Ruminations: A Letter To A Liberal

To those who read this blog regularly, a bit of explanation. This is a response I promised to someone on a political forum. I don't normally post such a direct response here, but it's long, and I want some links and formatting. And yes, yes, I know... "don't feed the bears". I find myself in the mood for a little expounding. And some of this may help someone elsewhere. First I respond to his recent conduct, then to his original "request". As usual, his name is withheld.

Well.*****,

Having seen you express such obvious distress at my choice to meet prior commitments before setting aside a valuable slice of my life to respond to you, a complete stranger, I find I have a little time right now. Enough for this, anyway. You've received your response already, but your recent comments indicate that you haven't yet comprehended it, so I'll elaborate. And rest assured that it is squarely a political point, and quite on-topic for this group. I'm also posting outside of the group, so the one person who can't normally see my statements may view them.

******, we have a free society. With a free society comes the ability to choose our actions. Each of us, individually, have that right. You have chosen to use that freedom to belittle others and make demands of them. These are demands, of course, that no one is obligated to meet, nor have they in every case been reasonable. For instance, you've attempted to discard the first-hand observations of a reputable military expert for not having political qualifications that you yourself could not hope to meet. You have attempted to manipulate and control the conversation rather than participate in it. These are the generally accepted tactics of your standard garden-variety Internet "troll", and you've done us the favor of letting slip that little bit of self-identification.

(For those that are unaware of the term, it's defined here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) Decide for yourselves whether it's appropriate.)

Of course we all know that a civil discourse assumes an honest attempt from all parties. But that's not what we're getting from you. So at no point has this conversation ever been about convincing you of anything. As that same military expert well pointed out, that is futile. You don't see politics as being about what is best for the People. In common with the very worst sort of Leftist, you see it as "winning" and "losing", and you wish to "win" by any means possible; and to hell with the public good.

Not content to merely advocate control of the public lives of the people around you through "Socialist" politics, you have demonstrated through your actions the very worst sort of attempts to control their private lives through incessant demands to stop what they're doing and pay attention to you, to meet your needs and your desires... and if people don't cater to your whims, then they are arrogant egotists! How dare they not pay attention to you? Don't they know it's all about you, you YOU?

Is it a wonder that people might find that distasteful?

This is reflected in the political stance which you also publicly profess. Of course, as a troll, what you actually believe is anybody's guess. But your demeanor perfectly illustrates extreme Socialism. If I'm in office, how much power can I have? If I'm voting, who will buy my vote? How much will the government give me? Who can they steal it from? Who's got the stuff I want? Who can I control? Of course, it's not "stealing" when you want it to happen, though of course, it is. And if people would rather give of their own accord, to charities of their choosing, then who are they to do that? The government should handle it. That brand of Socialism is an exercise in the manipulation of selfishness by those who pander to it. Does it work? Certainly... right up until the point where the people see it for what it is.

Of course, we all act out our politics. Many of my friends across the political spectrum disagree with me politically, many others agree. Some who disagree with me live under Socialist governments and quite like it. I'm glad that they do... groups of people should be able to choose the form of government they like the best, and government should be local enough and small enough to allow that to happen for the maximum number of people. In your posts... in the way you "act out", there's a glimpse of the government that you would give us. We get to see it through the microcosm of your own actions.

I am quite content to watch you do what you do and simply point it out, letting people form their own opinions. After all, public discourse involves even those who haven't raised a voice in the conversation. That's a reflection of my politics. I know that each person has individual civil liberties that are inviolate and may not be encroached upon: that they are personally empowered to cast aside attempted impositions upon those rights by even the most petty tyrant.

You have the right to speak. But your right to speak doesn't impress upon anyone else an onus to listen, or to give you credence. By all means, speak all you want. If you think you've made a "point" and it's clearly obvious that you've negated it yourself through blatantly faulty logic, or demeanor that renders your perceived victory most impotent, then what is the need to respond? You are your own worst enemy.

Don't think your rather transparent attempts to re-define civil discourse as the stroking of your ego and capitulation to your way of thinking has gone unnoticed. Genuine civil discourse has always included the honest discussion of genuinely diverse ideas and sincere differences of opinion... even those that are irreconcilable. To meet those ideas with one abuse after another does not reflect poorly on the person who expressed the idea in the first place.

And with that said, the remainder of this blog is not addressed to you.

Come to think of it, this part isn't really addressed to you, either. It's addressed to the people who don't yet know what you are, and how to derail your perfectly splendid little ego-fest. They're the ones worth writing for.

Folks... he's a troll. Trolls are pathological bullies. Ignore him, block him, whatever. He's waiting for it. It happens wherever he goes, eventually. In addition to being pathological bullies, trolls are professional victims. All of that pain and offense? Feigned. Poor little baby. Everybody's picking on him. It's just so unfair. And it's so practiced. Don't take my word for it. Read what he writes. Pay attention to what he does. Look at his pattern of behavior. See it for yourself.

Aesop knew his kind well:

Click to read "The Ass in the Lion's Skin" by Aesop

So Why Are We Here?

I have one person on Facebook blocked. Of all the millions of people on Facebook, I've blocked exactly one. Of course, he's a political Leftist, and of course it's in the same forum as ******. Of course, given what I've written above, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that the reaction was as if I'd shot a baby in the face. Heavens to Murgatroyd! I'm not paying attention to a troll! I'm so horrible! But I did state why on the forum, and said I'd follow up with a full explanation on my blog.