November 12, 2022

"The large on-line platforms allow anonymous troll demons to rampage through society with no cost to themselves...."

"They're not even human anymore, in my estimation. They're literally a demonic force...."

36 comments:

RideSpaceMountain said...

Oh come on the corporate Twitter trolling over the last 48 hours was hilarious.

"@Lockheedmartini"...snarled my skittles on that one. Bravo anon, bravo.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

I think it's important to consider this in light of the first post of the morning. Bardella is rampaging through society. It's not facilitated by anonymity, but nevertheless it is with no cost to himself. He gives a fake apology and will suffer no real consequences.

So Peterson's critique is probably true, but incomplete. If part of society controls the social punishment apparatus, and they protect their allies and punish their opponents, then is the big problem really anonymity?

tim in vermont said...

Tell us what you really think, Jordan!

I would happily pay a one time fee for a green check, maybe, that says that I have been verified to be a human being. I think that the blue check paradigm works, once the opacity, corruption, and favoritism is rooted out, which is probably impossible.

tim in vermont said...

Tell us what you really think, Jordan!

I would happily pay a one time fee for a green check, maybe, that says that I have been verified to be a human being. I think that the blue check paradigm works, once the opacity, corruption, and favoritism is rooted out, which is probably impossible.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Russell Brand seems to be fighting against falling asleep in the early part of this video. I didn’t make it to the middle and end to see if he did.

typingtalker said...

Can You Tell Whether This Headline Was Written by a Robot?
Not this time, but AI is churning out articles, illustrations, fake product reviews and even videos

"You probably haven’t noticed, but there’s a good chance that some of what you’ve read on the internet was written by robots. And it’s likely to be a lot more soon."

Can You Tell Whether This Headline Was Written by a Robot?

Rory said...

"The large on-line platforms allow anonymous troll demons to rampage through society with no cost to themselves...."

We have to recognize that there's genetics involved in this. The human tribe sitting around the campfire would know the liars among them, and ignore, mock, or expel them. Our technology enables them, and allows them to multiply one another.

Bob Boyd said...

They're literally a demonic force....

It's an egregore...or, as it's known on the street, a muthafuckin' egregore.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

There's no question that there is some truth to what he's saying. But, at the risk of repeating myself, he goes on to say that the anonymous demons say things that are so outrageous that if they said them in public, they would be punched. But nobody punched Bardella, even though what he said is very much the type of comment an anonymous troll would say. And look at the crazy stuff Elie Mystal says.

So while Peterson has correctly described something that is happening, I think the essence of the problem (to the extent this is a real problem) is deeper, given that we see similar behavior from a lot of people who aren't anonymous. Peterson's point, then, can be boiled down to the fact that the anonymous demons would never have the wide platform to make their outrageous comments if the audience reach was based only on their own merits.

Is that really a profound critique?

RBE said...

Being a "poster child" for transitioning and wanting to be an influencer to very young impressionable young people requires much soul searching. Is Elliot a narcissistic exhibitionist unwilling to be compassionate, without using a trans agenda, toward young children questioning who they are? I think of Elliot as a trans version of a Megyn Markle type personality.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I noticed JP's anger after he started doing videos for archconservative Ben Shapiro's outfit. The video Russel Brand refers to was done for Daily Wire. I agree with Russell Brand, the angry display has been to JP's detriment. It's not good for JP's brand to sound like a firebrand.

Sometimes JP opens himself up to criticism and ridicule by not checking certain rhetorical boxes (if you will) that are necessary in today's public speaking environment.

Here is a clip were comedian Andrew Schulz saves JP from some a possible terminal headache down the road.

Link to a 2 min video clip.

wendybar said...

I agree. On Jonathan Turleys blog, the anonymous idiots take over, and ruin good conversations. I usually just scroll by them, because it is always the same blah, blah, blahs..

Humperdink said...

Anonymous demons? They are some who are not anonymous. They proudly state antithetical beliefs. In your face, front and center. How far have we fallen as a society? Montana Referendum No. 131. Requires medical care for infants born alive. Voted down! Sacrifices to Moloch continue unabated. Demonic? Yessir!

God will judge this country. Scoff to heart's content.

Scott Patton said...

The subject of demons came up in a conversation on BHTV (Bob Wright/Non Zero)
Collective intelligence, human collaboration, collective agent, etc. Jordan Peterson was also mentioned.

Saint Croix said...

Is there something wrong with his camera because he has a Big Head.

Carol said...

I'm afraid Brand is right. The trans crowd despises JBP, and so do detrans. They simply plug their ears and refuse to hear any critique.

