Here’s what I gather from the following statement by Craig Sprout:
Oh, and a note for the president of the Craig Sprout Fan Club (really, this man crush you have on me is kind of embarrassing), if there were only some way to respond to a post, other than in the comments, that would show up underneath the main post, then people could see that link and click on it and read a response at another site. Maybe someone should get to work on that, huh? They could call it . . . trackback . . . or maybe pingback . . . yeah, that’s the ticket. Someone should do that.
Far be it from me to tell anyone how to run a blog, which is nothing more than a letter to the editor without the pesky editor lording over us. I have linked to Craig in a snarky kind of way, having a small joke over his decision to ban comments from his site. But what he did is an interesting phenomenon, likely tied in on an eerie psychological level to right wing talk radio. In that forum conservatives get together all day long and talk about liberals and progressives without any interference from … liberals and progressives. They get to frame the debate by defining the issue and demonizing the opposition all at once. Since the medium itself is at least as important as the content broadcast over that medium, it’s important to understand what is being practiced: propaganda.
I use the word carefully. I know what it is, I know how it works. It’s a means of persuasion using psychological tools, drowning out opposition being just one of many. It’s a vehicle that can carry any philosophy from fascist to communist. It’s been used over the years in just about every country with mass media – some (like the U.S.) very skilled, some (like the U.S.S.R.) very clumsy.
Craig is just a little guy, like me, about as noticeable as a fart in a slaughterhouse. But his technique is worthy of comment. He has adopted the methods of talk radio, perhaps unknowingly. He’s now part of the right wing noise machine – he allows no dissent and insists that his message be the only one on display. The psychology is fascinating.
Piece of Mindful 
Sprout jumped the shark a while ago. He never was very good at writing detailed posts — just a swipe at something as he goes by — but at least you could discuss it in the comments, flesh it out, have some conversation. Now it’s just the swipes. And they seem more mean-spirited…
LikeLike
You still here, Blue Jay? I thought I read you were packing up your carpetbags for greener pastures.
Anyway, I just wrote that to point out that Mark is an annoying git and an officious ass.
I mean, this is probably the 6th or 7th post Mark’s written just about me, and I just have to wonder: why the obsession, Mark? I mean, I’m flattered and all, but gosh, like you say, I’m just small potatoes. Why all the fuss?
LikeLike
Because you’re annoying.
LikeLike
Your browser has a back button, y’know.
LikeLike
You’re a guilty pleasure, an annoying person who is also interesting if he wants to be. A curmudgeon who occasionally shows a human side.
LikeLike
Craig-
I think we write about you because you personify a Conservative who doesn’t believe he has to listen to opposing views. You don’t see the value in honest debate, and you deride those who try to engage you in it. Simple as that.
In the past, I have gotten awfully pissed off at Missoula hippies who categorize all conservatives and moderate liberals (read – non-vegans and non-9/11 “truthers”) as “closed-minded.” Their basic philosophy is that anyone who disagrees with them simply does so because they aren’t listening hard enough. They strongly prefer to be in a room full of like-minded individuals so they can trade opinions devoid of nuance or knowledge of current events or history. Strangely enough, you remind me a lot of them.
LikeLike
Mark, I think that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said about me. I’m speechless.
Steve, I thought I’d schooled you on this already. You don’t know shit about what I read, what I listen to or who I talk to on a daily basis. Did you know, for example, that one of my co-workers was a philosophy teacher and a staunch Democrat, and that we conversed daily about politics? Of course not.
I don’t, as Mark has suggested, require that everyone kow-tow to me, but more often than not, you engage me as if my opinions are devoid of nuance or knowledge of current events or history, and I assure you, they are not. My conclusions may be different than yours, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t considered them, and found them lacking.
You guys assume that I turned comments off for some nefarious reasons, but Christ, I’ve been doing this for six years, and sometimes a guy just needs a break. It’s as simple as that, and I’da told you that to start with, if you’d asked.
It’s not that hard.
LikeLike
Well, I suppose we’ll give it four more years and see how we feel. Then, goddammit, I’m gonna let you have it.
LikeLike
Truth be told here boys, the right wing blogosphere is kind of boring what with its Coobsies and Rabid’s and Wiley’s – Craig is kind of interesting – tart and bitter and often surprising though pretty much check-the-box conservative. See how much fun comments are, Craig? Your decision to turn them off merely confirmed what we have suspected of conservatives in general – that you want to talk amongst yourself and draw caricatures rather than engage in dialogue. I’ve written ad nauseum about it – RWCJ.
LikeLike
Steve–
Let me have it any old time, just check the attitude and I promise I will extend you the same courtesy.
Mark–
Even after I explain myself, you still think you know my motivations and the reason I do things? My record speaks for itself — in the past six years, people of all stripes have commented at my site (some rather nastily), and all of a sudden, I decide to shut them off for a while, and you draw this broad conclusion.
From this, it just confirms what I have suspected of liberals all along — they’re smug, self-important elitists who assume that anyone who thinks differently from them is a dolt.
LikeLike
Slightly clever.
LikeLike