Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Atheist Outcast

I got kicked off another social site......Those of you who have been around for a while probably aren't that surprised for the simple reason that it has happened so many times rather than because you figure I deserved it.
I joined the 'think atheist' site because someone who was part of it invited me. Nothing about the site was particularly impressive, it was pretty much the cookie-cut design you see on many specialized social sites. You had the small group of members who posted constantly on everything, the small group of sporadic members who would pop in once and a while when they got bored with facebook, and the huge number of members who were in the directory but had never quite figured out how to make it back to the site after that first day of registering.
I was just starting to warm up to the site, some of the members had accepted my contributions as worthwhile which got me past the silent initiation that always seems to be conducted on these types of websites.
I had listened to the podcast for think atheist and found it was not a complete waste of my time which made it worth mentioning on my own radio show/podcast (yes I do a podcast...you knew that right?) In fact I had just gave it a mention during this week's show.
I had also started posting my blog there. think atheist will not allow you to post a link to your own blog with a short description as a blog on their site. I assume this is because they want to keep you in their vicinity as much as possible, if you wonder off you may never come back.
The last blog I had posted received some positive feedback from some people who seemed to have a sense of humor, another good sign.
Then there was a comment posted to my blog from some dude named jacob. jacob was trying to answer the questions in my blog with "YOU ARE GONNA BURN IN HELL!..........UNLESS YOU LOVE JESUS" and other similar rhetoric. I know a troll when I see one so I responded with exactly the amount of respect jacob was owed. There were maybe 4 or 5 messages back and forth by the time it was done the last comment was one that informed jacob the answer, response, or opinion to anything else he posted was "Shut The Fuck Up"
I don't go around starting shit on people's blogs or on forums just for the hell of it. Some people may think that is the case but the are mistaking my honest opinion as some remark only meant to instigate anger.
I also don't put up with any moronic simpleton who thinks it's cute to dummy-up the comment section of my blog either. Whenever this happens the response is a slap which gets a bit harder each time that person continues resisting the lesson plan I have laid out.
I don't land on someone unless they have flagged me down. This prick jacob had flagged me down. I noticed he had posted a blog that proclaimed his inability to understand why everyone didn't love jesus. It was his first, and only blog, it had just been posted. For someone to post such a blog on an Atheist site indicated the 'troll' label was fitting very nicely on jacob.
I went to the blog and waded through the multiple Atheists who were trying to engage in conversation with jacob and explain to him the error of his ways. jacob would respond with more ranting about god being real because you couldn't prove it/he/she wasn't, you know, all the classic stereotypical points christians get credit for. To me jacob obviously was more bored than christian.
I posted in the comment section my suspicions that jacob was a troll and pointed out he wasn't a very good one. The comment was sarcastic but it was not overly obscene. I did not claim that jacob's mother had a dick, that his father traded blow-jobs for snickers bars or anything like that.
Before I knew it my comment had been removed. At first I thought jacob was not playing fair and had removed it himself.....then I saw an email from someone named cara.
Cara was informing me that my comment was a 'personal attack' on jacob and she was having none of it. I think it may have also contained a sentence about how cara liked to dress as wonder woman and hang out in the laundry room to make sure there were no evil-doers leaving clothes in the washer too long after the machine had stopped.
Cara also informed me that jacob was young and she had once been like him but now she was a super-atheist who had been born with a unique gene. It was called the ED gene (egotistical delusion) This mutation made cara think she was everyone's mother, only better. She also informed me that we just needed to be patient and tolerant with jacob after all he was a kid. Cara also shared with me some of her ageless wisdom such as how she had noticed religious people do not instantly agree with many of the points Atheists make and their opinions often differ. Obviously to cara these facts were monumental and little known.
Between cara considering the obvious as brilliant intellect and admitting she had been just like jacob I knew I was not dealing with an intellectual power-house, that insight turned out to be a huge understatement.
I responded to cara and informed her jacob was probably a troll, and some of the reasons I had come to that conclusion. I also pointed out even if he wasn't his interaction on the site was not what could be described as a mature exchange of opinions.
By this time several of the more astute members of think atheist were making comments which echoed what I had said to cara.
Reading the comment thread on jacobs blog was like watching a guy run around a room with a bag full of chickens while a guy in a suit sat on a chair in the middle of the room.The man in the suit was reading verses of Shakespeare, after each verse he would ask the man running around the room maniacally to explain what it meant. The man would then pull a chicken out of the bag, cut its head off and then begin running again yelling out random words as the chicken's body also ran around squirting blood instead of speaking. The man in the suit would then look down and read another verse. This scene was playing out over and over while at least one of the mods (cara) sat back and watched to make sure no one asked the crazy guy to relax or try to make sense.
Members of the think atheist site were taking turns wearing the suit. Some of the members had even gone out and bought their own suit just for this occasion.
Under other circumstances I would have said "fucking morons" out loud to myself and went back to what I was doing but the fact that I was getting shit because a couple of morons named cara and jacob were acting out pissed me off.
Then another response from cara. The condescending tone had grown stronger. For some reason she felt the need to again tell me about how she had once been religious but overcame it. The reply gave me the impression cara had a strong need to be seen as important in some way.
She again told me no one was ever allowed to be rude to anyone else at think atheist, EVER. Even if jacob was a troll she would not tolerate anyone criticizing his personality over it. Then the mother hen told me just because I didn't like what he was saying didn't mean I could be a big bully in his blog comments.
I informed cara that I didn't really give a shit about jacob's blog post, it was just a tool of the troll. What seemed a bit screwed was the fact he was coming onto my blog and posting total crap, he was intent on leading everyone on the site to god (he had said so outright) he was personally attacking people left and right (cara knew this because she had warned him already), and his profile,if true, said he was young. I can understand if you have a minor come in and be mature enough to have a productive conversation. To allow one to come in and behave as jacob was and then make excuses for him while pretending he was gonna all of the sudden reach maturity right before our eyes was just stupid.
I also informed the magistrate cara coleen that in my opinion she sucked as a moderator and her lack of ability shouldn't result in the think atheist site becoming something that resembles myspace. I informed her of the dangers of allowing trolls run unchecked and told her not to reply back to me again. I then blocked her to make sure this exercise in futility would end. I had said what I needed to say. I went to my own blog and removed some of the less tasteful comments because it was the right thing to do, I then went about my business.
I guess my words hit too close to the truth for someone because as a result I was banned from the site. I was not banned because of some public outburst, I had not posted any other comments since cara had sent me her last reply. I can only assume I was banned because some idiot who also happens to be an Atheist couldn't stand to hear an honest opinion about her. I guess she expected me to draw her a nice picture of a butterfly with the words 'yes ma'am' scribbled in the top corner as my reply.
Well fuck her and if think atheist supports her actions then fuck them too. The only reason I'm writing this is because people should be made aware of places where idiots (at least sometimes) rule so they can avoid those places if they wish.
Any social site should pick mods with thicker skin. Shit I didn't even begin to share my ability to be a dickhead with cara. A 'freethinking' site should allow free expression especially when it is in a private exchange, if they don't then all you have is a bunch of clones slapping each other on the back and telling each other how pretty and smart they are.... kinda like a church picnic.

