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Showing Original Post only (View all)Misogynist Trolls Have An Agenda, And It’s Not Lulz [View all]
Id like to recommend a couple of interesting pieces by Paul Mason and Lindy West, who have a point that I think bears stressing: Trolls are real people and they have an agenda outside of some vague need for attention. They are misogynists, and as I said during the CONvergence panel on this subject, its important to understand that misogynists believe they are in the right. Indeed, they are incredibly dogged and self-righteous, as Mason found out when he first decided to explore online misogynythey get really mad when you do this, by the way, because part of their self-righteous worldview includes a belief that they should be able to push their agenda without being examined or questioned too closely.
...
Of course, Mason interviews the guys who claim theyre just in it for the lulz and discovers to no ones great surprise that actually, these trolls have deep hatred and resentment of women and actually do take the mission to silence women very, very seriously. They just cant quite admit that to themselves, because part of the identity of the misogynist is to deny that he is a misogynisthe loves women as long as they know they are subhuman sex/reproduction appliances put here to serve, so how can he hate women?!so the amount of rationalization that goes on is astounding.
...
The seething rage on display from so many men (and their female supporters) all the time on the internet is educational; it makes it much harder to hand wave and pretend that rape and sexual harassment are a matter of miscommunication, that anti-choice sentiment is a result of some kind of affection for life, and that womens failure to reach economic and social equality is a matter of womens failures instead of widespread sentiment that women dont deserve said equality. Seeing the livid rage of devoted Republican voters at the very existence of independent women sharing their thoughts and opinions online makes it very difficult indeed to see Republican policies that hurt women as being merely coincidental. So this shit matters.
..
West is right; its time to stop thinking of trolls as idiots who are just seeking attention, and see them for what they are: Misogynists with a political agenda. These are men that absolutely do not want to live in a society where women are treated equally, and they are obsessed with silencing the women online whose writings they rightfully fear are going to help push society in a more feminist direction. They want to harass feminists into silence. If we keep this understanding front and center and discard useless theories about attention-seeking or lulz, we can begin to have a more productive conversation about what the hell to do about the problem.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/01/misogynist-trolls-have-an-agenda-and-its-not-lulz/
...
Of course, Mason interviews the guys who claim theyre just in it for the lulz and discovers to no ones great surprise that actually, these trolls have deep hatred and resentment of women and actually do take the mission to silence women very, very seriously. They just cant quite admit that to themselves, because part of the identity of the misogynist is to deny that he is a misogynisthe loves women as long as they know they are subhuman sex/reproduction appliances put here to serve, so how can he hate women?!so the amount of rationalization that goes on is astounding.
...
The seething rage on display from so many men (and their female supporters) all the time on the internet is educational; it makes it much harder to hand wave and pretend that rape and sexual harassment are a matter of miscommunication, that anti-choice sentiment is a result of some kind of affection for life, and that womens failure to reach economic and social equality is a matter of womens failures instead of widespread sentiment that women dont deserve said equality. Seeing the livid rage of devoted Republican voters at the very existence of independent women sharing their thoughts and opinions online makes it very difficult indeed to see Republican policies that hurt women as being merely coincidental. So this shit matters.
..
West is right; its time to stop thinking of trolls as idiots who are just seeking attention, and see them for what they are: Misogynists with a political agenda. These are men that absolutely do not want to live in a society where women are treated equally, and they are obsessed with silencing the women online whose writings they rightfully fear are going to help push society in a more feminist direction. They want to harass feminists into silence. If we keep this understanding front and center and discard useless theories about attention-seeking or lulz, we can begin to have a more productive conversation about what the hell to do about the problem.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/01/misogynist-trolls-have-an-agenda-and-its-not-lulz/
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That very thing happened here on DU when two of my favorite posters were chased away
LanternWaste
Aug 2013
#3
Here on DU there are plenty of misogynists of just the sort this article describes.
Squinch
Aug 2013
#5
:snort: so you can tell us how that's not really misogynist, and we are being oversensitive, and
Scout
Aug 2013
#31
Fetch them your self. If you haven't read all those statement here multiple times, then you weren't
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#49
And you could find them your own damned self, if you were truly interested. LOL.
