Introducing: The Professional Troll

[Initech]

Last edited Mon Apr 1, 2013, 12:01 AM - Edit history (1)

This concept isn't new but it's been around for a long time. As we learned today with the Google Doodle, it doesn't take much to anger a right wing fundamentalist Christian conservative. These people are perhaps the most thin-skinned people on the face of the earth. They believe anyone and everything is attacking their personal beliefs when they really aren't. A Google Doodle honoring Cesar Chavez isn't ditching Jesus in favor of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It's honoring Cesar Chavez' legacy of promoting and protecting labor rights - something they don't clearly know enough about to care.

Troll: 1. An individual who tries to bring up a controversy when there isn't any. 2. An individual who greatly exaggerates claims made in a topic.

Which brings me to the professional troll. It started with Matt Drudge in the 90's when he claimed he was personally responsible for escalating Bill Clinton's impeachment hearings. Donald Trump and Orly Taitz with their birther nonsense are professional trolls. Joe Arpaio is a racist professional troll. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Bryan Fischer, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill Donahue are professional trolls. Rupert Murdoch is the ultimate professional troll. Groups like the Tea Party Patriots and One Million Moms (actually 2,000 members) are professional trolls. They exist only to create bullshit and make things difficult for the rest of us.

As Bill Maher brands them - they are the low information voters in our society. They are only voting based on non issues rather than looking at the big picture. They take everything Fox News says for granted even though 90% of their opinion programs are complete bullshit.

So the next time a non controversy breaks out, be on the lookout for professional trolls. One Million Moms needs more members. Don't believe me? Just ask them again next Christmas when stores start greeting people with "Happy Holidays".

[olddots]

1. agree 1000 %

n.t

[niyad]

2. I was just reading a brief bio of cesar--didn't see anything in there about him being related to

hugo. did I miss something? or do some of those morans assume that the same (fairly common) last night indicates relationship?

[JI7]

3. yeah, they just see the last name and either think it's the same person or related,they were

wondering if the Castro brothers in Texas were related to Fidel Castro.

and lets not forget the Barack HUESSEIN Obama.

[Initech]

4. Do a Twitter search for "Google Hates Jesus".

People are thinking that Google was honoring Hugo Chavez and not Cesar Chavez, like this guy:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014440336#post18

[progressoid]

22. Hugo. Cesar. Whatever.

They both have funny names, brown skin and threaten the Amurican way of life!!

[olddots]

29. Holy shit ! that message to google

sounded like a Emilly Latella rant on SNL are people really that insanely idiotic ?

[Initech]

31. Yes. And the scary thing is: they vote.

[sabrina 1]

40. And what would be wrong with honoring Hugo Chavez? He was one of

most respected and loved leaders in Latin America and Cesar Chavez would have felt privileged to be related to him. We know that the Right hates both Cesar and Hugo Chavez, but we also know how ignorant they are.

Only in America is there this hatred for Latin American leaders who care for the poor.

They hate anyone who cares about the working class and the poor. In fact, many of them probably DO know who Cesar Chavez is.

I hope you weren't insinuating that it would be okay to hate Hugo Chavez?? For Right Wingers, yes it is to be expected, but we are not right wingers.

[backscatter712]

5. Nope. Hugo Chavez and Cesar Chavez are two completely different people.

Chavez is a pretty common Latino family name, kind of like Smith.

In short, the teabaggers are weapons-grade stupid.

[Initech]

7. Read the post I linked to - stupid beyond words.

[Smilo]

51. Actually Cesar has much in common with that other guy

you know Jesus (geeesus not hesooze) - the one they worship.

[defacto7]

6. You got it. Kick

[Warren DeMontague]

8. shit, what was the google doodle? A breast joke? A mild sexual innuendo?

I've noticed that it doesn't take much to make some fundamentalists -and some professional trolls- go completely bonkers.

[libodem]

9. you said it, brother

[Initech]

15. Like I said they're the most thin-skinned people on the planet.

It's funny - they can get incredibly pissed and think that people are attacking their beliefs at the drop of a hat.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. it's important to remember not to take one's own

Belief System too seriously.

[Nye Bevan]

17. Religious people CAN get very touchy when they think their beliefs are being attacked.

Thin-skinned religious nuts are the WORST.

[Initech]

21. Oh definitely.

[Walk away]

41. Religion is the bane of the world!

[Kurovski]

10. It's the nature of all authoritarians.

It's like a form of narcissism. Everything is about them and their narrow views alone.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. Every six weeks or so, Fox News comes up with an...

..impeachable crisis within the White house, and every time a new scandal pops up they drop the original high crime and move along without looking back.

It has to be confusing as a conservative viewer, to constantly go from one disaster to the next without resolution, but they never seem to get tired of being newly outraged. They must think there's a cover up behind each scandal that lets it roll off Democrats' backs like teflon.

I'll bet it's frustrating to be a conservative conspiracy addict with cable TV and an email account.

[Initech]

14. Oh yes the Fox News Cycle Of Bullshit.

The birther BS, Benghazi (let's not forget how many embassy attacks occurred under the Bush administration ), the list goes on and on.

[Warren DeMontague]

18. See, but the whole Benghazi nout-rage was really sort of incredible to watch.

They wanted SO BAD for it to turn into this giant fucking scandal.

Like trying to power a moon rocket with farts and laundry soap. Not much happens but an awfully messy foaming.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. We've got a few here

And will leave it at that.

[Skidmore]

44. Yup.

I'll join you in agreement.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. Sort of like having a tantrum over Google promoting "Marxism"

[Rain Mcloud]

19. Some of the Army Corps of Engineers have been known to troll forums

on the taxpayer dime.
If you suspect shenanigans simply look up the offending Troller's I.P.
Also there is this for-profit Trollery:
[link:http://www.conservativejobs.com/FeaturedRecruiters/|

[AtheistCrusader]

20. I would much rather see something about, and learn something about a human that I am relatively sure

actually existed.

[Permanut]

23. You got 'em pegged exactly, Initech..

Some are finding that they can spread the BS for money, and some actually believe the wingnuttery. Those with, let's say, travel size brains.

[MrScorpio]

24. Damn Skippy!

[hfojvt]

25. it didn't really start in the 1990s

and nor is it always bad.

It depends on a couple things.

1) the justice of the cause.

2) the sincerity, or lack thereof, of the person raising the issue.


For example "1. An individual who tries to bring up a controversy when there isn't any."

But the person who tries to bring up a controversy may feel that there SHOULD be a controversy. Like, what if you want to end slavery? The slave owners and others who profit from it, would certainly like there to be no controversy, but others spent much time and effort trying to get people stirred up and motivated to end it. Sometimes, as in the case of Elijah Lovejoy, at the cost of their own life.

Another classic example though is "Professor Harold Hill" of the classic musical "The Music Man". When Harold (or Greg) first comes to River City, he attempts to create a controversy about the new pool table. But Harold does not really care about pool one way or another. He's just trying to get people stirred up so he can sell them band instruments and uniforms. He's playing them like a slide trombone. But he's also building his con on some real problems or worries - the disrespect of youth and disruptive cultural changes. People, quite naturally, worry about the future.

I would say there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting the future to be better. As progressive, we try to get people stirred up about various controversies, things that we want to change. I think people should be stirred up to run Brownback and his conservative cronies out of office. His ridiculous tax plan should be a controversy.

Bottom line, is that I don't think it does any good to call them trolls just because we oppose their causes, like they are doing something radically different than what we would do. Except that they certainly have financial powers assisting and rewarding them. That is worth pointing out, but along with that, to effectively oppose them, it is necessary to make a better case against their cause than they do in favor of their cause, and then also to make a better case for our causes.

[Initech]

26. Yes that's a good point.

But the person who tries to bring up a controversy may feel that there SHOULD be a controversy. Like, what if you want to end slavery? The slave owners and others who profit from it, would certainly like there to be no controversy, but others spent much time and effort trying to get people stirred up and motivated to end it. Sometimes, as in the case of Elijah Lovejoy, at the cost of their own life.

Well there's a difference between an actual controversy - like the Koch Brother's escalating fortune. And a non controversy - which stores greet customers with "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas". I'm talking about the latter. The bullshit parade. A Google Doodle about Cesar Chavez isn't about the Venezuelan President. Just because Barack Obama has the middle name Hussein doesn't mean he's Saddam Hussein. That kind of crap. The stuff that the shit kickers and Fox News viewers hoist upon us. It's maddening.

I would say there is certainly nothing wrong with wanting the future to be better. As progressive, we try to get people stirred up about various controversies, things that we want to change. I think people should be stirred up to run Brownback and his conservative cronies out of office. His ridiculous tax plan should be a controversy.

But the point I'm trying to make is that we can't expect actual change until we get rid of the bullshit. Look at how ape shit the Republicans went over Benghazi - while completely ignoring that the Bush Administration had the highest number of embassy attacks than any administration before or since. Or when they stopped Congress to save Terri Schiavo's life - when the rest of the country can't afford basic health care. That's the kind of BS we need to eliminate as a society.

[hfojvt]

35. but one person's BS is another person's important issue

Many people, for example, care something about Jesus Christ and would rather live in a country where people say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays".

Schiavo became a flame war for DU as well, and so did Tookie and so did Anna Nicole Smith. Nobody made a whole bunch of DUers get all fired up about those "controversies". Meanwhile my attempts to create concern for the huge weakening of the safety net was, much to my chagrin, met with mostly a collective yawn. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022581099

One of the problems seems to be that we help THEM rather than promoting our own. Much of our time, much of our concern is about "look at how bad the other side is" rather than promoting our own supposedly good ideas. We, instead want to spend many threads talking about the latest outrageous thing Limbaugh or Nugent said. Yeah, sure, we have to fight them, but do we fight effectively by giving them publicity, or by promoting better ideas? http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022244131

[Initech]

37. I joined DU right around that time.

Schiavo became a flame war for DU as well, and so did Tookie and so did Anna Nicole Smith. Nobody made a whole bunch of DUers get all fired up about those "controversies". Meanwhile my attempts to create concern for the huge weakening of the safety net was, much to my chagrin, met with mostly a collective yawn. http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022581099

Right. I definitely remember those flame wars - it was around that time I joined this forum. I had been lurking at DU reading Top 10 Conservative Idiot lists for a while but that was when I finally stepped out of the shadows.

One of the problems seems to be that we help THEM rather than promoting our own. Much of our time, much of our concern is about "look at how bad the other side is" rather than promoting our own supposedly good ideas. We, instead want to spend many threads talking about the latest outrageous thing Limbaugh or Nugent said. Yeah, sure, we have to fight them, but do we fight effectively by giving them publicity, or by promoting better ideas? http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022244131

Yeah that's true. But it definitely helps to know the bullshit and where it's coming from. It's only then when we can throw it back in their faces, like with what Sandra Fluke accomplished.

[Vinnie From Indy]

27. Imagine the heads exploding if they would have doodled Jesus

washing Chavez's feet.

Personally, I would have loved to have seen a doodle picturing Chavez and Jesus doing a two man juggling act with flaming easter bunnies and chainsaws.

[Initech]

30. Oh god I can imagine something like this:

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Exploding-head.gif

[marybourg]

28. Plenty of them on this forum, I'm sorry to say.

I call them the "indignation delegation". A favorite ploy is to present an opinion piece by a professional provocateur and pretend it's a government white paper or a proposed regulation. The object appears to be to scare the heck out of the young, naive and not-well-read among us with the intent to turn them into agitators and anarchists. There's a thread like that circulating right now, pretending that our government is planning to snatch our bank accounts.

[pauliedangerously]

39. Wikipedia Calls them "Concern Trolls"

"A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts in Web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed "concerns". The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the group."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29

I see them all the time on CommonDreams and MoJo...similar in some ways to push polling. I'm sure lots of them are paid by outfits like the John Birch Society.

[Coyotl]

32. Control the dialogue tactics work. We need more liberal trolls to see their cognative dissonance

and raise them one reality.

[Jamaal510]

33. Regarding

all those people you listed as professional trolls, I almost always find myself questioning whether they actually are true believers in the things that they say and the ideology they tout, or if they're just trying to get rank-and-file Republicans to continue voting for a narrow economic agenda. With all the money that Limbaugh and those other people make, it is hard for me to believe that they would be miserable enough to actually care about what women and gays do in their private lives.

[Initech]

36. I really wonder that too.

Rush Limbaugh definitely says a lot of things that are troll worthy. But the nice thing is people are starting to realize that he's a troll - like Sandra Fluke. But people like Bryan Fischer are just hate mongers who will say anything to make a buck.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

34. Think the DNC is hiring some of these trolls?

To troll conservative sites and get paid would be AWSOME!!!

[Initech]

38. That would be a dream job!

[dreamnightwind]

42. I think the DNC hires people

to troll DU, to harass progressives. Money goes to the right, regardless of party.

[Cha]

43. Oh you poor thing.

[dreamnightwind]

45. I'm actually fairly certain of it

though I don't know that the funding would be from the DNC. The post I was responding to mentioned the DNC specifically, and or I would not have. But yes I see it as much more likely that corporate-funded paid trolling efforts would be directed against the left in our party, rather than against the right on conservative boards, even if that money comes from a supposedly Democratic institution. And anyone who pays attention has seen plenty of signs of exactly that on DU.

[Cha]

46. Paranoid much.

[dreamnightwind]

47. Unfortunately, no

Paranoia requires being irrational, at least that's my understanding of the term.

And welcome to ignore.

[Cha]

49. My pleasure. People don't need to get paid to call

others on their bullcrap.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. Pros? I don't know.

There are certainly some highly skilled amateurs and enthusiasts.

[Blue_Tires]

50. Thanks for this

One of the many things I miss about the old DU was the occasional info-thread on how to spot subtle trolling techniques...