Mar 26, 2013 Blogs and Bloggers

Pissing Matches with Skunks

©By Vijaya Sundaram

March 26th, 2013

I made an error of judgement.

I inadvertently ended up engaging in a “pissing match with a skunk,” to invoke a vividly apt image used by someone I know well.  The skunk in question thinks it won.  In a sense, yes, it won.  Not because it was right, but because it simply stank so much, I had to leave.  How can one make someone see sense, if that person simply turns around and accuses one of something horrible?

The context was this: Someone who “followed” my blog, (and hence, curious, I “followed” his), made a controversial post.  I won’t bother going into it, because I don’t actually want to use my blog to have a controversy; I use it to write poems, stories, musings, journal entries.  I prefer to leave my deeply held beliefs out of it.  They are private. 

Unfortunately, not remembering this policy of mine, I responded to the blogger whom I follow, after waiting for a day or so, and then deciding that it was worth a shot to respond to his post.

The blogger to whose post I was responding, was gentlemanly and gracious, which I liked. Although he clung to his opinion, he welcomed that of others.  Clearly, he likes debate, and was courteous with those who disagreed vehemently with his stance.

However, along came a strange, trollish, insulting, boorish, misogynistic person, who flung insults at me about what I had posted in my response — whereupon, I replied (big mistake!) to this newcomer saying that I did not wish to engage in dialogue with someone who sought to insult me.  The next thing I know, this person says that I insulted him (possibly because I refused to be drawn into his juvenile taunting and invalid arguments.  He basically shouted at me online and because of that, he thought his remarks carried more weight and logic.  He added that I had therefore shut down the argument with my remarks, which, in his view, was “typical feminist claptrap.”

He also exulted, yes, exulted (how puerile is that?) in thinking that he had “won” the argument.

Alas, he’s not a very intelligent person, I’m afraid.  He’s someone who appears belligerent, and trolls people’s blogs, seeking to fight. 

So, yes, the insulting misogynist whose blog I don’t read and don’t follow, sort of won — because, after that, I quit following the first blogger whose work I had been responding to.  This was in part because I really didn’t like the boorish mentality of some of the people who were responding, and it wasn’t worth my while to engage in dialogue with them.

It didn’t matter to me that the skunk-troll was “winning.”  It clearly mattered to him that he “won.”

Poor, poor skunk.  Someone must have caused him great mental anguish, some woman, who probably didn’t care for his deeply hateful attitude towards their right to choose.

He has my pity.  However, I won’t go anywhere near him.  I value my right to lead a skunk-free existence.

Thanks for reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tags: insults online and the like, Other People's Blogs, pissing matches with skunks, Trolls, Unsolicited opinions