One occupier of my time during unemployment is, of course, Facebook. Not terribly original, I know, but it's a fact. As an avid news junkie, I will frequently run across articles and link to them on my Facebook profile. You can click on it if you like, but if you aren't a friend (or friend of friend), you won't get access to it. You wanna know why? 'Cause today, I had a run-in with not one but two of these:
[image via: Legendgames]
Oh yes: Poppa had to deal with a couple trolls today. Outside of a venue of fairy tales and 20-sided dice, a troll in internet terms is... well, here's the Wikipedia entry:
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
What started all of this was me running across a link on Dan Savage's blog about my hometown of Oak Park... and more specifically my old elementary school. See, my school now has 10 gay families sending their children there, and in order to prevent any anti-gay slurs at the school, the principal brought in the head of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance for some sensitivity training. And this move to make sure a school was a safe place for all kids is what caused a scandal.
Now, here's a little history about Oak Park. It was the first Chicago suburb to integrate in the 50's with Dr. Percy Julian. Some bigots bombed Dr. Julian's house, and the town rallied around him and came to his aid. While I was in high school in 1989, my high school added sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policy, matching the changes that were made to the city's Human Rights Ordinance earlier that year. Combine this progressive and inclusive nature with Oak Park being the home of Frank Lloyd Wright's Home & Studio with a bunch of his houses and being the birthplace of both Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Oak Park is a pretty kick-ass place to live. It's a great town with great architecture, wonderful people, great food, and tons of trees.
When my high school added 'sexual orientation' to its non-discrimination policy in 1989, it got a good deal of protesters at the time... from other towns. Who came in and raised a ruckus. And the people who are causing a ruckus for Beye Elementary is the Illinois Family Institute... which is based in Tinley Park, which is far from Oak Park. What I'm getting at is that while there are pockets of conservatives in the most progressive pockets of this country, the bulk of the people causing the static don't even live there. They went cruising for a fight, trolling as it were.
So, I put the link up on my Facebook profile, with the following setup:
My elementary school is ground zero in a fight between acceptance of gay families and those who want to exclude them. Those who are fighting this obviously have not lived in my hometown for any length of time. Keep on keepin' on, Oak Park. You are doing me proud.
I started getting some comments from my high school friends, reflecting on our high school experience and how there are -- like I just said -- pockets of conservatives everywhere. I also made This morning, a woman I didn't recognize named Susan [LAST NAME REDACTED FOR SOON-TO-BE OBVIOUS REASONS] put this comment on my wall:
SUSAN: Conservatives cause the problem what?? I am a conservative and I personally know more liberals that cause problems, because if you do not agree with their agenda then you are a (fill in the phob) what a crock
That is her comment verbatim. I'm all for debate, I'm all for discussion, I'm all for an exchange of ideas. But her comment wasn't an argument: it is a tantrum. I mean, if you are going to debate me on an issue, then actually debate me on an issue.
Now, since I didn't recognize her name, I checked her profile to see if we had any friends in common. We didn't. So, she hunted this down and felt the need to comment. So, seeing as this was my little corner of Facebook, I felt the need to respond:
JON: Well, Susan, since you had the impetus to comment on a link for someone you don't know, let me break it down like this. As a gay man who grew up in Oak Park, its progressive nature and open attitude helped me well coming out when I was in college. In this specific case of welcoming gay families at an elementary school, the static that is coming in is from a small group of conservatives (most of which aren't even from Oak Park, btw) who is bringing hateful rhetoric into this debate. If you aren't for the country being more inclusive to gays and lesbians, then explain to me how this position exists outside the realm of homophobia.
Susan did not respond. My husband, however, did:
TOM: Another way we pesky liberals tend to cause all the problems is not giving credence or credibility to adult Conservatives who have yet to master the basics of English grammar. (Which, based on message board missives and posts like Ms. Benke's is the norm rather than the exception.) First impressions are lasting. If you have the temerity to post a response to someone you don't even know, I suggest you open your MS Word and type the whole thing out first, then do a grammar/spell check. It's very simple. Consult the HELP feature in the program and it'll walk you through the entire process. Once you're in the clear, simply cut and paste the proofread post and hit send. Trust me, it'll help mask some of your ignorance.
Apparently, the Other friends did, weighing in how important it is to teach your kids about being inclusive and also the importance of proper grammar (which was Tom's comment). Then later on in the evening, another person I didn't know named Jason [NAME REDACTED FOR OBVIOUS REASONS] posted this little beauty:
JASON: Wow.. You progressives sure love destroying a once great culture and country. This child is going to be so messed up by the time it is an adult!!! In the end, if you brainwash enough of the sheeple we will be extinct because noone will be creating life!!! This makes me sick you leftist scum!!!
Again, I don't know this person from Adam. And he leaves this exclamation point-laden missive on my internet doorstep. He is a troll... as is this Susan. As is this Illinois Family Institute. Trolls go looking around for trouble, saying rude and awful things in places they know they shouldn't be saying shitty things in order to cause trouble. They aren't looking for discussion, they aren't looking for debate. They just want to bully. And the way to fight a bully is the same way to fight a troll: don't let them walk all over you and if that doesn't work, bring in the authorities. In Susan's case, we pushed back. In Jason's case, I reported his troll ass to Facebook for his rudeness. Leftist scum? That's an argument?
The moral of this story is this: stand up for yourself... and make sure your Facebook profile privacy settings are off "Everyone". Won't be doing that again.
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