Delivered to 15,000 Plainfield "doorsteps" Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Attack of the Crab People?


South Park's 'Crab People'

Plainfield bloggers have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous (and anonymous) commenters since Day One.

Recent posts by Rebecca Williams at her Go Sit Down Somewhere blog (see here) and Bernice's Plaintalker II (see here) have shown that the attack commenter(s) are alive and well and living in Plainfield.

I also got a crabby recent anonymous comment, and I can't help but wonder if we are seeing an attack of the Crab People (to understand these creatures who have been secretly planning to take over the world for thousands of years, see here).

The comment, posted to a topic ungermane to its content, was in reference to the individual who shot up the Family Research Council headquarters --

Shooting at the Family Research Council.

Well Dan, you were hot to trot to try and link Sarah Palin to Giffords shooting.


It has just been confirmed that Family Research Council shooting suspect Floyd Corkins II had been volunteering at the DC Center for the LGBT Community for the past six months.


I'm sure you will be silent here. No outrage?

What the commenter is referring to is my post after Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot at a Tucson constituent event (see here).

At the time, Sarah Palin had a website on which she was lobbying for the defeat of a number of incumbent legislators (including Giffords) and for which her metaphor of choice was 'targeting', complete with a sharpshooter's rangefinder graphic.

I was hardly the only one who commented on Palin's website. Perhaps because it was considered tasteless in the light of the event, the website was taken down shortly after Giffords was shot.

And I thought at the time that the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, must have had mental health issues. As it turns out, that was the case and there were questions about his competency to stand trial.

In the year and half since the shooting, he has been receiving treatment and recently entered a guilty plea in the case that will ensure he serves life in prison (more on Loughner here). Media outlets have reported that the plea bargain met with acceptance by the families of the victims -- including Giffords.

In the Family Research Council case, the lawyer for
the shooter, Floyd Corkins II, argues that he is competent to stand trial. Nevertheless, his history surely would imply he is a troubled individual.

What would the commenter like me to be outraged about?

The tone of public discourse around 'hot button' issues like sexuality?

The ease with which guns can be gotten hold of -- and misused?

You can mark me down as 'outraged', but somehow I bet that the commenter will not be any happier.

That's how it is with Crab People.



-- Dan Damon [follow]

View today's CLIPS here. Not getting your own CLIPS email daily? Click here to subscribe.

4 comments:

Bob said...

We can't stop people from crabbing. I had a teeshirt that summed it up, "Bitch a little, it makes you feel better." LOL Have a good day, Dan.

Anonymous said...

Many of your own posts are gratuitous and little more than New Democrat rabble-rouisng for an often spineless and hypocritical lot. (Bob Bolmer take note.) Bottom line is it takes one to know one.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 8:07
Do you really not see the irony of you calling Bob Bolmer, who fearlessly posts under his own name, spineless, as you lurk and cower anonymously?

Anonymous said...

Sooo 8:07am, What does that say about you?????