Forum Post: Feeding Trolls Perpetuates Their Myths
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 11, 2011, 11:01 a.m. EST by aahpat
(1407)
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It gives their delusions an undeserved and unhealthy legitimacy.
Let them play with themselves. It is all that they deserve.
Especially the ronpaul spam crappers.
George Washington's observations about political parties can just as easily apply to these mostly partisan trolls:
"They serve to Organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force--to put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party; often a small but artful and enterprizing minority of the Community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public Administration the Mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the Organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modefied by mutual interests." http://home.ptd.net/~aahpat/aandc/gw.htm
Unfortunately, you are correct. I am starting to see this.
I get sucked into threads where I think they are serious only to find it is a joke. They post with no serious intent of conversation and a conscious opening experience. It is to bad, some of the provocative posts, if discussed in a serious and learned form, are an excellent chance to have a serious discussion and exchange ideas.
I whole-heartedly agree. Unfortunately opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one and some are quite shitty. I like to read the ignorant posts from the far (right) side, and especially love to read intelligent, often thought out responses. What I don't like is people spouting off talking points they heard on Rush or Fox news like these are real facts or something. What I detest is when these buffoons get their feelings hurt and resort to insults, racism, derision, hate, misinformation, and so on.
You mean like calling their opinions shitty and calling them buffoons? That kind of insult and derision?
The term buffoon is very tame compared to what I've been called in this forum for stating my shitty opinions. I know that everyone doesn't share my point of view, but some of the responses are outright nasty. Seems the "right" side is always trying to top each other with their hateful rhetoric.It reveals much about one's character.
They hurled the first stones, then go over the top with the replies.
You sound like you're six years old and in the backseat with your sister. "Mom-m-m! She touched me first!"
That is your opinion, and you're entitled to it. FYI- I'm in my 40's
It's true. I have been on these forums for about 6 weeks now and have seen the trolls turn from obvious to more like the "crypto trolls" that you describe.
Yes, and they will get even more "crypto" as time goes on because most rational people don't ---and can't--- subscribe to their ideology of dominance and suppression. Therefore they must deceive people in order to accomplish their aims. Either that or force their aims by aggression. They try both. They try every tactic in the book. When they can't convince people that poor people chose to be poor, for example, or that they should be grateful for being robbed for the rich, they will try to shame and mock them. When this tactic doesn't fly with a big enough group of haters to achieve their objectives, they will eventually realize they can't win a war of words in which any shred of their agenda is apparent. So then they will lie outright. They'll take all the knowledge they've gleaned about what the people will & won't believe, what the people do and do not want, and they'll pretend 100% to be one of them until they can pull the switcheroo. The way to tell this is to simply watch how the message changes over time, and keep tracing it back through the other messages that have been used to test our stupidity and latent hate. Keep watch on the people changing their message all the time and look back at the kinds of policies they have advocated all along. of course, we can't do this here because users will simply change their names. But I'm talking about the broader picture out there in the world. Always bear in mind that the right-wing agenda is to be and to stay dominant, and to do this they need others to dominate, so filter anything and everything they say through the question of why and how it fits that basic agenda.
Bravo :) I think you nailed it.
I also had a friend of mine send me a job ad from Crieg's list. It was for a job to write right-wing pieces for the internet.
Agreed.
Where can I buy a unicorn?
We are the 99%. We represent all people. We are not the 14% of people who think and look just like you.
Ron PauI spam is annoying, but it is just those people trying to find a way to make things better. Treating them like trash will in no way help them understand why that was is not alright.
The trolls who just say ridiculous things, and ask the same 3 questions repeatedly are different, because they are just instigators and provocateurs- so for them I agree that we should ignore them and maybe they'll go away like that hypothetical bully that you ignore. But anyone who legitimately disagrees or has solutions (even if they are terrible ideas) should be taken seriously and treated with respect.
Read the forum rules. The incessant Paul crap specifically violates the rules that we agree to in order to participate.
Read my post from yesterday. I disagree with that censorship crap.
I am a facilitator of my local Occupation, and do not support Ron PauI, but it irritates the hell out of me that people who support him are being ostracized.
I am not talking about censorship. I am talking about not encouraging people who are here simply to provoke distractions from the issues. Or who just want to incessantly shove their partisan agenda down everyone's throats.
The rules say no partisan spam. As an Independent I personally agree with that and am happy to have one small venue where partisan bullying is not considered acceptable.
As I said, I agree that there are trolls who are pointless. However, we should encourage all conversation- even and especially ideas that we do not agree with. If we don't, we are corrupt and we are incapable of learning new ideas.
Agreed.
This depends what the forum is meant for. Is it meant to be a free for all discussion on any topic, or it is meant for specific topics like Occupy. There's no reason why a forum can't be specific.
If being an Asshat was a violation, you would have been banned when you first signed up.
Grand irony in the 'delusion' line.
It's one of the reasons that I am less inclined to tolerate their free speech. They know that if they can goad people into debating their crazy ideas it makes those ideas look more legitimate than they actually are. Its the working modus operendi of Fux News. Getting legitimate credible people to appear on their shows makes their crazy staffers look more valid than they are or deserve to be seen as.
reenforced delusions occur when the group sharing the delusion are isolated
Like under a blue tarp.
You are absolutely right. We should not answer trolls. I have done this too many times. The best is to read what you want and comment on those posts that you find interesting. When you leave, be kind to the rest and take a few moments to click dislike on troll posts. This way they get closed down.
That is all that I am trying to get to with this posting. Thanks for more clearly articulating my thoughts.
Pink Floyd Final Cut (9) - The Fletcher Memorial Home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLllFMF-OkQ
The Trouble with Trolls
http://occupywallst.org/forum/forum-topics/#comment-172344
.....says the King of Libtardia and his fellow asshats.
what exactly is an asshat? How does one go about getting that job or title. Does Beyonce need or use an asshat? If so, where does that line start?
asshat: One who has their head up their ass. Thus wearing their ass as a hat. a.k.a. - aahpat
so can this be applied in the same sense as I have described above? Could I have Beyonce as my asshat? Hence, wearing her ass as a hat.
you will need to ask the King of Libtardia if this is acceptable.
well, I feel I can speak for 'em in this case....
It is unacceptable for Beyonce to deny us our right to wear her as an asshat. She has all of the ass and is not sharing it with the rest of us. Occupy Beyonce!
No no no. What you just described is a Cranial-Rectal-Inversion!
You are NOT the 99%. Middle America wants nothing to do with violent anarchists, communists, socialists, and drugged out hippies. You represent only the people within your zoo keeper fence. Quit thinking we're all behind you are here. We think you're freaks.
[Removed]
It is a myth that we live under bridges. We tend to be clean and tidy as well as educated. We tend to be treated like the Geico cavemen, but are much more intellectual than we are given credit for. We do not need to be fed. Unlike OWS, we are self sufficient and self reliant.