Just pass this right on by if you’re not in the mood for musing. I’ll totally understand. I’m not writing this for sympathy or concern or anything else. More really just to work out my own incredulity at the depth and breadth and length that people will go online to make themselves seem somehow superior at others’ expense.
I think I can honestly say without any qualifiers that while I get frustrated, I try not to make it personal. Sometimes people take things personally that I don’t mean personally, or assume that my criticism of their message is criticism of them. But I can honestly say I have never, ever said things like these about anyone else:
Ah yes, there’s [deleted], sticking up for his cum slut @karoli, and pretending like single payer is hopeless. What a LINO fucktard.
@karoli should kill herself with a dull butterknife.
I don’t like @karoli. I consider her a cancer to real change.
@Karoli On Twitter you have been an uncle Tom, as I define it.
I’m not going to mention the source of the first three except to say that the writer is a man who thinks harassing and bullying women is a sport. He deserves no more attention or mention than that.
The source of the last one, though, was a surprise. I have long disagreed with Ray Beckerman, but in the past had a great deal of respect for him as well. However, the year-long, bruising and contentious health care reform debate is about to end, with the majority of the left closing ranks around the Senate bill with a sidecar reconciliation fix. Despite accusations to the contrary, my position on health reform has been constant: pass the bill with or without a public option, because until we eliminate the exclusion for pre-existing conditions we have an inequal and discriminatory system of health care access.
In Ray’s opinion, that is “Uncle Tomism”, a term I consider inflammatory, racist, and unwarranted. Under his definition, I am an Uncle Tom for supporting passage of this bill without a public option (which is not passable in both Houses of Congress that I can see). In his mind, I’ve sold out to The Man.
Irony alert: If Ray gets his way, Sticks will have to sell out to The Man in one year by finding a job with a corporation that sponsors health insurance, because he will be ineligible to remain on our coverage that we just got this month. Instead of being a musician and entrepreneur, he will have to find some niche in some office with some health insurance and prop up their bottom lines.
Oh, now there’s a reward, Ray! Kill health care reform from the left. You show those corporations. You go. Because God knows they’ll be weeping in their profits if health care reform fails. But no matter as long as you can wear the hair shirt of purity.
Seriously. Uncle Tom? Really? Intentional race-baiting from a so-called “progressive”? From a forward-thinking, concerned about all people kind of guy? Really?
The vitriol really started pouring forth after I began to criticize Dennis Kucinich, who richly deserves what he gets, in my opinion. Kucinich is on the record as recently as Monday saying he will gladly cast the killing vote in the House. Yep, you read that right. He’d just as soon kill health care reform as pass it. Why? Well, because there’s no public option.
Keep in mind, he voted against it in November when the House bill had a public option. His excuse then was that there was no single payer. Now there’s a state single payer exception but that’s not enough for Dennis, nope. And the purists cheer while bullying those who object.
Kucinich is simply letting Stupak take the fall on abortion. Kucinich was rabidly anti-abortion until he wasn’t, and he wasn’t right around the time he decided to run for President. He claims to have gone through a transformation, but it’s interesting to note that he stands next to Stupak and is willing to own a kill on the health bill for inconsistent and inexplicable reasons.
That’s because there will never be enough for Dennis Kucinich, or Ray Beckerman, or Jane Hamsher for that matter. These are people who do not understand that their will isn’t everyone’s will. They are as dogmatic and absolute as the teapartiers are. And when someone stands up and uses their voice to show the weakness of their position, they resort to name-calling, personal attacks and flames, character assassination and even race baiting.
How progressive.
If it were happening to Ms. Dancer, I’d have no problem calling it bullying, because that’s what it is. These people are bullies, plain and simple, and they exist on the right, on the left, under rocks, in real life,in the halls of Congress and especially online.
Sadly, when it happens online it places other decent and kind people in the crossfire. That has happened more than once today. That’s the fallout of bullying. There isn’t a lot anyone can do about it other than simply block out the bully and move on. But occasionally, the ugly yellow buildup of a barrage of negative, wasted words just gets old. And tiring. It takes the joy out of interaction. As much as I remind myself that there’s no utopia in health reform or online discussion, sometimes it just needs to stop.
That’s when I close up the computer and turn off the Internet, say good night to my friends and move on to a new topic and focus. That’s where I am now. Health reform will pass in spite of or because of me and the likes of Ray Beckerman, women-bullying trolls who shall not be named on this blog, and wild-eyed flaming teapeople.
I’m all talked out on this topic. I’m moving on to some other ones. Turn the lights off when it’s done, would you?
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