Commenter Gregory Koster (not of CUNY) sent me the following e-mail, published with his permission:
Dear Mr. Douglas:Another reader, who prefers to stay anonymous, was very upset today. She sent me this on Comrade Comrade Repsac3, in response to this comment at the blog (by permission):
I am Gregory Koster, an occasional commenter at your blog AMERICAN POWER. I am writing you privately to express sympathy at having that odious James Webb throwing tar at you. Simultaneously, I think you are caught in a no win situation. He is winning in the sense that every post you devote to him takes away from the posts that are the reason everyone should read AP. He is most unlikely to apologize to you, nor to drop this vendetta. I think you would be better off ignoring him. To be sure, he will bray loudly about your being afraid to engage him, but after all, his blog gets many fewer readers than AP has. Each time you link to him, he gets readers that make a great audience for him. The reverse is not true.
In your AP Blogger profile, you write: "Yet in friendship, you'll find no one more dignified, trustworthy, nor loyal."
Trustworthy and loyal I believe. Responding to Webb is costing you dignity. To what end? Short of violence, he's not going to stop. I don't think his psyche will allow him to stop. Best, I think, to let him go. What harm can his cawing do you, professionally, or as a blogger?
I am sure following such advice would exact a price from you, in allowing him to crow. But this price can easily be paid by concentrating on AP blogging, and considering that every time he crows or throws tar, he is under your control, and is spending time from his allotted lifespan that he won't get back. That's one way to improve this world.
To this end, I've stopped reading your posts on Webb. The moment I see his name, I go to the next entry.
As for me: I can't prove it, but I hope you'll accept that I'm just a reader who stumbled onto your blog (from one of RS McCain's links, I think) and enjoys reading all but Webb. I write solely because Webb is getting in the way of my reading. I don't know you, nor Webb. Reading this puts you under no obligation to do anything. I am grateful to you for reading.
I know you are busy, so please don't trouble to answer this.
Sincerely yours,
Gregory Koster
Donald:Here's James B. Webb's apology. I accept it for what it is:
I can't believe that Repsac3 is still sticking his nose into this thing. It looks like the others could just stay out of it, and allow you and JBW settle things between yourselves. That's the way they operate, though ... like members of a gang, ganging up on a single individual. I guess they believe in power in numbers ... several of them against you. They are the most disgusting group of men that I have ever had the displeasure of learning about ... if, indeed, they can be called 'men.' They are more like a bunch of bullying, juvenile delinquents. I've a good mind to go to another of my screen names and comment, I'm so disgusted. If I did that, I wouldn't be posting as anonymous, and they wouldn't be able to come to my blog, via yours. I'll have to give that some thought.
I'm sorry, Don. I'm sorry that you seem to take yourself and the rest of the world so seriously that you have no discernable sense of humor to speak of. I'm also sorry that you can not grasp the concept that a handicapped person could be included even tangentially in a joke about someone else without that handicapped person being the butt of the joke, nor that you can not grasp that a black person who doesn't look obviously black by most objective measurements and rarely identifies himself as such could be included in a joke about fighting a fictional monkey without that black person also being called a monkey. I like handicapped people, neoconservatives, black people and monkeys and I call many from every group friends. I'm sorry that you can't view the world without confusing several of these hominids in your blindingly righteous indignation.
9 comments:
Donald, that was good advice from Gregory Koster; don't let some asshat get under your skin.
I can understand Gregory Koster's opinion - however - don't you just get sick of taking the high road all the time? Aren't we on the right always the ones who refuse to sink to their level, refuse to call them on their behavior, refuse to waste any energy on them, thinking that doing so would somehow give them legitimacy? Sometimes I think it's a good thing to fight back, to clarify your position, to point out the irregularities of what they are saying or doing, to call attention to their apparent insanity.
The guy is obviously a jerk-off. LOL! We can see that from his 'apology' (amongst his other writings) - it's typical of a leftist apology, isn't it? Very similar to something that might have come out of Clinton's mouth, or Letterman's, or possibly Obama may want to use it in the future.
I find your Webb posts amusing - only because I like laughing at utterly foolish Webb is. I think that he fancies himself intelligent and witty, and that makes it all the more enjoyable to read!
