A Note on Trolls

I think many of us have seen an upswing in troll comments.  From what I have experienced, both at the blog and at the forum I used to frequent, many trolls have several common denominators:

1. They smugly post democratic talking points.
2. Their posts have little or no evidence.  They post accusations and assertions.  If they back them up at all, they use MSM reports that only give their side of the story.
3. Their posts are filled with logical fallacies.
4. If you respond, with evidence and logic, they disregard the facts, and simply make other accusations.

So, I thought about looking at this behavior from a functional perspective. Hence, if a behavior is consistent, and creates the same result, it is safe to assume it is intentional.  For example, a troll posts democratic talking points.  I create a lengthy response with citations, quotes, statistics, and so forth.   The troll responds by disregarding that they have been outmaneuvered, and makes additional accusations.

Let’s also remember some of the things we know about the left, like the fact that they are not fact based.  You can show them pictures, videos, statistics, any sort of factual evidence that you want, and they will respond with rhetoric and talking points.  Also, since they cannot rely on facts, they have to discredit those that promote the facts.  Let’s face it, we can show them 3200 and show them the sections that prove our claims, and they’ll still deny what is in it.  We can show them quotes from Barak Obama, Barney Frank, Jacob Hacker, Ezekiel Emanuel, Cass Sustein, and others, and they’ll still deny it.  In other words, they are not in reality.  They can’t be-their notions don’t match reality!  Alternatively, they may really not care, because their possible intention is to disrupt and frustrate.

Conclusions:

1. The trolls are not concerned with verifiable facts.  They actually hate facts, which is why they’re attacking anyone who presents them.
2. The trolls have the objective of, and probably enjoy, the fact that you spend a lot of time responding to them.
3. When you are responding to them, you are not doing what you want.  They take the initiative.  We are responding to them instead of promoting what we believe.
4. You’re never to going to convince them.  THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT REALITY!
5. Time spent responding to them is time wasted.

My recommendation is answer a question or two.  If they act as I describe above, ban them.  No need to waste time on people that want you to waste time on them.