...but I have a lot of company.
A few weeks ago I took up with Montana Urban Legend over at Althouse. I don't even recall what it was, but I was suckered in by his assertion that he wasn't a partisan hack. Many frustrating posts later it was clear that, well, no, he didn't think he was a partisan hack, he just believed the exact same things that every leftist partisan hack believed.
Troop vouches for him, and that's good enough for me.
But I ain't wasting my carpal tunnels on "serious" debate with him.
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Well he does have hackish qualities but don't we all. I mean we all have our hobbyhorse to ride except for RH Hardin who rides a chicken till he gets sore. But he did make an effort to press his points and respond directly when addressed to lighten up a little. Some of these nerdy guys just get a little crazy in pressing their agenda but he actually seems like an ok dude. I even was able to get some humanity out of Cyrus. But the whole point of this was what happened yesterday. There were two active threads. One was the bar thread which was a lot of fun and the jokes and ball busting were flying. The other was the global warming nerdapalooza which was a dead as Napoleans dick. Guys like Montana revel in that shit so I say let him play in the mud and enjoy himself. I tend to cut him a break unlike more humorless sorts such as Freder or Doyle. Now those guys suck, big time.
ReplyDeleteIt always pays to extend a hand to the more crazy people you meet. Don't adopt them, but give a little help if you can. I enjoy the people who are different and don't want to control what they have to say or convince them that they are wrong. I mean really, who cares. The self-importance and douchebaggery of some of these nerds ie off the chart. A little gentle mockery might help burst their bubble ys see.
ReplyDeleteWell, yeah, the real wisdom there is "Who cares?" It's not like any of us are opinion leaders with wide spheres of influence.
ReplyDeleteBut, oh, how some of us want to be. That's a big part of the resentment and outright hostility you see directed at Althouse. She has a degree of Internet fame, and you know that kills a lot of true believers out there (on both sides of the fence).
Even worse is that she isn't even trying to wield influence (at least not that sort). The whole thing is a lark for her.
And I think that makes some of 'em even crazier. Heh.
There is a lot of that going on. What makes it worse is that it is "Hey Mom look at me" competition going on. Some of the commenters can be pretty annoying. I know that I annoy a lot of people so who am I to talk? But the long winded "expert" stuff gets old real fast for me.
ReplyDeletethe resentment and outright hostility you see directed at Althouse
ReplyDeleteThis is when I get pissed; if some troll wants to be a lefty jerk, whatevs, but I can't stand the ones who are outright rude and nasty to Althouse. (Most of them usually are clearly envious of her success as a blogger.) If I remember correctly, Doyle started out just debating, (if annoyingly) but then over time his comments became more and more just snarky and nasty stuff directed at Althouse.
Interestingly, Maxine was just sort of quirky for quite a long time before she went over the edge.
I think what happens a lot is when they are not acknowledged by the host, they start to lose it. They want an interaction with Althouse which doesn't happen often because she is really too self-absorbed to worry about what her commenters have to say. She claims that she doesn't read all of the comments and is actaully kind of uninformed about some of the personalities and quirks of her posters. For some it just drives them crazy. So they turn bad hoping to get noticed and to have some interaction. It's a recurring pattern.
ReplyDeleteI dunno about "Maxine"; I can't recall a time where her posts didn't have a stalker-esque quality to them. Not all of them, though, I guess that's what changed. There would be an occasional hint of trying to drag someone's outside life into the blog. Weird that whoever it is uses so many sock puppets that are so easily recognizable just based on the name.
ReplyDeleteInternet rudeness defines cowardice, IMO.
Troop--that way of framing it makes it seem Freudian. Like the acting out commenters are looking for mommy's attention. (Or sex.)
ReplyDeleteYou know, like trying to get the hot girl's attention at school and failing, so you act like a total jackass and then you get her attention and totally ruin any chance you ever had with her, which was zero, but then she tells you you're a nice guy but just not her type and you wanna kill yourself.
Well, that's how it happens on the Disney Channel.
There would be an occasional hint of trying to drag someone's outside life into the blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's entirely possible I was just slow to catch on. So many of her early comments were just of high-handed instruction about health-related stuff and grooming issues. After a while I skimmed them or didn't read them at all.
I know this sounds weird, but I have suspected that Maxine is not actually a woman but a transexual/transvestite. I think it's something about her obsession with styling/femininity and her avatars. I know she has a blog, but I've never read it enough to tell if my theory holds water. I find I think of her as an angry, if not violent, Jame Gumb figure, furiously talking out loud and typing away in her basement (there's more SotL for ya).
I think what happens a lot is when they are not acknowledged by the host, they start to lose it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that's a big part of it.
Maxine is almost definitely a gay man. His earlier posts were off on a tangent or whimsical or just trying to change the subject which was often times the turgid ranting of self important nerds. I thought they were great fun and pretty cool. Gradually it got more and more baroque and the lack of attention from the host started to get to her. In turn, Althouse was reacting strongly to a poster called "Mary" (among other aliases) who was a former student. That's where the personal stuff comes in. Maxine saw that and however you want to put it, decided that was the way to go to get a rise out of her.
ReplyDeleteBlake everything that happens on Althouse has a weird psycho sexual component. How else could you explain RH Hardin and his chickens?
ReplyDeleteSometimes the sexuality is out front flirting and other times it is there in the subtext but still as subtle as a kick in the balls. I think Althouse also likes to ferment this vortex by deliberately posting items with a sexualized context: Breast blogging, eating gross things for money, and of course onion ring vaginas. So the sexually charged atmosphere does lead to interesting progressions. I hope you go to the LA meet up and let me know what you think of the dynamic. I will be very very interested in your take.
ReplyDeleteTrooper, did you read Althouse for a long time without commenting? I thought you were a fairly recent addition to the community there.
ReplyDeleteYes I read for a while before commenting. I will comment in fits and starts as work permits. It's just lately what I am doing allows me to multitask and comment.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing is I have the unfortunate abiltiy to remember stuff.