No one cooks an omelette without cracking an egg.
No one starts a blog on political economy thinking they will keep everyone happy.
No one writes such a blog for nearly 20 years and expects everyone to agree with all that they say.
No one makes proposals of the sort I do and thinks they won't upset somebody, sometimes.
No one undertakes this task for that long without having, necessarily, to create a reasonably thick skin.
Take it as read, I know all these things.
If, however, you feel compelled to write to me saying:
- I'm a dismal failure despite nearly 1,000,000 people reading this blog last month.
- I am utterly clueless, even though there is quite a lot of evidence to the contrary.
- The whole world ignores me, even though you felt compelled not to do so.
- I am a c**t, a t**t, or some other such description that you think it appropriate to use.
- I am suffering a mental breakdown and I'm in need of serious medical help.
- Or, something else that you think is ingeniously offensive.
then please do note that the spam button on this blog, the blocking mechanism here, and the spam button on my email account all exist for a reason.
I recognise you have an opinion.
I recognise that you have the right to express your opinion.
I appreciate that it is unlikely that anything I say will change your mind.
I recognise that you do not need to do so.
That's what people who are interested in democratic campaigning do.
They recognise and accept difference, and try to win support for their view by the persistence and quality of their campaigning.
That has always been my goal here.
But if you do not share that approach and prefer abuse and threats, do not expect me to engage. I really do have better things to do than talk to you in that case.
And also note that you really are just wasting your time because, with 20 years of experience, I really am very good at spotting abuse very quickly, without having to read almost any of it, because those offering it are usually so staggeringly unoriginal, meaning I can hit the appropriate delete button, almost instantaneously.
I just thought I should let you know, because I am a generous sort of chap.
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Buy me a coffee!
Maybe the following can be applied to such people making these comments (although they may not be from actual people).
In an episode of Red Dwarf, Arnold Rimmer said this (or something very close to it), ‘We all have something to bring to this conversation, what you should bring is silence!’
Craig
🙂
Important to spot ad hominem attacks they can be deadly. In China a lot of people lost their lives in the Tianamen Square Massacre and elsewhere on the basis of conservative Marxists (who were frightened of losing their positions after seeing the rise of Solidarity in Poland and similar in Hungary) using the ad hominem against their opponents of “they haven’t read enough of the works of Marx and Lenin”! Another sort ad hominem attack is the tacit assumption/belief it can only be the case that the country’s money supply grows on rich people anybody else who thinks otherwise is an idiot!
I often wondered how a person could read or hear about an idea like the politics of care, for example, or any sort of proposal that things can be done better, and opposed it to the point they are compelled to personally attack the person behind them. How could they fight for a system that hates them? Then I read War for Eternity, by Benjamin R. Teitelbaum. There is an entire other belief system out their, an ideological view of the world that people hold that is alien to me. The book made me understand this, and realise you can’t get through to these people. You can only strive to make things better for as many people as possible, so that the crazy, burn it all down, spiritual warriors, or whatever, don’t get heard as much. My point is, block away, they can’t be reached because they are listening to their own tune.
Accepted
Sad, but true.
I don’t get much time to read your blog on a daily basis, but I do make time to watch your YouTube vid each day. Since I started a few months ago, the following on your channel has gone up by 70,000, this is an indicator, that firstly there is receptiveness & need for what you speak, and secondly because you reflect what people experience and your solutions are genuine.
You already know this, but you are and continue to be a banner for people to stand behind, and your daily wisdom offers continual hope for a better future. Thank you Richard.
Thanks, Matthew
Appreciated
On a personal level there are a few people who I disagree with – not you Richard, but who I can respect as they have a considered opinion expressed clearly and rationally
Shock Horror Probe, make the argument well enough and I could even be convinced
But what I wonder is it that motivates the real trolls? Fear? or are they paid?
Who knows. Almost none use a real name, of course.
Some Trolls are paid. The Far Right realised that politics is up-stream of culture, so they put effort into shifting the culture. There are Troll farms all over the world, many in Russia. It’s why films and TV started be called Woke. The massive backlash against the last star wars films was part of the culture war. Many attacks were against it’s female protagonist for a reason (films were still bad though…) There are of course plenty of trolls chasing money from the attention economy, driving negativity for engagement. I really don’t understand those who do it just because they are jerks. Whatever the Troll, it’s best they are blocked. They can’t push a narrative if they aren’t seen, and they can’t scream censorship on a privately owned blog.
I think that many of these ‘trolls’ are running scared of the realisation of the impotence and irrelevance of their lives and are caught in the ‘destruction is a form of creativity’ loop.
Had we a better education system that found and nurtured their ‘niche’ then most of these people wouldn’t be in the joyless pit that they are.
I have struggled most of today with 1) a computer crash, 2) no sound on the computer and 3) a complete and utter sense of humour failure.
Of course I had a standby computer, but this was not set up, so my sense of humour failure became overwhelming — so, of all the ‘defects’ that others blame on me (old age/not raised in the days – daze – of computers – these defects, as follows, are the ones I blame on myself – taken from your list (as edited by me)–
I’m a dismal failure despite – I’m not sure what.
I am utterly clueless, even though there is quite a lot of evidence to the contrary — I had quite a good education – and possibly qualification.
The whole world ignores me — I wish —
I am suffering a mental breakdown and I’m in need of serious medical help – – but a cup of coffee will suffice – of course accompanied by my choice of music.
Or, something else that you think is ingeniously offensive – or not as the case may be!.
sorry about this – if only I had been born in the age of the computer – tomorrow may be better?
who needs trolls??
when – if and when I get the new computer into this century, do I need to re-register with you? I would hate to be taken for a troll – meanwhile KUTGW!
If you can transfer your data from your old computer to a new one then all registrations should stay in place. At least that’s my experience. Good luck!
It’s your blog Richard, you should block what you will of the nonsense and nastiness. It is sad that you should have to deal with it.
I don’t intend to be frivolous, but I wish we had another name for trolls, the originals being sinister creatures native to Scandinavia and having the fortunate quality of turning to stone if touched by daylight.
An Internet troll has nothing to do with rocky horrors who live under bridges…
Trolling is what fishermen call the practice of trailing a lure or baited hook behind a slowly moving boat to catch fish. The intention is to divert internet discussion away from the OP’s debating point – to capture the thread.
Which is why Richard’s awareness and policy works so well, for which we are all grateful.
Thanks