Any family or friend not fully on board will be cut off.

Peterson is like Isaiah or Jeremiah. He'll be "heard" only a hundred years from now.

Saint Croix said...

Scalia on the devil.

It was actually the devil who brought me closer to Christ (ha ha ha) because The Screwtape Letters is so brilliant. I read that book a couple of decades before I was in Bible study. Now it's kind of boring to me (I read it one too many times). But back when I was worldly and young, that book made an impression on me.

I'm not 100% sure on this but I think Jesus was the first one to talk about Satan. In my church we don't talk about Satan at all. We want people to focus on love, not fear. But if you're in Bible study, you will talk about Satan, because he comes up.

Liberals ignore Satan like they ignore Mao, Stalin, baby-killing, etc. etc. You don't want to see the bad, so you look away.

God allows Satan to exist for the same reason he allows evil to exist in our world. God believes in free will. It makes no sense that God would strip us of our free will in the afterlife.

When Jesus fasted for 40 days, trying to make his prayers stronger so he would know the will of God (my assumption), he was probably surprised when Satan showed up instead. It's an important component of praying that answers you get might be Satanic, and you need to use your mind to discern the truth.

I once prayed on whether I should donate a kidney, and I was shocked with two immediate answers to my prayer. The first was a warm glow all over my body. And the second was this voice that said, "You can give your kidney, or not give your kidney, it's all good whatever you do." Man, that voice pissed me off.

Of course worldly or secular people would just say my brain is playing tricks on me. And that might be. But who created my brain? Who created ideas? The universe is bigger than I am and to reduce the universe to humanity's thoughts about it seems to me completely ridiculous.

Christians have been making fun of the devil for centuries.

the devil that proud spirit cannot bear to be mocked

We're obnoxiously brave because of Christ.

Yancey Ward said...

I think Peterson is over-estimating the power of on-line trolls by several magnitudes, but I actually do like the idea he had for splitting commentary sections into those where people use their real identities and those who wish to use anonymous identities. It would allow blog/twitter posters the power to simply eliminate one or the other from their feed without having to moderate every comment, or try to block specific individuals. It would be a useful tool, and not one someone would have to use if they didn't want to.

RoseAnne said...

I have watched a number of Brand's podcasts and have been favorably impressed. The only thing I knew about him before was he was married to someone else famous. I get the sense from him he wants to start the conversation and, if you engage in considering his words, he doesn't care if you agree or not.

Mark said...

This comment section is full of anonymous names, many of which are the worst actors.

Perhaps he is right about Drago and Achilles.

Rollo said...

On the internet, two photos side by side of people with heads inclined the same way means they are related. So I'm thinking, father and son? Or the same man 20 years later.

Saint Croix said...

I have watched a number of Brand's podcasts and have been favorably impressed.

I particularly enjoyed What the F*ck Is Going On?

Mike Sylwester said...

Many years ago, when I began to comment on the Internet, I decided that I always would identify myself by my real name. My main reason for doing so was to try to remain civil.

Yancey Ward said...

Well, Lefty Mark, if I were dumb as you, I would use "Mark", too.

Carol said...

Anyway. The system JBP describes sounds like what Twitter initially tried to do, but got all pseudo moralistic about verification.

If he wants anons in a separate place we might as well stick with blogs.

And ordinary nonfamous people have been seriously hurt for simply stating the truth.

What's emanating from your penumbra said...

Blogger Mark said...

This comment section is full of anonymous names, many of which are the worst actors.

You're so right, "Mark."

Carol said...

Easy to be kind and tolerant about trans activism when you don't have kids, right Mr Brand?

Peace out, man.

Michael K said...

Blogger Mark said...

This comment section is full of anonymous names, many of which are the worst actors.

Perhaps he is right about Drago and Achilles.


Lefty Mark is always ready to declare his leftism, which includes hatred of anyone on the right. I have always used my real name and I even have a blog (not very active) which contains my history and even my family. When I used to read and comment on leftist blogs lefty commenters from there would go to my blog to find nasty things to say about me or my family. Ritmo did that here, too. See you soon, Lefty Mark.

robother said...

I guess the battle over the use of "literally" to mean the opposite of "figuratively" is lost. It literally means figuratively now.

loudogblog said...

This video provided a good comparison between someone who is driven mostly by emotion and someone who is driven mostly by logic. Jordan Peterson would make a good Vulcan on Star Trek.

SPOCK: I've noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours.

Saint Croix said...

Now he's talking shit about Publius!

Who seduced my daughter?

Publius!