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#67
No one here is actually required to find links for you. We are discussing something we have seen
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#79
This makes little sense. But no, I am not searching for jack shit for you. Thought I made that clear
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#96
Misandry is tolerated? Well now I wonder if YOU will provide links supporting YOUR claim?
Nine
Aug 2013
#112
I'm pretty sure if the mirror statement was made about women it would be labeled as misogyny
Major Nikon
Aug 2013
#158
I rarely read gun threads, so I would refrain from telling people what goes on in gun threads....
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#93
wow, way to go, privileged white dude. we are so sorry that you need to be exposed to other
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#117
You didn't realize we do spend all day in public - in the market , LOL? And you have no clue what it
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#165
Oh dear, you assume cooking makes you understand what women's lives are like, LOL.
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#173
Yep. People have to be pretty blind not to see that those types are around here. (nt)
Posteritatis
Aug 2013
#40
That's bullshit the two posters mentioned were bullied and called out constantly even
Arcanetrance
Aug 2013
#11
this is akin to people claiming that gay people have too much control of du. nt
La Lioness Priyanka
Aug 2013
#16
I really don't think that is what chased those two away. The dissolving of Meta.
Tuesday Afternoon
Aug 2013
#36
All I have to go on are my keen skills as an observer of human nature.
Warren DeMontague
Aug 2013
#37
oh yeah, for reals that ... but, I was speaking to the other thing but, you know
Tuesday Afternoon
Aug 2013
#38
also, having interacted with those guys over the years, I might speculate that maybe, just maybe
Warren DeMontague
Aug 2013
#39
except too many women haters give themselves away. they arent nearly as smart as
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#52
Except they're not particularly "women haters". They just say things to piss folks off.
Decoy of Fenris
Aug 2013
#61
IF you did all that and you think it was just for fun, you are fooling yourself.
LisaLynne
Aug 2013
#95
ha ha, first "you know people", now you are one of them... is that the fun "evil" trolling
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#104
I -was- one of them. Feels like a lifetime ago, though it was only a few years. n/t
Decoy of Fenris
Aug 2013
#115
Not beating their female partners is a tellingly low standard. I'm guessing the cars are nice and
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#83
Exactly- and any troll that picks on women as a specialty does have an axe to grind....
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#90
I've met a few too. And they weren't the angels you describe. And they are asses in
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#78
what you don't get is that a decent percentage of those acting hateful on the net really are.
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#86
In this subthread your descriptions of LULZers align with many traits of sociopaths.
Gormy Cuss
Aug 2013
#138
According to this article, "abuse" = "gentle condescenscion laden with malice"
Warren DeMontague
Aug 2013
#48
you're post was wrong, and is now corrected. perhaps if you didn't post bulllshit....
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#68
It's quite common for them to cherry pick, and then claim others can't understand context.
boston bean
Aug 2013
#135
Meh. A tempest in a blog post. But still a chance for some to get their jollies. Oh, well.
Comrade Grumpy
Aug 2013
#56
it's not painful- it;s just to frightening to think they'd have to go up against their more bullying
bettyellen
Aug 2013
#109
Power has never wanted to share. Ever. If these men could eliminate all women, they'd turn on each
WinkyDink
Aug 2013
#88
You have described the antics of those two "feminists" so well. Good job. nt
msanthrope
Aug 2013
#142
I think they gave as good as they got. The idea that they were victims, as opposed to willing
msanthrope
Aug 2013
#152
Interesting that so many on this thread think they know which two posters were referenced.
Gormy Cuss
Aug 2013
#166
Yes, you are right and it is a shame that subthreads developed because their names were
Tuesday Afternoon
Aug 2013
#169
Yes but, you realize that you are admitting that there are, indeed Trolls when you say this:
Tuesday Afternoon
Aug 2013
#172
And I would suggest that you consider that those two weren't the subject of this thread
Gormy Cuss
Aug 2013
#175