Tuesday, November 28, 2006

How to lose an argument

I continue to be a fuckwit magnet on YouTube. Lucky, lucky me. I'm glad I was already a cynical misanthrope because exposure to these cretins surely would have destroyed any sunny disposition I may have had. The majority of inbred freaks still flock around my anti-nazi videos but they crop up all over the place from time to time.

The only thing that keeps me sane is treating them all like the pathetic jokes they are. If I thought these freaks were really representative of humanity I'd have to take drastic action. As it is, insulting them and taunting them is enough fun for me. It's flattering their bleating to call it an argument but they do fall into some of the classic "bad argument" traps.

My favourite is when they tell you what you HAVE to think in response to them or what you HAVE to do because of how they perceive you. Most people (myself included) at least occasionally fall into the trap of saying to someone "You have to admit that..." Usually this is just lazy misuse of language (the intended meaning is more like "do you see my point?") but some of these freaks get really insistent. They really really think I HAVE TO CONFORM to what they say. They get well miffed when my response is to laugh at them.

The other frequent habit of the nazis that cracks me up is their apparent view that I should care what they think. They tell me they hate me in a way that suggests I should be upset by this. They really don't seem to understand that being respected by such contemptible low-life would actually be a bad thing. I'd know I was doing something wrong if I actually had nazis on my side.

Then there are the common or garden variety haters. I don't know what it is about the internet that makes people act like utter fucking morons but people's character flaws seem to magnify online. I actually think the root cause is the feeling that people won't have to answer for what they do. In many cases, people are absolutely wrong when they think this way about their online "exploits" but this illusion of invulnerability is doubtless a big part of what makes people act in such an anti-social way. Their behaviour is ten times more aggressive than anything they'd dare in real life because they think they'll never have to answer for what they do.

I'll indulge in a little armchair psychology here and put forward the theory that a lot of these people really aren't very happy in their lives. It seems as though they'll feel better about themselves if they drag someone else down so their attacks tend to be rather arbitrary and nonsensical. They don't want to actually reach anyone in any meaningful way, they simply want to hurt for the sake of hurting. God help you if you have anything that makes you different, any apparent disability or exhibit any sign of weakness or frailty. Because I've seen these evil fuckers really rip into some vulnerable people.

Which leads me to wonder why the fuck they waste this effort on me. They launch really pointless attacks on me ("you're not funny," "that mask is stupid," "all Australians are dumb,") and they seem to genuinely believe they're going to upset me. Sometimes I point out to them the obvious flaw in their approach. Look at my videos, listen to the way I talk, read what I write.

What is there in all of that that leads you to believe you could possibly get to me you pathetic fucking loser?

No comments: