A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!

[Executive Summary: another entry in the ongoing blog wars involving yours truly, Charles Johnson, and, in a new twist, "LGF2." Feel free to skip this one if you find such inside little league baseball boring. Which it is, really.]

[NOTE: This entry has been edited for structure but not for content since it was originally posted.]

Well, well, well.

Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs has actually gotten me to agree with him, there actually IS someone out there more abominable than he is.

And that's a real accomplishment.

A little background as to this silly dispute.

Blog 1: LittleGreenFootballs.com ("LGF1")

On the one hand, we have one Charles Johnson, aka "The Squire of Gothos," formerly well-respected blogmeister of LittleGreenFootballs.com, who has managed to piss off huge numbers of his own readers by carrying out large scale purges of religious believers, Catholics, dissidents, and generally people who don't agree with him in every aspect.

He (as long term readers of this silly feud will know) did not ban me personally. On or about February 14, I resigned from his blog, and sent him a 'going away present' where I excoriated him for his abominable on-line behavior. I signed it with my real name.

Charles then used this as an opportunity to out me–i.e., identify me and my personal 'pseud that I used on his blog. This is exceedingly uncool, a violation of privacy, and an all around despicable thing to do to one of your own readers and participants. This has led to a sort of a long term mutual bitching session between himself and myself. His behavior of late has been abominable, of which more presently.

In short: Charles has been randomly banning every individual he can identify who believes in Jesus. Bad move. But there are even worse characters out there on the net....

Blog 2: Defending the Defensible ("LGF 1.5")

At a particularly lame sock-puppet blog known as "Defending the Defensible", an individual, whom I am certain is Charles Johnson of LGF, posts under a pseud, "Defenseman." Defenseman's bete noir is a rival blog to LGF1.0, called "The Blogmocracy." That blog is made up of numerous exiles from Charles' web site. The obsessive nature of Defenseman's focus on LGF2 is such that the writer "Defenseman" MUST be Charles himself. The sock puppetry allows Charles to go after his self-created enemies without actually held to account himself.

In a thread here, he tries to go after a rival of Charles' named Rodan.

Blog 3: "LGF2 The Blogmocracy"("LGF2")

This rival, the so-called "LittleGreenFootballs2.com", which calls itself "The Blogmocracy," is made up of certain earlier exiles from LGF–its leaders are individuals known as "mats" [sic], "savage" [sic], "Rodan", "LanceKates", and "m", among others. Other LGF exiles comment there, but all of these above named five individuals are the ringleaders of LGF2, and have article posting privileges.

I made a courtesy introduction of self to them since they linked to my blog. No, I didn't do any research on them or their backgrounds; life is too short and I have had other things to do.

However, in joining certain discussions at LGF2, particularly here and here, it became clear that at least two of the central figures at LGF2 are self-admitted supporters of Serbian-generated genocide–in particular, the internationally-recognized slaughter of 8000 captured male Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in July 1995. In particular, I name "Rodan" as being an open advocate of genocide (view his remarks on those threads) and I also name LanceKates as being foolishly and stupidly in accord with Rodan.

LanceKates's stance is rooted, I am sure, in ignorance, and a willingness to stand with a 'buddy'.

But Rodan exhibits just enough knowledge of the events in Bosnia to be termed a willing and full throated genocide cheerleader and thus fully culpable for his own vile words.

And it is for that reason I have disassociated myself from LGF2. First, and foremost, because I do not enjoy being physically threatened by clowns simply for disagreeing with them. But secondly, Rodan's status as a genocide cheerleader is undeniable from his vomitous posts. Since LanceKates, m, savage, et al, have taken no steps to shut Rodan's mouth, I have to assume that they either agree with him or do not want to confront a friend of theirs who has fallen off of the edge of the plate. That's their privilege; it's also my privilege not to let my name be associated with them.

So anyway, Charles, through "Defending the Defensible" (LGF1.5) is trying to use the argument between LGF2 organizer "Rodan" and yours truly to get people to separate themselves from LGF2, because Rodan is clearly exterminationist in sympathy.

Okay, Charles, you got me. I'm no longer posting to LGF2–but not because of anything YOU said. The choice not to blog there was mine own, made before your essay, but after Rodan accused me of treason and nobody else at LGF2 took action to shut him up (although "savage" did tell him to 'tone it down a bit').

