When I first wrote about Notes just after its launch, I was initially determined not to use it. "It's just going to devolve into the same kind of dumpster fire as every other social media site". And sure enough, shortly after deciding I couldn't avoid it any longer and started using Notes, I started seeing just that kind of thing.
There are those who would jab a finger at me and say, "Yeah, YOU started throwing fireballs around, Josh!" I would quickly retort, however, that I offered a critique of Mr. Katz's quick hot take on an article by Matt Taibbi, one that illustrated quite clearly where I took exception with Katz's characterization of the piece and Taibbi himself.
It was either Katz's followers or general Notes lurkers, the sort who frequently hop from social site to social site just waiting to pounce in a group on someone who speaks in ways counter to THEIR orthodoxy, which I did.
I've gotten increasingly snarky and insulting with these brainlets, refusing to be silenced or back away from my positions. I've laid out my arguments clearly and openly, and when ad hominem has been thrown at me by one Nathaniel Merchant, a fellow with no presence on Substack beyond Notes (no posts, no creations to offer of his own, so why would he be so vested in Notes except to be a troll?), dubbing me a, quote, "toxic fascist asshole", I asked him to provide some evidence to assert such a label applies to me.
He has offered nothing more than the fact that I publicly display on my user profile that two of the dozen and more Stacks I am subscribed to are Glenn Greenwald (who has long since left the service) and LibsofTikTok, whom he labels "vile" and accuses of "trying to get people killed".
So, guilt by association. Per his logic, the very FACT that I am subscribed to these folks must mean I'm an adherent of THEIR EVERY PERCEIVED OUTLOOK/STANCE.
Well, Mr. Merchant, I've also read the Qu'ran from cover to cover- by your (il)logic, does that mean I'm a muslim? I've also read the Bogghivasatva, so I MUST be a hindu, right? Or perhaps a vodun priest since I've also read The Mysterium Tomes, which cover the tenets and beliefs of Haitian voodoo? Which is it, Mr. Merchant?
'Well, maybe he interpreted something from your writings on Substack, Josh". I doubt he's read anything I've written beyond my correspondence with him. My numerous fantasy, horror and sci-fi short stories and novel chapters wouldn't yield him much unless he actually did some analytical reading, or demonstrated reading comprehension skills of someone older than 12, which, from what I've seen, he does not.
If you think I'm being too harsh, tough shit. I, like many, many other folks, both online and off, am sick to death of the constant barrage of name-calling without clear evidence of claims of being this or that, the refusal of one particular side of the socio-political aisle to acknowledge facts and evidence they find inconvenient because it doesn't fit their narrative, and people being generally nasty to folks they don't know in the slightest because they feel they can comfortably and safely do so, since they have the backing of the majority of the crowd on pretty much any given platform.
So, no, I'm not going to apologize. I've seen about how far apologies go with you people; nowhere, in a hurry. The very notion of forgiveness or accepting that someone disagrees with you folks is anathema to your very being. Why say 'I'm sorry' when one will be forever condemned regardless? One may as well say fuck it, and tell the whole lot of these groupthink jackals to sit on a knife and spin.
Comments
No posts