How Not To Win Friends and Influence People
July 17th, 2005 at 8:00 am by Preston Taylor HolmesGot an e-mail recently from European surrender-socialist troll Chris (see his list of comments here). He sent a rather polite and reasonable e-mail suggesting that perhaps we could find some common ground. From his e-mail:
Thanks for the name-check on the homepage, infamy at last!
Sorry to email you, but I don’t seem to be able to comment on your blog any more – how strange. Ah well, it’s your ball you can decide who plays, fair enough.
No need for thanks, I love givin’ shout-outs to my euro-homies. And true, he did get banned rather quickly, but I wasn’t in the mood for terrorist-apologist trolls, and I’m still not.
Who knows we both may be a little less caricatured than simply ‘bed-wetting leftist’ and ‘right-wing redneck’.
Perhaps, but labels make it easier for us to characterize each other.
Here’s the problem with the whole “finer dialogue” thing. When Chris wandered in, his first comment was that the post was “a lot of nonsense,” followed up by calling me a “sad little man” and assaulting my writing skills.
If Chris had wanted to engage in some kind of give-and-take, he could have taken a less combative approach from the start. Calling our troops a “Christian occupying force” and suggesting that they’re dropping “Christian Bombs,” didn’t help Chris’ credibility. We are not in the middle of a war for the survival of civilization because Christians have gone on a muderous rampage and are trying to drag the modern world back to 23 A.D. Christians aren’t beheading hostages. Christians aren’t intentionally blowing up groups of Iraqi children.
If you follow the comment thread, you’ll see that Chris has a little bit of trouble keeping up, but I still believe that’s due to his spending too much time in the cafes of Amsterdam that afternoon. So, Chris, if you’re wondering why I haven’t written back, it’s just that we got off on the wrong foot – and I just don’t have the time, energy or interest to try to get back on the right foot.
If you’d like to share your brilliant analysis of how islamists murdering children is justified due to some historical context, start your own blog. I’m sure you’ll be able to find plenty of others who will share in your moral equivalence and will join with you in celebrating the deaths of American and British civilians as some sort of karmic retribution.
July 17th, 2005 at 1:17 pm
I have to comment on this. I have come to the conclusion that Preston, himself, is the troll or he has a shill. How else could he have such perfect responses to the “trolls” that post?
July 17th, 2005 at 3:13 pm
Dude, your comments to Chris had me aspirating my sugar-free Kool-Aide.
Canuck, you probably shouldn’t ask Chris too many questions. He’s currently stumbling in and out of hashish bars in Amsterdam. That’s why his brain swirls in a fog of moral relativism.
Let me just point out that Preston Jr. crapped his pants earlier today. I suppose we should add that to the list of reasons that the Islamofascists are trying to drag modern Western civilization back to the 7th century. That’s as relevant as you bringing up Pinochet’s regime in Chile.
Brilliant. Is this “Creative Writing for Pacifists 101 at Pellissippi State Community College” available online or in a correspondance course?
July 17th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
Susie,
You give me too much credit. I can assure you that Chris was legit – I checked his IP and server which verified that he was indeed in The Netherlands. Don’t know if it was Amsterdam, but close enough. The other emotionally overwrought dingbat in the comment thread was from Finland according to her IP/server.
And thanks Feisty. I dropped out of that class after one visit. They wanted me to pay something called “tuition”.
Not feeling a Sunday Night Poll again tonight. Sorry. Inspiration has been lacking.
PTH
July 18th, 2005 at 8:40 am
Preston, I didn’t really think you had a shill or posed as your own trolls. You just have an excellent way of responding to trolls.
July 18th, 2005 at 11:28 am
Well, you’re wrong, Susie. I AM Preston’s shill.
He really should start paying me.
July 18th, 2005 at 12:04 pm
I KNEW it!!!
And yes, Eric, you should be getting paid.
July 18th, 2005 at 12:38 pm
You two need to get a room.
July 18th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
Only if you join us.
July 18th, 2005 at 2:56 pm
I want in on this!