Of Right-Wing Trolls

Time for another edition of... THE PODIUM.
With your, not-so libertarian anymore, host: Phage.

Anyone involved with the left leaning blogosphere has probably noticed within the last couple of weeks a growing trend for more, and more vitriolic trolls. I therefore give you, Phage's quick guide to modern trolls.

Firstly, establish what kind of troll it is. This is important, as there are different kinds - I'll point out two kinds we'll see in our current climate.

- The "I don't buy into any of this, but watching people get pissed off is funny" troll. Easy to deal with, ignore them, they'll get bored and slink off to bother someone else.

- The panicked pundit troll. This is the troll that we've been seeing more of lately. With a tanking Presidential campaign, the very real possibility of dramatic losses in both the senate and house, and the public turning on their ideology; the modern 'conservative' (and I use the term loosely, as most true conservatives would be disgusted at what the Republican party became) has finally come to grips with a sobering fact. The Republican party is dying. Thus, like a drowning victim they are now thrashing and flailing about, grasping, rasping and cursing.

The best way to deal with the panicked pundit troll, is to give them no quarter. Give them nothing to try and hold onto. Continue just as you have been doing, my fellow Progressives. Oh sure, they'll make a lot of noise, throw a lot of insults and raise a lot of Hell; but to go back to my drowning analogy, it'll all be over soon enough.

If they really become too much to endure (and on some blogs this may be possible, especially if you become inundated with far too many) - simply remove their ability to comment, they'll curse about having their right to free speech taken away - but let's be blunt. These are blogs, not a public forum, there are plenty of places for them to go and speak their mind. Their ability to 'speak in our homes', to turn a phrase, is a privilege, not a right - and don't let any of them try to convince you otherwise.

Until next time, stay progressive.
- Phage