Monday, September 14, 2009

For what shall it profit a blogger, if he shall gain the whole webby-tubes, and lose his own soul?

by Smitty

Villainous Company lowers the boom on American Power.
Donald, please do not follow other contemporanus examples of doubling down on dumb. (Loafers Gone Foppish.)

Whatever tactical hit-count benefit there may seem to be from antagonizing people, and whatever the "they started it" arguments are, I'd like to encourage you to change direction and take the high road. Be the peace maker. Admit error where you feel a reasonable person would. Yes, there will need to be a rehabilitation period where you show non-boorish behavior, and figure out how to get back in Little Miss Attila's good graces. I suggest you consider doing this right now. Strategically you're doing yourself no favors.

When not antagonistic towards friendly blogs, Donald, you do great work. Friendly fire incidents are the pits. I look forward to a day when I'll subscribe to your generally excellent blog again, and start linking you. Peace, out.

13 comments:

  1. Peace out, indeed. There is nothing I hate worse than an argument between friends, as this puts me in the position of weighing difficult questions of loyalty, duty and honor.

    Nothing would make me happier, in this instance, than to see Donald Douglas suck it up, apologize to the ladies, and be restored to the fold.

    Donald: This is like arguing with my wife. Even if I "win," I lose. The only correct answer is, "Yes, dear."

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  2. I appreciate the moral support.

    But I haven't asked for an apology from Donald. Forced apologies are meaningless. At any rate, an apology that isn't given voluntarily is never sincere, so why would it mean anything to me?

    Attila may feel differently of course.
    I don't see any reason why I should meekly acquiesce to unsuppported "Aiieeeee!!! She's a feminist!" accusations that fail to address any of the points I made.

    I think readers are smart enough to judge both our arguments on the merits. If they can find something - anything - radically feminist in what I wrote, they're welcome to it. But the fact that I'm female has nothing to do with whether my arguments are sound.

    Donald seems obsessed with putting that construction on anything I have to say, but it seems to me that people ought to be able to put that nonsense aside long enough to decide on the merits.

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  3. @Cassandra,
    I agree with you about forcing apologies. Hence the fact that I tried to encourage him to think about things. The goal here is to play a Nathan to a David, to the relatively small degree that that analogy applies.

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  4. How do you get in the good books of Little Miss Attila, exactly?

    I emailed her, she emailed back (once). There were good times, laughs and tears, and then, just like that, no further reply. It was brief but it was beautiful. Better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved...

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  5. @TAC,
    Link frequently, comment wittily, ponder the tip jar.
    Recreational grovelling, but only on days ending in 'y'.

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  6. "Link frequently, comment wittily, ponder the tip jar. Recreational grovelling, but only on days ending in 'y'."

    Hmmm, that works for me if I translate the days of the week into French or Spanish

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  7. How do you get in the good books of Little Miss Attila, exactly?

    Well, sir, it might help your cause if it were pointed out to Little Miss Attila that you were a handsome young man with a charming British accent and impeccable good manners.

    (No need to tell her that you're married to a blonde hottie.)

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  8. A brief perusal tells me that the guy from American Power is not making a winning argument, and primarily because it lacks the fundamental merits necessary for success.

    But beyond that I'm reminded of a quote, something about writing ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth and all that.

    So, at least he has that going for him.

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  9. Look, Anon here is late to the game. It's gotten past the point of "logical" argument. Folks have taken sides to protect their interests and their links.

    I have apologized to Cassandra, here:

    "I'll meet you half way with joint responsibility and joint apologies. We can move forward again and target our sights on a common foe, which at this point is the left and the Obama administration. What do you say? I am sorry we had this fight. I am sorry it got as nasty as it did, and I am sorry for fighting ruthlessly, because it makes me feel bad if I have harmed you or embarrassed you. I think you are a good woman. I am sorry if I have hurt you.

    We can even talk by phone if you want. I'm sincere."

    I have also written a repudiation of Charles Johnson, 'Charles Johnson Attacks Robert Stacy McCain as Racist':

    "I am happy to disabuse Charles of the notion that R.S. McCain is an 'open racist who associates with white supremacists and neo-Nazis.' There is no proof for the allegation, not one shred of it. I have known R.S. McCain for two years now, and there's nothing in him that remotely reeks of racist sentiment. Indeed, R.S. McCain represents the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar, and I testify to his unimpeachable integrity on civil rights."

    That's about as well as I can do at this point, friends. I myself am going to ride off now for a while. As always, I take responsibility for what I've done.

    Be well and fight the good fight!

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  10. True "friendly fire" is when you accidentally shoot up your own side.

    When you righteously stand up and speak the truth before you double-check to be sure that none of your teammates are demagoguing. For example, when Howard Dean went on Countdown and told Keef Olbermann that it was always wrong to call Bush a "fascist." Oops. Friendly fire.

    When you deliberately target someone on the side that you purport to be on, that's not "friendly fire." That's an attack. For example, Meghan McCain does not engage in "friendly fire"--she's just out to get us.

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  11. I do enjoy some recreational grovelling, but I never inhale.

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  12. Heh, thank you, RSM - she is a little liberal hottie, isn't she?

    I'll try wooing Little Miss Attila again...

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  13. Plus: are you ever going to put my tailor-made quotation among those on the right-hand side?

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