But it doesn't make what you do at LGF1 any more acceptable.

COOTIES

The real issue here, is what I call "cooties."

Now cooties, as historically minded readers will recognize, are body lice of the sort that plagued trench-warriors of WWI. However, when I was growing up, "cooties" was a term used by popular girls in elementary school to stigmatize the "uncool" among their classmates. "Eeeeew, cooties!!!!" I particularly remember one girl, call her "Buffy", who used that against the uncool kids in my class on an ongoing basis, including, ahem, your humble author–back then, far more humble than now.

Short version: Charles tries to 'infect' with 'cooties' all those who disagree with him. Very girlish. Very LITTLE-girlish.

An occasional poster at "Defending the Defensible" (LGF1.5) named Perpetua put Charles' style of nonsense very well and correctly identifies it as a form of girl-on-girl aggression. I'm reposting it here with her permission (and urging my readers to visit her blog at www.perpetuaofcarthage.blogspot.com).

To wit:

It occurs to me that the way LGF is run is similar to the sort of “relational aggression” practiced by a clique of middle school girls with a “Queen Bee”. It is a sort of bullying that is not physical but emotional. As Wikipedia puts it:

“Relational aggression, also known as covert bullying is a type of aggression in which harm is caused through damage to relationships or social status within a group rather than physical violence.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_aggression

Wikipedia also provides this list of characteristic behaviors:

Gossip – Where the abuser tells others personal information about the victim.

Lies – Where the abuser lies about the victim to others.

Betrayal – Where the abuser breaks agreements with the victim.

Isolation – Where the abuser prevents the victim from socializing with the victim’s friends.

Exclusion – Where the abuser prevents the victim from socializing with the abuser’s friends.

Humiliation – Where the abuser humiliates or shames the victim in front of others.

Gossip is what Charles did when he revealed the real names of people he had banned.

Isolation and Exclusion is what Charles does when he bans people.

Lies are what Charles does when he misrepresents why people were banned.

Humiliation is how the Karma system works to control what people dare to say. One is humiliated by expressing an opinion that is unpopular because the negative Karma is shown. There is even a place on the website where the most unpopular comments are displayed. Charles also humiliates people with abusive language like calling people Idiotarians because they believe in Creationism. And Walter L Newton actually writes “F**k You” at people and Charles leaves the comments and doesn’t reprimand Newton.

RLK here again. In other words, Charles is engaging in the same behavior that "Buffy" did when I was in second grade; to wit, pointing and squealing, "Eeeeewwwww! Cooties!"

Except that in this case the cooties lead to bannings and (far worse) outings.

I made a related observation in that same thread about Charles, to wit:

Richard L. Kent, Esq. Says:

May 31, 2009 at 9:26 am

Yanno, it’’s really astounding, how frakking, unbelievably *junior highish* the whole LGF loyalty test madness is.

Charles is acting like the head cheerleader of the eighth-grade squad during a time of the month. Either you hang out with her and everybody else or you’’re shit, a nobody, nonexistent, nonhuman, a ““wierdo,”” an ““extremist””.

An untermensch.

“Innie” vs. “outie” behavior. I was obsessed with that kind of mind-think when I was sixteen since I was an “outie” by right of geekdom. But I graduated, grew up, and eventually got all that crap out of my system.

This is the first time I’’ve ever encountered this kind of thuggery in the adult world.

Charles, what I have to say to you, you craven, sniviling wuss, is this:

Stop man-struating and regrow the pair of testicles that God gave you at conception. Your behavior is loathesome, beneath contempt, and utterly stupid.

Stop it.

And evolve already.

I stand by my statements, Charles. Do stop this childish behavior of yours. And evolve–i.e., grow up.

While I kinda-sorta appreciate Charles supporting me (at least against the abominable Rodan) it doesn't really justify or make acceptable what he, Charles, is doing either.

OTOH, it's clear that "Defenseman" (Charles) is just trying to divide his opposition. Nice try, Trelane.

Let me sum it up:

Charles, you're still behaving badly. Very, very badly. Stop it.

"Rodan," you are an idiot and a vile genocide cheerleader. Be silent. Be still.

To the other LGF2 guys, associating yourself with a genocide cheerleader degrades you all; reconsider doing so please.

In conclusion....

To the whole "LGF1.0 v. LGF2.0 with LGF1.5" thing, all I can do is quote Mercutio:

"A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!"