American Power, Moderation, and me

Reply to American Power: Moderating Comments

The thing of it is, having you moderate, shut down, shut up, or in any way change what you've been doing, has never been my intent.

I mean, I'm not perfectly behaved by a long-shot, but neither am I particularly abusive, either in language or in tone. When you post something, I reply to what you and/or your readership says, pretty much like any other person who comments here. The only difference I can see is, I don't stroke your ego, and don't expect a Donnie-treat ("You're so right (to agree with my every word). Thanks for posting!!") and a pat on the head in reply.

I don't wish to keep you quiet; I just wish to respond to that neocon/con/"traditionalist" vision of the world with a different perspective, and that's pretty much all I do when I comment here. While I haven't ever done a count, I'd guess that my comment frequency is not all that different from that of some of your other regulars, though I will admit that there have been particular posts where I've ended up in discussions with three or four people simultaneously, and am answering each of their comments with one of my own. On the other hand, there have also been posts where I haven't commented at all, so it all evens out...

While you claim to get e-mails from secret admirers expressing disgust for my wanton ways, one or two of your fellow conservatives have said publicly (some on this blog even, though I'll be damned if I can find any of them now) that they don't understand why you so dislike me. They think I'm as wrong as you do, but they don't see where I'm particularly mean or abusive like you claim I am. With a few exceptions (mostly return blows, rather than first strikes), I can agree with that assessment (except about that "being wrong" part, of course... 8>)

I understand that you prefer to see me as "one fruity yet obssessed, generally abusive moral relativist with an unhealthy addiction to trolling for 'gotchas' who has been commenting here", but I don't see what I do to you as being all that different from what you do yourself to other bloggers. The only difference between us is, I'm more apt to do it right here on your own blog, rather than cutting the lines to which I wish to reply from this "offending" blog, then scurrying back to my own & pasting it in, sharing my observations with my ideological peers, rather than you, the person who said the thing with which I so disagree. I have little interest in pats on the back or "a million hits" (Rule 3, is it?); I'm looking for a conversation and an exchange of ideas, and I've no problem walking into the lion's den to find it.

My American Nihilist blog is closer to what you do yourself, dealing with you & other bloggers and certain socio-political celebs with whom we disagree from afar, by link and quote. That place is built around your penchant for a particular word--rendered almost meaningless through misuse and inane repetition--that you fire off at commenter and far-off blogger or politico alike. Our blogroll is nothing more than a list of folks with blogs that you've called a "nihilist," for any reason or none, in the last 6-8 months. And like Doctor Biobrain commented at an AmNi post, I'm starting to wonder too, whether "it won't turn out that EVERYONE is a nihilist; excepting, of course, Associate Professor Donald Douglas, who is the one man of true principle in this world.", at least, if one were to ask you, anyway.

In any case, my point is, I bear you little ill will, and I certainly don't want to stop you from blogging. I would prefer that you take off the blinders and try to see the world (or at least one little tiny part of it) from another perspective, but I really don't expect you ever will. If you do, great. If not, you continue to serve as a bad example. Either way, I'm not attacking you, at least most of the time... I'm just commenting on your blog (and now, given your moderation & threats of mass deletions once you turn the moderation off, here, as well.) I'm sorry that my doing so so offends you, but I'd imagine that those you "hammer" and attempt to "take down" (assuming that they notice, given that you tend to do these things somewhat out of their sight) feel pretty much the same way about you...

The real problem is, you got caught with your proverbial pants down with that comment about gay marriage, bestiality, and the conservative penchant for linking the two, and alot of people saw your Superman underoos, and wanted to compliment you on how well you wear them. (Pam's blog is fairly large itself, and even from there, the story was caught by one or two liberal blog aggregators, spreading it yet wider.) I wouldn't like it if it happened to me, either... ...but then, I didn't make the foolish comment; I only replied to it.

Sent for approval February 27, 2009 12:54 AM (AmPow Blog Time)