Goin' on a Troll Hunt!

I'm not afraid!

I deleted a troll this morning.  I gotta tellya, I LOVE the smell of trolls in the morning!  It really gets the blood moving!

What's a troll?  A person (I'm assuming personhood here for the sake of charity) who crawls around the internet looking for bloggers or writers with whom to disagree. And then they spout off fun accusations without signing their name so that the author can't respond. 

Now, the one this morning wasn't too bad, and ironically, I would have maybe let it stand if there had been a name attached.  That troll accused me of having an attitude of superiority, closed-midedness, and pride.  

Those, you understand, are the default attacks of a typical liberal. (Not the nice Liberals I addressed a couple posts ago. I'm talking about the raging liberals who are trying to stifle free speech.)  

So, let's break this apart a little:   I have an attitude of superiority.   OK, that's probably true, because of course, this is my blog. And as I write, I'm taking a certain position and creating an "argument" for that position.  But is that superiority, or simply choosing a side and sticking to it?   Hmm.....I'm sure to anyone who disagrees with me, it must look like an attitude of superiority. 

Closed-midedness:  Oh, that one is easy.  Yes. I'm closed-mided. Why?  Because I'm faithful to what the Church teaches and I'm not open to suffering fools who can't be bothered to do anything other than attack.  Buh-bye. 

Pride:  Sure.  But I'm no more prideful than a spineless troll who can't be bothered to actually say something intelligent.  Accusations are just fine, but those who fire away and run are nothing but cowards, and the root of cowardice is pride.  

We've all run into trolls. My favorite troll comment is actually still in existence on my blog;  that person (again, assuming personhood) said that they hoped I would die in a car wreck as punishment for advocating an archaic and closed-minded religion.  Oooh!  There's that word again! 

Here's the thing;  I allow anonymous comments because MOST people who visit my blog, even if they disagree with something I've said, either sign a name at the bottom of their comment or are kind enough to provide some kind of rational discourse.   A troll, however, doesn't have an argument. They simply disagree and instead of actually using the intellect God gave them, they make accusations, and because they know they're being fools, they don't sign their names. 

The reality is that the internet medium invites this kind of thing, whether we like it or not.  I actually EXPECT people to disagree with me from time to time.  However, the fact is that some people (some liberals) don't like it when someone takes a position and holds on to it.  It offends their sensibilities. No doubt these people go around forcing people to "tolerate" all sorts of things, but when someone doesn't cater to their pet ideas, they go into attack snark mode and morph into a troll in hopes someone will be chastized enough to completely reverse their position.  

The idea they could actually enter into a discussion and try to rationally make their own case apparently doesn't occur to them. Nor do they care.  It is not in the nature of a troll to understand what being "open-minded" means, for their minds are so open all the grey matter has leaked out.   It is not in the nature of a troll to be rational.  It is not in the nature of a troll to have a spine.  They must be amoebas. 

Here we don't suffer amoebas, trolls, or fools.  Those who can't disagree without going on the attack don't get to stay.  Even people who agree with me, if they attack others, also don't get to stay.  As a budding Thomist, rationality needs to rule.  

It seems that I will have to formulate my own commenting policy, although I don't know that it will really make a difference.  Trolls, what do you think?

Oh, right. You don't. You just attack.  Go ahead. I'm ready to delete you.  

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UPDATE!  I just had a COMPLETELY BRILLIANT IDEA!   However, I need someone who can photoshop to create the image.   It's a new group, not limited to Catholic bloggers, but any blogger:    TROLLBUSTERS!   Our motto?  "We're ready to delete you!"    Do I have any talented readers who would like to create the image?