[Noisebridge-discuss] Feeding the trolls

Mitchel McAllister xonimmortal at yahoo.com
Sun Sep 30 05:39:40 UTC 2012


--- On Sat, 9/29/12, Ever Falling <everfalling at gmail.com> wrote:



>> If the troller was pursuing a softcore patriarchal agenda, then calling them out seems appropriate.


>Why? That merely gives them attention which is the primary goal of a troll. Hence the phrase "don't feed the trolls".


When Westboro Baptist 
Church started their homophobic agenda, the gay community was told 
"Don't pay attention to them, they'll just go away."  You can see how 
well that worked.

But when WBC started picketing the funerals of 
soldiers, synagogues, and other "normal" organizations, suddenly 
ignoring them wasn't an option.

I got the same advice when one person tried to toss me out on two occasions, citing alleged complaints from alleged members. "Just ignore him."

Personally, I feel that calling 
people who engage in oppressive and denigrating behavior "trolls" only 
minimizes the appropriate reaction of those being oppressed or 
denigrated, or those who empathize with them. Ignoring someone whose behavior oppresses or denigrates others in the space only gives them permission to continue, by removing the consequences for their actions.

Using that term 
doesn't just apply to the "troll" him- or herself. It spreads to the 
entire situation, and treats the entire situation as a joke. Jokes are 
funny. They are not serious. The outcomes of jokes are funny - even when
 someone is hurt. "don't take it serious" turns into "your feelings on 
the matter aren't serious."

Currently, there are a lot of people 
feeling unsafe at, or excluded from, Noisebridge due to the constant 
denigrating from certain people. One person is constantly being targeted
 because of his medical condition. Others are experiencing frequent 
interruptions and disruptions, no matter what they are doing, because 
one person is trying to tell them what they can or cannot work on, or 
trying to press-gang them into doing what he says. Anyone who happens to be homeless at the moment is lumped in with "those people" (when at least three of the people sleeping at the space are not, in fact, homeless at all).  I've heard numerous comments about "the druggies", but alcohol and pot use is carefully excluded from that (two of the people accused are, in fact, on prescribed medications, not illicit drugs).

But this is a 
taboo subject. Standing up to oppressive behavior isn't "being 
excellent" to the oppressive party. Standing up to negative behavior is 
being oppressive to the person acting out. Holding people accountable for their behavior is oppressive, and cause-and-effect are myths inflicted on the working class by the gubbermint.

That's sarcasm, by the way, not permission to continue such behavior or attitudes. I can't give that kind of permission, but I can't remove it either. 

- Reverend Mik


    “It’s more than that,” I shrugged. “Some people, when
embracing a new perspective, or in this case dogma, go whole-hog. I really
dislike that kind of monochrome thinking.”

    “Monochrome?” Wilson asked, looking up from his drafting
board.

    “Everything is black or white,” I told him. “That’s lazy
thinking. And very prone to bigotry of all kinds. Not every round cylindrical
object is a phallic symbol, and not every effort to organize things is an
attempt to oppress the working class.”- Wizard's Callwww.prismandink.com




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