Personalities vs Facts

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Ben Froland in Opinion

In case you haven’t noticed, butt-hurt people abound online, particularly on Twitter in “conservative” circles. If you haven’t been paying attention, you may be wondering what it is that offends their sensibilities and causes them to lash out en masse. Surely there must be concrete reasons for their collective wrath. Certainly the facts must support their righteous rage. You’d be wrong. Nothing. Just a cult of personality and conflicts with infidels who dare to question their golden calves. Facts be damned. It’s all about the personalities.

I don’t pretend to get along with everyone and let’s face it, why should I or anyone else? What kind of individuals would we be if we all marched in lockstep? If you don’t like someone, fine. If you hate someone’s guts, fine. If you don’t like their modus operandi, fine. You’re free to do your own thing.

Now, if you don’t like them and you want to lie about them, not fine. You want to cherry pick their timeline to fit a particular meme, not fine. You want to make wild accusations and place the onus on them, not fine. You want to use Twitter, your blog or your paid writers to libel them, not fine.

Unfortunately that is precisely what is happening. The fauxfended do not suffer dissent lightly. Once you draw their ire you can expect to be labeled and marginalized in ways that would make Saul Alinsky blush.  “How do I smear thee? Let me count the ways.”

• Pointing out someone using minority status as a crutch becomes bigotry or anti-Semitism.
• Question the facts in a shooting and you’re a conspiracy kook.
• Stating a lawsuit is unproductive means you’re a criminal’s ally.
• Considering census numbers transforms you into a holocaust denier.
• Disagreeing with a conservative blogging icon makes you anti-capitalism.

On the flip side, many devotees are so enamored with big name “conservatives” that they’re willing to ignore any facts and rationalize their hero/heroine’s actions. Lie about your involvement in a felony…no problem. Shoot some rape-fetish art…who hasn’t? Hire people to attack other conservatives…completely understandable. These rationalizations are so Clinton-esque it’s downright frightening.

Ultimately, after all the attention that you will have drawn to yourself, they will proclaim that you’re nobody anyway. Really? Because “nobody” has done more for the conservative movement than any of the big name charlatans or their acolytes. That’s a fact. And “nobody” is going to tell you about it in his next post…