How to handle the DU bullies.

[kimmerspixelated]

I was told as a child to simply IGNORE pests and they will go away. It's pretty simple. You cut off their oxygen, and voila! It does require restraint to not dignify something stupid with a response, however, it can be done. Don't let the batshit crazy trolls get to you. Strangle their agenda, by ignoring them. NIP IT IN THE BUD! Just like the stray cats hanging around your house. Quit feeding them...and they'll go away. ..You already knew this...I'm just reminding you.

[WilliamPitt]

1. Nice post, Hitler.

[stranger81]

2. Hitler?!? Pretty rich coming from a guy who's fond of loyalty oaths . . . . [n/t]

[WilliamPitt]

9. pzzzzzcheeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz

:freak:

[Whisp]

8. nice try, but that's Kitler. nt

[kimmerspixelated]

11. Ahh, an insult from WilliamPitt is

..well...better than nuttin'!

Hey! Did you enter that feline in a contest called, "Cats that look like Hitler!"????

[hughee99]

3. Very good advice...

Now hand over your lunch money. :)

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. I like to cyber kick them in the teeth and give them a new picture of themselves

[durrrty libby]

5. What if people think you are "batshit crazy trolls "?

Or is anyone who disagrees with you put in that category?

[MedleyMisty]

6. Repost of a post that killed a thread - hope it doesn't kill this one.

I put trolls on ignore because they want attention.

They definitely don't want reasoned debate.

Okay, like with the fires thing - I posted in the first thread to try to explain why class issues might come up in the discussion. But to be honest, I was thinking more of some of the people I used to work with at Arby's saying stuff like "The rich people will still be okay afterwards so I'm not going to cry my eyes out about them." I really wasn't thinking of people saying "Each and every single person who loses their home is a pig who deserves it and I hope they suffer a lot." or whatever the trolls have been saying.

It's a cycle I've noticed time and time again - a few trolls will say something obviously ridiculous that's designed to get people upset and good intentioned people will get outraged by it and start new threads about it and brush all of DU with it. That gets other people upset, and so the flames continue on and on. For instance, with the fires thing - I have to admit that the general reaction to the trolls looks pretty classist and is likely to make sincere non-troll people assume that poor people aren't too popular around here. And that's going to make them upset and they're going to start new threads about it and brush all of DU with it, and so it goes on.

But if no one fed the trolls in the first place and their ridiculous statements passed unnoticed, the cycle wouldn't start and they would probably eventually go away.

On the other hand - one reason why they're so successful at stirring up flames about certain issues is because there is real conflict about those issues here. If you don't want to put them on ignore or let what they say go by unchallenged, you could try waiting until the first emotional reaction passes and then write as calm and reasoned and non-generalizing a post as you're able to. We desperately need to talk about class issues here. But we're not going to get anywhere while we're stuck in the troll/outrage/pile on/flame/witch-hunt cycle.

I've learned from DU that we're just as liable to think of people as groups and put them in boxes and decide that one group is better than another and to attack a common enemy to strengthen our group identification as people on the right. It's something that we need to watch out for. And trolls, just like neocons, like to play on that group psychology to keep us divided and hating each other.

[kimmerspixelated]

10. Good points.

[devilgrrl]

7. I tried to ignore bullies in school - it didn't work.

Not that I don't agree with you or anything.