Lets get rid of The Self-absorbed Commenter and His Merry Band of Exception-to-the-Rulers
Arguments and irritation spring eternal from this group. Within the first few comments of a controversial post will be the omnipresent Expression of Non-Participation, the "exception-to-the-rule-ism" that is a greater indication of missing the point than anything out there. It is a self-indulgent, habitual reflex for countless commenters on any blog which posts topical content. Sexism and racism are probably the two largest catalysts, but religion, politics, pets and food will stir it up, too. Oh, and just try to generalize about pot smoking - you'll get more "not me's" than you can load a bong with.
It happens when a blogger posts a generalization, such as "we have become a world of x," or "most men prefer this/most women prefer that," or "white people this, black people that," and a commenter chimes in with the inevitable: "I don't know where you are getting your information, because my friends and I are certainly not like that!"
Well guess what, douche bag? Nobody cares. There are very few statements that can be made which do not have an exception (or a thousand), so save the disingenuous, self-aggrandizing hand washing for someone else. This post is not about you - none of them are about you - but you do get a bonus bag of syphilis if it is a comment on a post about selfish tendencies in our culture.
Unless the post calls you out by name, don't pipe up to proclaim your conflicting proclivities. If you just read something that said people from Nebraska drive more Chevys, but you are from Nebraska and like Fords, relax. Logging in just to announce your lofty individualism as some kind of a refutation of the point is just an egomaniacal waste of time.
Warning: I send a plague of wasps to the home of the first commenter who says he doesn't do this or asks if I am talking about him. You do, and I am.
21 comments:
OhhhhhhKayyyyyyy...
Sometimes commenting on a blog is a bit like running on a treadmill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XanTpm8dxMU
:D
That guy's biggest problem is the Denver Nuggets t-shirt. Destined to fail.
I'm surprised there are comments to this post.
Bring on the wasps. I'm armed and ready.
I had a great comment lined up, until I read the warning.
The warning was an afterthought, Chris. I suddenly foresaw the flood of sarcastic "Thank goodness I don't do that" comments that I was begging for, and slapped it down. Disaster averted.
I should have mentioned it at your place, but that frozen peas post was something else. Local anesthetic? I'm glad you let me know, otherwise the day would have come, and I would have shit myself.
Well I'm guilty as charged in the post. But I definitely can relate to the treadmill experience on a blog commenting level. The way he slid off the back of the treadmill after all that thrashing around had me stitches.
It's not about disagreeing with the posts, it's about thinking it is valid to toss in a "not me" when a generalization is being made. That's all. Happens all the time, and it derails the conversation. That last row you had with Daphne is a classic example. From the word "go" nobody was even trying to talk about the subject of the original post.
And it all happened long before you ever jumped on board with it.
Guilty as charged. Done it a few times myself. Just keep it on the original topic (a pet peeve of mine is not staying on topic).
KC
Well the thing about "iPhone users are predominantly liberal" brought home a chorus of "Not me" protests which I found to be useful. What's going on there is pretty dang fascinating, and complicated.
I would also say, if the original poster specifically used the modifiers "always" or "never," then he bloody well asked for it. "Predominantly," on the other hand, fails this cut and should bring out the wrath of Andy's wasps every damn time. But remember, I used to live there and I know you need to wait until August to make good on it. <bseg>
Hey, wanna make it happen? Tell a story about a wife or girlfriend who took you to the cleaners. Slept with someone else, took your money, or both. And then just v-a-g-u-e-l-y suggest that you look at women slightly differently now than you did before the experience. You'll be able to choke a horse with the "Not All Women Are Like That" coming your way. Or wallpaper your bathroom. Or both.
Doesn't work for gals complaining about dudes. For some reason, it's implicitly understood that when you're bitching about a dude, your complaints are only about that one dude.
Of course - Use "always" or "never" and you deserve what's coming to you.
It's the generalizations. Your iPhone thing, terrorists tend to be Muslim, "why are women always..." It gets the "not me" crowd all whipped up.
As far as your last point: "it's implicitly understood that when you're bitching about a dude, your complaints are only about that one dude."
That's because that one dude is the only one who gives a shit that you're bitching about him. Women are all about shared experiences - "you bitch about one of us, you're bitching about all of us, but just hang on a minute while I tell you why I am the exception."
Men are all about isolationism - "You bitch about one of us, well, that poor chump pissed off the wrong broad."
When women bitch about a relationship fiasco they extend that out to all men and everyone chimes in with the "no not all men are bastards" disclaimer. It's the standard gruel for life. Yes women are all about shared experiences in this context. And men definitely go easier on one another. You guys look at the individual and think give the guy a break. I wish women cut each other the same slack. We're our own worst enemies in that regard.
I wasn't taking the piss earlier btw. I was just making light. Been down this particular rabbit hole too recently and came off way too badly, to want to seriously revisit it.
Oh, no, I'm right there with you, alison. I know you weren't raising hell on us. "Taking the piss." That's hilarious. I still don't understand you wacky limeys.
We are dangerously close to getting way, way off topic here, aren't we?
We are dangerously close to getting way, way off topic here, aren't we?
And risking a plague of wasps.
Wasps are on station as we speak.
Don't you say that? I'm still learning too
No, I've never used that one (taking the piss), and I don't know any Americans who do. Any exception-to-the-rulers out there wanna tell me about you and your American buddies who say it all the time?
Any exception-to-the-rulers out there wanna tell me about you and your American buddies who say it all the time?
Ahem. ::reaches for the wasp killer:: Not all the time and not recently, but I have used the phrase. But that was back in the day when I lived in Ol' Blighty. Me and me mates thought it was hilarious when we first heard it.
It's a curious expression I guess until you know the origin:
When men sleep, the build-up of urine in the bladder puts pressure on the man's prostate gland, resulting in an erection. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, a man who was thought to be unnecessarily arrogant would be described as 'piss-proud'. The New Canting Dictionary of 1725 contained an entry on 'vain-glorious or ostentatious me' which read:
One that boasts without reason, or, as the Canters say, 'pisses more than he drinks'.
If you were to ridicule someone for being too 'full of themself', you would 'take the piss' out of them.
I simply meant taking the mickey - having fun with someone or something but Im fascinated by the original origin, it's way cooler.
I.... have done this before.
I also have a mosquito net, so I should be able to alleviate most of the venom from the wasp attack.
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