bloggers behaving badly

BLOGGERS BEHAVING BADLY

August 15^th, the Doomstead Dinner had an article by its owner ( rare treats, those non-guest articles not in video form ) covering the disgraceful practices of most doomer blogs.  He is far more qualified to comment on this than I am, as he wades through a heck of a lot more electric crap than I ever will.  I have reduced my “favorites” down to less than a dozen semi-daily blogs and only venture out if I see an article recommended/linked at one of those sites.  I have far less patience than he has in the buffoonery of blogs.  His basic complaint that was that the blogs either crushed dissent by outright censorship or the readership chased away the “non-approved commenters” themselves.  Each one was fossilized in their own paradigm.  Now, I understand this complaint.  You carefully read an article, then point out mistakes or add invaluable information, spending quite the amount of time and effort on it, and then the asswhore won’t publish it.  More than likely they were one of those guys that put great effort into trying to pound round pegs into square holes in order to get accepted as an officer in the military.

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I rarely comment myself on other blogs.  Not because I value my time too highly ( look at what I’m doing here, calling it a hobby when anyone in their right mind would call it a compulsive disorder ) but because since I’ve come to the conclusion we are ALL set in our ways ( only the pessimists by nature see true terror ahead, and only born optimists see a way to survive, and the twain shall never meet and full speed ahead and damn the facts! ) I don’t see much point in doing anything other than preaching to my own choir and hope I’m doing some good in pointing out the devil in the details.  But I can see how others would try to “help” others anyway.  Being genial by nature, that is just how some folks role.  But it is a thankless task.  Try to get out of the habit.  Now, as far as folks driving away any dissenting voices, that is just natural.  Nothing unique in that on doomer blogs.  Most of us tend to stay in our comfortable bubble.  I try to edge out occasionally but that is all I can force myself to do.  I like the leftist New York Times Book Review, and I don’t mind being exposed to some of their drivel ( after all, the Right is full of as many flaming dingus holes as the Left but that tends to be paved over with unicorn glitter if all you do is listen to Beck or Rush ) but some things are such illogical, PC tripe I have to skip it.  I refuse to watch Brokeback Mountain.  I only do baby steps, but even then I’m not seriously challenging my basic beliefs, I’m merely gathering extra ammunition to reinforce what I already like to believe in.  Plus, there is the whole Belonging To A Tribe thing.

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And, I hate to bust anyone’s bubble, but WAYYY before blogs the whole survivalist movement has been acting very poorly, for at least forty-five plus years.  You do remember the ‘70’s, don’t you?  When for the first time in many generations ( since Sinclair wrote about the Chicago meat packing industry ) quality went to absolute crap.  When I was still in High School in the VERY early ‘80’s, I remember distinctly the small towns one book store selling used volumes at decent prices ( I could still search through trash and recover RC Cola-the only brand still doing it-bottles for returns and get some used books.  I tried odd jobs but between living in the boonies and having to bike and already having a long chore list on our country acreage,  I put very little effort into earning spending money.  A habit that has pretty much followed me throughout life.  Hard work is fine, just not hard work to benefit other people like the taxman ) and already the books from the ‘70’s were yellowing and falling apart.  Granted, those were science fiction pulp ( like the Gor series.  Titillating as a horny teenager, embarrassing otherwise ). 

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The Seventies were no better to survivalists than they were to book collectors.  The Rawles marketing phenomenon?  A rehash of Ruff and Pournelle and others.  It was all flash and little substance ( at times, although a lot of good stuff could be gleaned ).  And then it got WORSE in the ‘80’s as the Yuppie Scum were let loose upon the planet, all Feminine style over substance as the consumer economy flashed brighter than a thousand suns.  How are blogs any different?  All pretty glittery colors and flashing banners and usually very little in substance except superficial twaddle.  Not that I am painting with a completely broad brush.  There are plenty of good ones out there, usually the quality of the writing being in direct correlation to a lesser focus on profits.  The ’zines of the ’90’s didn’t die completely.  The true believers still blog.  They are just hidden in an avalanche of commercialized drivel.  My point is merely that blogs behaving badly is a culmination, not a new phenomenon.   

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How many blogs are nothing more than other peoples writing?  How many are nothing more than filler in between ads?  How many have nothing original?  How many are by authors coasting along on past achievements?  And yet, given all that, how many are STILL better than the mainstream publications?  Nearly all except the pure click bait sites ( most blog writers at least have a true faith in them on their subject matter, no matter how pitted and damaged by greed and laziness ).  As sad and pathetic as blogs are, and they can be no less as the barrier to entry is zero, they still profit by outshining the pathetic competition.  And they too shall pass as our infrastructure picks up speed in its collapse. 

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