There is more to etiquette than knowing which fork to use when called upon to…oh, maybe poke at Europe — you know, to see if it’s ‘done yet’?

Yes, that was just one of those tediously repetitive witticisms the Baron would get during his time at the Big Peace page. Each time it appeared – usually by the fifth comment or so – you could tell the writer thought he’d said something hilariously novel. I’d have been embarrassed for my fellow Americans then, except I’d already seen the obverse expressed on Gates of Vienna, i.e., Europeans talking through their hats about Americans, whom some view as backward and bellicose (well, okay, so some of us are quick to pounce. Especially our Scots-Americans).

There’s a cure for cultural trash talk: living in another country for a right good while will give you an Attitude Adjustment, sometimes one so sharp it can require the aid of a chiropractor to set oneself straight again.

The Baron isn’t at Big Peace anymore. BP was a good idea in theory but the moderators were sometimes busy elsewhere; waiting to get a submission posted could become problematic and the subject matter no longer relevant. As far as we could determine comments were never moderated. Thus, the longer the thread, the less information readers had to impart. That was a bracing experience, one which served to cement our restrictive policy here at GoV, where there is no freedom of speech in our comment threads…

As a theory, BP had real merit. It may even have prospered and grown since the Baron was there. I salute those who continue with Andrew Breitbart’s work. He was genuinely beloved, and they must miss him dearly.

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Mercy me…a digression. How unusual. Maybe if I part my hair differently my Attention Deficit Disorder wouldn’t show. Or maybe not.

The subject started to be cultural etiquette. So let’s go there. In this case, Andrew Klavan has some suggestions on how to behave during a massacre:

This video was made last year but some of the comments are fairly new – within the last few weeks.

Also notice that Mr. Klavan refers to Islamophobia…

At 2,000+ and climbing, the reactions on that comment thread prove my point: the more, the much less merry. I never saw Godwin’s Law invoked, but then I was only willing to scan a few dozen before fleeing.