3 comments:

  1. I agree that Think Atheist isn't great. I joined a few weeks ago, and just today deleted my account. By the way, their next podcast will be with...Phil Plait ! Accomodationists of the world, unite.

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  2. from what I'm reading, you sound like you don't like a girl telling you what to do. i saw the exchange; not really how you're describing it. but hey, there are plenty of atheist sites out there that cater to "dickheads", as you described yourself. maybe they could tell you were a dickhead? you make us all look bad, btw.

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  3. I was wondering how long it would be before the mandatory anonymous pussy would come along. And here you are! Anytime someone doesn't post their name when commenting it speaks volumes doesn't it?
    Couldn't even manage to make up a name? Wow.
    1st- You are correct (by accident I'm sure)I don't give a shit if it is a woman a man or a salami sandwich I do not like being told what to do. I'm not a pet or a slave. Is there something wrong with preferring to be spoken to and not at?
    2nd- Why would I lie? What could I stand to gain?
    3nd-I didn't say I was being a dickhead, I said I COULD be a dickhead.
    4rd- My purpose in life is not to make you or anyone else look good. And even though I am flattered you rely on me to make you look good. I would suggest you work harder cause I'm not sure even with my talent and best effort I could manage it.
    I think that about covers it. I hope someday you can find the testicular fortitude to stand behind your comments it really would do wonders for your credibility.

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