Scene 1
enter PZ Myers:
"It's hard to think of something to say when faced with so much bullshit"
That is how PZ opens in a conversation with TheSkepticalHeretic, C0nc0rdance & TheTruePooka which can be found here.
Hello??? HELLO!!?? Has anyone seen Stephanie Zvan?! She needs to get on this right away! It's clear all PZ can do is say the word "bullshit" when people try to have a conversation with him. Stephanie, get on that right away and please tell us all the made up reasons why it's okay for PZ to do that kind of thing but not anyone else. You know the context, or the alignment of the planets being different, or it was a joke.....right?
People are depending on you Stephanie. You are the best qualified to make up excuses and pretend like there are legit reasons for people like PZ doing the EXACT same thing you have been criticizing others for . No one else has your kind of experience at it. In fact the way you deny reality and act like you are royalty while barking orders at the peasants (readers) is legendary (in your own mind). The way you actually think no one sees through your rhetoric is laughable (in everyone else's mind). Keep that in mind when you can't be consistent Stephanie, people are laughing at you, especially when you get angry. No one is frightened and no one is really listening. The people in your comment section would agree with anything you say. Is that the kind of writer you want to be Stephanie? No amount of denial can change the facts, you are only fooling yourself. Latest example When Damion Reinhardt talks about the word "renounce" he never claims a different definition than you use, he just says it reminds him of another instance he considers similar.
On a more serious note- Be honest, do you have a wheel next to your desk that gets a spin whenever this kinda shit happens? Ok , maybe that's going too far. It's a dartboard then?
This performance by PZ is full of hypocrisy and lies that seem almost like they are tangible. In fact I feel the need to wipe the crap PZ is spewing off me at times. At one point in the discussion PZ talks about shutting down dissent to a volume he can manage. Just as we see so often from people like Stephanie Zvan and Ophelia Benson, he makes comments about things and people that are untrue and then complains about the continuous repetitive comments from readers. He shows no ability to consider that he may be even a little responsible for creating the very problem he is complaining about, not to mention the reaction he gets from the other member of the conversation. I half expected red lights and sirens to go off followed by Greg Laden busting in with his arms flailing and yelling "DANGER PZ! DANGER!" (Greg doesn't get out much)
Even though PZ starts out the conversation so (dis)respectfully, the hosts of the show remain composed and voice their opinions on his opinion. Then PZ does something even more disrespectful, (the nerve!) he treats every single one of these guys as if they are idiots. PZ sits there staring into the camera and lies to every one of them. There can be no question about his deliberate deception, not by any reasonable coherent adult human."If someone disagrees with me, that doesn't get them banned" Well yes, sometimes it does PZ. I can say this from experience. I disagreed with PZ calling me a racist. When I didn't use an approved style of reply he simply banned me started giving me different labels and claimed my reaction to his lies was proof he was correct. PZ is too damn dumb to see how he started the entire conflict by claiming knowledge when he had none whatsoever.
What PZ describes as "yammering" by people who "have nothing to say" is often people with real points of disagreement, valid arguments against what PZ has said. Some are people who have been banned because they disagreed with the way PZ describes their character. PZ loves to add insult to injury I guess by basically sending the message that he knows them better than they know themselves. The assumption is that he is always correct, just like believers who think they already know all the answers. Especially when it comes to social issues. Like I've mentioned before, anyone with basic common sense should be able to understand the complexity of social interaction. Maybe you won't understand the details but you can still realize it is complex. Unless you are PZ Myers and you think the things people type in chat rooms translate into real world actions on a consistent basis.
C0nc0rdance makes the point that people are trying to be heard and PZ dismisses his point too. PZ denies anyone has a right to be heard on his blog except him. He uses this point to excuse his censorship of anyone who says anything he disagrees with. The way PZ rationalizes his censorship is by equating every 'troll' to creationists who claim the earth is 6000 years old.
It is kinda tough to even present all the things wrong with PZ's position in this video, I just don't have the time to cover it all. I would suggest you watch it yourself. While I appreciate the people who organized this conversation I really wish they would have done a better job pointing out the way PZ misrepresented his own actions.
There is no doubt a certain number of you are going to read this and say to yourself --Big surprise, what did you expect from PZ Myers? Don't get me wrong this is exactly the kind of thing I expect of PZ. If it had gone down any differently, then I would have been surprised. More and more people are beginning to realize Pharyngula is a joke most of the time. Just look at the comment section and the kind of crap that goes on there. It's a hub of egotistical idiocy. It's a bunch of morons who couldn't figure out how to use a stamp if you gave them directions, under the delusion they are intelligent and intimidating. Maybe one day they will come to realize what clowns they look like but I wouldn't count on it. PZ complains about his comment section getting all screwed up if he allows just any every person in the world to post on it. Well there are plenty of blogs out there with little moderation doing just fine. I wonder why PZ has such issues? Hmmm let's guess.
Take a look at the quality of the comment section. While you are at it count how many times that dysfunctional Caine insults or belittles someone. (and they call me angry?)
Just because I expect PZ to act like a dickhead and lie doesn't mean he gets away without me saying anything about it. He claims he doesn't care but that is just because he is too stupid to realize the amount of truthful accounts/opinions showing him for the dick he is, grows everyday. I'm doing my part to help. Pretty soon he is going to be known for what harm he has done rather than for anything he has done to help. It's a good thing he doesn't value what anyone thinks of him but if he doesn't care about others or the damage he has done why does he even bother in the first place? Doesn't he know the truth always wins?
Used to think his blog was good, but it has degenerated to the point that I can't even peruse it aside from gleaning what the atheism+ crowd is whining about now. So much damage to atheism.
ReplyDeleteAlong with many many others, i never visit his blog anymore. Before all this rubbish started it was becoming a rare event anyway & i wonder if i didn't already know (deep down) that it was just so much B.S? My current thinking on this is that A+ is dead (or as good as) & the rest of them are welcome to whoever they can still find that'll agree with them. One look at the recent numbers of visits to Myers's blog tells anyone who's interested that this has already come back to bite him on the Ass. He gets the same amount of visitors now as he did in 2006, he's managed to alienate so many people that his blog's a shadow of it's former self. Even he can't honestly see that as "Success"!
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought you were talking about Reaps blog... But then I realised it was unlikely you ever thought it was good. It is certainly true that Reaps blog is all about FtBs/Skepchick now. He is doing their work for them nicely.
ReplyDeleteThere is the odd post on Pharyngula that is about feminism or social justice... You can always ignore them! Just had a look at the front page - 10 posts above the fold - 2 about sexism - 1 a post from Skepchick about atheists should care about poverty. So at most 3/10. Must be terrible having to browse past and ignore a few posts on social justice and feminist issues, I can see why you avoid it now!
It's a shame. I do generally like his science posts, but anything to do with blog politics or administration, like how others have imposed authoritarian codes on blogs to supposedly good effect will always have some slant given to them to poke and prod those who are opposed to him. People say that you're obsessed with him, but if you look through the thin veneer of insouciance, it's very easy to tell that Myers is also obsessed with those opposed to him.
ReplyDeleteBut even within his science posts though, the fact that he exercises the same type of disdain and dismissal of topics he doesn't understand, like systems biology, always pissed me off. This is a person in charge of shaping the minds of the future, just blowing off and insulting critical disciplines that he personally doesn't see value in. I guess this is the danger of over-achievement--the Chauncey Gardiner effect. Way the hell too many people are listening to this jerk and mindlessly nodding in agreement.