

    cr

  48. If consciousness truly is consistent awareness without judgement, then Peter must have been knocked out when he wrote his screed. Nice response, Jerry.

  49. Your response to this befuddle-brained human was perfect. Countering the plethora of insults in Peter’s scree with humor is something we can all learn from.

    I know you may not like, and won’t accept it, but I consider you a hero! 🙂

  50. Screed! Not a mass of small loose stones that form or cover a slope on a mountain.

  51. Moron. The only people in Iraq who died for their country are the Iraqis. And I sincerely hope that this idiot did not get to pass HIS genes on, thereby lowering the collective IQ of the planet.

  52. Might ask Peter why there are so many unadopted children, and why pro-life folk who insist on having “their own” children will spend thousands of dollars on treatments to create more unadaptable frozen embryos. They pick and choose their “best” embryo and put the rest in cold storage. Including ones that will be born with physical and mental birth defects for *other* people to adopt. (“Snowflake babies” as they are called.)

    The world already had enough children when I was born and I knew I would be childless-by-choice ever since I was six years old.

  53. You are part of my morning ritual: make a plunger of coffee, give two mugs thereof to my husband while he reads the newspapers and drink one myself while reading your posts. Being in Australia there is a lovely collection of them each morning. Thus armed with interesting thoughts, observations, cats and caffeine I can happily face the coming day.
    Please keep up the good work!

  54. Well no biological children, post grads count as children though you get no child support you do get grant funding. You raise them( train them not to burn down the lab), you help discipline them (good writing practice) then you send them off into the big bad world to set up their own families(research groups).

  55. I know it’s breaking Da Roolz, but I imagine PCC is willing to allow me to make an exception in this case.

    As we like to say in the Welsh-borders where I grew up: What a complete bellend.

  57. Not even a particularly entertaining wingnut. Sad.
    Has the empowerment of Trump lowered the quality of wingnuts that America produces, of just encouraged run-of-the-mill wingnuts to think that they’re something special in the line of wingnuts?

    1. “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

      Theodore Sturgeon

      I guess that’s higher for asshats.

Comments are closed.