It is funny the things you learn while reading political blogs. The internet is really a reflection of the humanity in us. In life we cluster with those of similar interests, and we really don't want to hear disagreeable opinions.
Conservative bloggers, when on point, write about the evil of large government interference and cost; when not, they are calling the liberals names.
Liberal bloggers, when they are on point, write about the virtue of a social structure where all our needs are addressed and how much better we are with large government; when not, they too revert to ugly name calling. (see Why are Political Commentators so Mean?)
Something I should have understood long ago was political bloggers aren't writing to engage in active debate, they are just transmitting and anything that interferes with their transmission must be destroyed.
One blog I read had this link defining what a troll is, and even categorizes them. Defining Trolls They assume the opposition has an army of these trolls just waiting to disrupt the free exchange of ideas by interjecting opposing or subversive threads into the conversation.
Political bloggers are the 21st century equivalent of the town criers who would stand on the corner yelling the news of the day, not seeking truth, simply yelling what they are told to, just to a wider town. Political bloggers now educate themselves to identify and remove the offending comments before they do untold damage to the blog.
I suspect I am a bit trollish, I will occasionally interject a comment when I see something I disagree with, at least now I know why they aren't published.
3 comments:
Yup, there is no doubt that blogging is a soap box. That said, I don't think it's quite as categorical as you say. There is much output that is meant to persuade, going to great lengths to provide evidence or at least a cogent argument. One might object that it is still written for the choir, not for the one who disagrees, but the one who disagrees is always going to be a tough sell. Protestations to the contrary, most people aren't open-minded. I'm not, not really. Life experience, study and thought has led me to what I believe and contrary opinions are met with skepticism.
You are probably closer to right than I am, I like the persuasive arguments, and though I see both sides I am not often swayed to a view I don't already agree with. It just irked me when I saw this discussion on trolls and how to deal with them.
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