Who pissed in my cornflakes?

Publius!

Oh woe, oh Canada, oh woe

Can we get some music with these damn fine lyrics?

thank you

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

robother,

I guess the battle over the use of "literally" to mean the opposite of "figuratively" is lost. It literally means figuratively now.

I am assuming that this is what Bob Boyd above meant by an "egrigore" (motherfuckin' or otherwise). I haven't encountered the word before, but seems apt for the non-literal "literally."

That usage has a lot of fans, btw (including, sadly, John McWhorter of the NYT), and at least a 50-year history: Yes, Prime Minister, the brilliant Brit political comedy of the early 70s, has more than one mention of PM Hacker's non-literal "literallys" (e.g., "Steam was literally coming out of his ears"; "I was literally torn," &c.) So it must have been common, at least in the UK, by then.

Saint Croix said...

I guess the battle over the use of "literally" to mean the opposite of "figuratively" is lost. It literally means figuratively now.

I was the first to post on this thread.

All I said was, "Blogger tag! Blogger tag! Blogger tag!"

Calling out Blogger for its demonic shit.

Now that post is gone.

Literally gone!

(I suspect Althouse took it out because of seeming irrelevance. Also she hates my tag suggestions).

Yesterday I was counting fucking traffic lights. Today I'm not.

Blogger the Shapeshifter!

Saint Croix said...

Ghost in the Machine

Saint Croix said...

The Ghost of Hugo Black: I have been haunting the Supreme Court, oh these many years, warning them, warning them...

Harry Blackmun: "It's back! That scary motherfucker!"

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "Do not fuck around...with due process...I will get you...in time...the process is due...the process is due...

Dread Pirate Roberts: "What is that fucking noise?! Get the janitors up here."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "I am a feminist and a rationalist."

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "Better do your sit-ups..."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "That is not funny!"

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "Power is fleeting..."

The Ghost of William Douglas: "Fleeting..."

The Ghost of Felix Frankfuter: "Fleeting...

The Ghost of Oliver Wendell Holmes: "I still got some of mine."

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "I shot you in the Civil War, bitch."

The Ghost of Oliver Wendell Holmes: "That was you?"

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "Could have been. I get around."

The Ghost of Oliver Wendell Holmes: "That was a dark night. With a bullet in me. That's when I knew. There was no right to contract."

Ghost of Hugo Black: "No right to contract."

Ghost of William Douglas: "No right to contract."

Ghost symphony: "The process is due...the process is due..."

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Okay, we're hearing noises in this room."

Janitor: "What kind of noises?"

Dread Pirate Roberts: "I don't know."

Harry Blackmun: "It's like chains being rattled."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: "It's like nails on a chalkboard."

Dread Pirate Roberts: "I don't know. I keep hearing a baby cry."

Janitor: "A baby's crying? In here?"

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Not a real baby. Like an echo of a baby."

The Ghost of Hugo Black: "60 million babies."

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Did you hear that?"

Janitor: "Hear what?"

Dread Pirate Roberts: "That noise. Just then."

Janitor: "I didn't hear anything, Your Honor."

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Could have sworn I heard something."

Janitor: "Maybe it's roaches."

Roaches: "Oh shit!"

Janitor: "Y'all been eating in here?"

Roaches: "Scatter! Back here at midnight!"

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Roaches! I hate roaches. We got to kill those motherfuckers."

Janitor: "I'm on it."

Dread Pirate Roberts: "Thank God. Thank God. It's just roaches. I was worried about our jurisprudence for a second. But roaches...oh shit, the law books!"

gpm said...

>>Many years ago, when I began to comment on the Internet, I decided that I always would identify myself by my real name. My main reason for doing so was to try to remain civil.

Anonymity has never been a particular concern of mine, though, as with many or perhaps even most commenters here, my profile is empty. The email addresses for both the MSN account I have had for nearly fifty years and the separate account I have been using for business since retiring from big law about two years ago consist of abbreviated versions of my name, including my full last name and at least one of my initials. Anyone with that info (which includes Althouse and who knows how many others) could identify me in a flash.

I use my full name in the signature block for the latter account, as well as in posts to an extensive legal listserve I have participated in for decades (which includes a roster with further identifying details, I think available to the public to at least some extent). I don’t otherwise throw my name around much, but both my ID and my signature on Althouse consist of my real initials, which I have consistently used for such purposes for about fifty years. Coupled with other info I have dropped at various times, it wouldn’t take much for anyone to find me, if they really cared.

Conversely, I try not to post things that I wouldn’t want associated with me.

--gpm