Well, Stogie, this should be it for a while. But, there'll be more asshats!
I'm taking all the advice, Grizzly Mama. I like the debate, and you're right, it's the conservatives who always have to back down - we're expected to take the high ground ...
It is a grind debating these folks, in any case, and it takes time...
Thanks for your support!
Grizzly Mama,
I rarely take the high road, it's much more fun to kick the libtards in the nuts.
I have no problem "sinking to their level," except that I don't attack anyone's children, like the left is doing to Trig Palin, an infant child. Also, if the libtard is polite to me I will generally return the favor.
Still, I do remember an old saying: "Never wrestle with a pig; you'll just get dirty and the pig likes it."
That's okay, I like it too!
It does become exhausting, only because a lefty never lets the facts get in their way. Ever!
Stogie, sometimes we have to scrabble a bit, too! Although we're above attacking children and that's a good thing.
I see this as an unexpected apology by way of explanation. He didn't have to write anything. He would never have sent that if he didn't also think it was a nowhere road with a potential dead end. I think the high road is to accept it as you did. I never tire of taking the high road - it's a better view than the low road.
This comment first offered for posting July 2, 2009 11:47 PM (American Power blog time).
Immoderate Monk: Open Message to American Power Anonymous Reader #126
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In reply to American Power anonymous reader #126, who, like several others, so fears that I might comment on her blog, that she routed her question through Dr Don via e-mail, but was kind enough to allow him to post it for all to see.
"Donald:
I can't believe that Repsac3 is still sticking his nose into this thing. It looks like the others could just stay out of it, and allow you and JBW settle things between yourselves. That's the way they operate, though ... like members of a gang, ganging up on a single individual. I guess they believe in power in numbers ... several of them against you. They are the most disgusting group of men that I have ever had the displeasure of learning about ... if, indeed, they can be called 'men.' They are more like a bunch of bullying, juvenile delinquents. I've a good mind to go to another of my screen names and comment, I'm so disgusted. If I did that, I wouldn't be posting as anonymous, and they wouldn't be able to come to my blog, via yours. I'll have to give that some thought."
I "stuck my nose into this thing" because the thing in question was posted on a public blog, where comments and debate are welcomed, and positions are vigorously defended.
Had Donald & James been working things out in private, (perhaps via private e-mail), I certainly never would've commented about it on anyone's blog. But I believed (and still do) that the fact that both men chose to air their differences on their blogs--where, as I mentioned, comments are accepted and encouraged--allowed me (along with several other people on both blogs, not to mention other writers on their own blogs), to comment on the situation.
In fact, I'll note that in writing your e-mail to Donald and allowing him to publish it, you yourself chose to "stick your nose into this thing," as well. Perhaps Donald and I would do better if we could just settle things between ourselves without outside comment as well, but as long as we continue to vent our spleens on public blogs, where commentary is welcomed and encouraged, I trust that folks like you will continue doing the same thing with your noses that I did with mine, and for very much the same reason.
As for whether we who disagree with Dr Douglas constitute a gang, I'd say no more or less so that those folks who regularly comment in favor of Don's many posts. I trust you'll be fitting them with leather "YesMen" gang jackets any time now...
Personally, I would very much enjoy your taking the time to reply to any/all of my commentary in your own voice. You wouldn't even have to "out" yourself and risk having me follow you back to where you make your internet home and, golly forbid, comment on your blog, since Donald allows anonymous comments here. Just don't sign in (or sign out, if you get automatically signed in) and choose either "Name/URL" -- where you can put in any old thing you wish, or "anonymous" -- which is, well, anonymous, and let me have it. I would be most curious how you (or anyone) would intelligently answer my comment on that "Blacks as Monkeys?" post, because Ms Anon, I really don't see how Donald could ever think he was the "monkey" in question, given how clearly both the words and picture told a different story...
Upon reading it a few times, repsac3, I thought it was a fairly comprehensive overview, a lot of work put into it, and accurate about what transpired. I am just hopeful this is over with, so we can hear the informed and entertaining wit directed at issues again instead of people.
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