I’m going to take a clip from a right-wing screed regarding so-called “America Haters” and use that as a means for understanding the mindset of those who bandy about the term “BooTrib haters.”
[…]
America and its liberty, which is the sole reason for its wealth and tolerance and compassion and safety, have been treated by the Left as another entitlement. They live in America; they enjoy the wheat, the oil, the cotton of the Heartland (aka “the colonies”) and they constantly carp about how horrible it is here.
[…]
These Leftist America-haters could get on an airplane, land and sleep in a luxury hotel, and spend their lives venting their spleen at America from someplace else. Why don’t they?
Why do they not renounce their citizenship, become citizens of France or Germany or Spain or Sweden, and live in nations that they believe are better than America? What do they insist on staying here, causing fights, cursing their countrymen, and creating misery and despair?
Now, let’s modify the above just a bit:
[…]
Booman Tribune and its frogpond community, which is the sole reason for its wealth of ideas, and tolerance and compassion, have been treated by the the BooTrib haters as another entitlement. They post and diary on BooTrib ; they enjoy the Froggybottom Cafe, the jazz jams, the thought-provoking stories and diaries and they constantly carp about how horrible it is here.
[…]
These BooTrib Haters could get on another blog, or start their own, and spend their lives venting their spleen at BooTrib and Kos from someplace else. Why don’t they?
Why do they not renounce their membership, become members of some other community that they believe are better than BooTrib? What do they insist on staying here, causing fights, cursing other BooTribbers, and creating misery and despair?
Both the America Hater screed, and my modification thereof strike me as having one thing in common: an intention to shut off dialog. Folks like me get labeled “America haters” for daring to call attention to questionable government policies. The folks that get labeled “BooTrib haters” seem to have as their main offense questioning some questionable policies of the people who run BooTrib. The message in both cases is “shut up” or “go away.”
My question would be simply the same one I’d ask to a wingnut (with of course a couple modifications): did it ever occur to you that those you dismiss as BooTrib haters actually like BooTrib and want the community to be better, that they actually care about their community?
I”m wondering, have you ever read Elaine Scarry’s “The Difficulty of Imagining Other People”? ::: cite on p. 105-106:::
…This strategy of imaginative recovery has been developed by Bertrand Russell, and more elaborately and influentially by John Rawls. Russell argued that when reading the newspaper each day we ought routinely to substitute the names of alternative countries to test whether our response to the event arises from a moral assessment of the action or instead from a set of prejudices about the country . This ethical practice, which obligates us to detach a given action from country X and reattach it to country Y, might be called “the rotation of nouns”…
Thank you for your post, Mr. Benjamin. It’s very insightful and answers a question I’ve been asking myself these past few days. I now see the answer, quite clearly, within your rotation of nouns.
Bertrand Russell was one of the great thinkers of the last century, and it’s a crime that he’s not referenced more widely.
Hmmm…sort of how I like to interchange “the Bush administration” with every mention of the “the terrorists” or Al Qaeda in Bush’s speeches. They make much more sense that way.
I had never read that before. Thanks for mentioning it. The cool thing about life is there’s always something new to learn.
It’s my pleasure to share it, I only wish it were html, or something other than a scanned image. However, it is worth reading and the price is so very right! Enjoy.
brilliant, but don’t you have some yarn to toss around or a picture of a cute pet? 😉
tsk tsk, you are a madman, aren’t you? 😉
Ran out of yarn. Got some duct tape though. 🙂
I wasn’t even aware that there were people who could be classified as “BooTrib Haters”. Maybe I don’t spend enough time combing through the diaries to pick up on this, though I do spend a fair amount of time on the site.
Considering the aggressiveness with which the Bush regime’s propaganda machine weaponizes the ignorance of the public in it’s pusuit of support for their violent agenda, it’s no surprise that the idea of questioning or challenging authority once again is being so easily conflated with hatred. All tyrannical regimes since the dawn of organized societies have rersorted to this low tactic.
Happily for me I haven’t come across this here at BooTrib. (I’m knocking on wood now, hoping I haven’t triggered the advent of that which I rejoice in being free from.)
As far as I’m concerned there are no folks that I’ve found here who could be classified as “haters”. For that I too am grateful. Regrettably, there are some who would beg to differ.
I am one who has been told by many running in the pack to take my act elsewhere or start my own blog, etc. ALMOST NEVER does any point I make in a diary become part of the discussion. Willfully ignoring and refusing dialogue but quick to put down,threaten and trash the offending diarist. That unfortunately is the BOOTRIB way at present, especially if you are not one always running with the pack.
Mr. Benjamin is right on point for me. The issue is that disagreements can be constructive if they do not descend into name calling, hurt feelings and invective hurling.
Agreements can be non constructive when they do not advance anything but merely descend into the sort of tribal love dance that too often substitutes for actual discussion of anything substantive or (dare I say) controversial to the tribal elders.
The issue also is the very real need for BooTrib to grow membership in the face of the insiders fighting to keep the site free from any and all incoming dissidence. Membership will not thrive in this environment is my opinion.
The resulting uniformity and repetition of the same people, ideas and tracts has made for a less interesting site here over time. I dared to challenge some of those insiders to lessen their grip, and noted that whatever else you might say about community blogs, they create a level of addiction for some that is impossible to ignore. Thats my opinion.
The flame wars about issues only the insiders and liberal blogaddicts could even know much about not too mention care about seem to be what is most interesting here. Its getting too self referential and insider-driven here to lead to much membership growth in the numbers Boo needs to thrive.
Boo himself helped create the environment by firing off all these cross blog missives which seem to have very little point except to start more flame wars, both inside and across the blogosphere. He should rise above it. He should take some of the tribal elders aside (via personal email) and ask them to tone down crit of newbies outsiders and others who offer dissident opinions. Insiders often practice the most insidious form of “trollism,” protected as they are by their beloved status within the community. Thats my opinion.
And yes, I did formerly cast pete richards as a young midwestern college student so you are forwarned (if you havent already read Brinnainne’s several repeated forewarnings:
nothing I write can be trusted, especially if you are a Bootrib insider. I am a liar to the core
So please. Ignore me.
What is your point?
BooTrib “insider”?
Perhaps if every one of your posts didn’t come from a place of smug superiority and you did something to earn a little trust, like say, explain why you felt it necessary to lie about who you are, people would be interested in engaging in coversation with you….just a thought.
My point is very clear. And it is made with love and caring for you. There has to be a reason we seem like Jekyll and Hyde handcuffed together in the same cell.
Maybe we were once more alike than you imagine.
I hope you complete your phd soon. Truly.
Good luck.