What a strange trip it's been. Two days ago as I was randomly browsing the Web, as is my wont, I stumbled upon a pro-Hillary blog. The posters there were in high dither about the latest apparent Obama outrage. Obama has had the audacity to hire 400 paid bloggers to schmooze the Hillary blogs and blunt their righteous wrath over Obama's campaign atrocities. Or at least that is how the pro-Hillary boards are characterizing the controversy.
Let me state that I have no idea if the rumor is true. Could be yes; could be no. Frankly, it really doesn't matter which to my odyssey of adventure. I'm not particularly dynamic in my political activism. At present I am an Obama supporter and member of no particular political party. I also recognize others support Hillary Clinton and John McCain for reasons, i am sure, as equally valid as my own. Terrific. That is what elections are all about. The system is running on greased grooves.
What struck me about the atmosphere of the pro-Hillary boards was the absolute shrill hysteria concerning infiltration by the mysterious 400 bloggers. The residents were on high alert, noses sniffing the air, every new comment vetted against posting histories and content. Comments containing themes of reconcilliation or moderation of language triggered the board's defenses. Imagine the pointing and screeching from "Body Snatchers".
So, being a bit of aficionado of odd Internet rumors, I set my sights on finding the source of this political skullduggery. And what did I discover? Apparently there is no source. There is a circuit of pro-Hillary blogs and boards, each referencing the other like a dragon swallowinig its tail. The Hillbuzz blog does make reference to a news scroll item someone had reported as seen on Fox News. Not a feature. Not a discussion. A scroll. On Fox. From a second hand report.
Yeah. That was my reaction, also.
I should have just let it go. Just walk away and get on with my life. But, nooooo. Not me. I hate sloppiness. And the speed and force with which this unverified tidbit was tearing through some boards was sloppiness of the most egregious nature. My first stop was a Wordpress entry from a blogger named katiebird. She was chuckling at the buffoonish transparency of this Obama ploy. I posted a comment asking if she could direct me to a source for the rumor. Her response, swift and cold, was a dismissive note that included a parenthetical yawn at the apparent tiresome nature of my inquiry. Katiebird was unconcerned about the dubious origins. If sweet-talking posts suddenly appeared on the Hillary boards then that would be proof enough. Steven Colbert's excellent contribution to the English language, truthiness, immediately came to mind. I asked katiebird if she were familliar with the term. Her answer was to delete our entire comment dialogue, including several subsequent comments I made inquiring about the vanished posts.
Hmmmmphh.
Ok. Obviously I had stumbled across some high schooler's blog on my first attempt and received a reception one would expect from that level of maturity. Maybe a message board would yield better results. So I chose hillaryclintonforum.net for my next try. They had a lengthy thread on the subject and the posters were enthusiastic in there opinions.
I posted my question the board. i prefaced by stating choice of candidate and declaring my total lack of any connection to Obama's 400 bloggers. I had hoped that such full disclosure would assuage any suspiscions of my intent. I phrased the post in polite terms, nothing that I considered insulting or disrespectful to the regular contributors to the board. In hindsight, I might remove the final line of the post, a little rant asking if they had lost their minds in getting so upset over an unverified rumor. An edited version of my post is still visible in the thread, referenced in another poster's comment with my opening disclosure redacted. Look on Page 3, if so inclined
[Update - My post is now quoted in its entirety. Although I may be mistaken I don't recall seeing my opening statement earlier.]
I got myself comfortable in my chair anticipating a robust debate. I hit the screen refresh button. And I got banned! No explanation. No expiration date on the ban. "Never", the notice reads with stark clarity. My impression is the ban applies to my children's children's children. Unto the seventh generation, so to speak.
I've never been banned before. I may have gotten a little teary-eyed at the prospect. How could I explain this to those I care about? Would they still care about me?
Not one to flinch when confronted by rejection I did the only honorable thing. I snuck back on the board through a proxy server. Apparently, according to the board regulars, i am the most amaturish form of troll intent upon spreading doubt among the Hillary faithful and in the paid employ of the Obama campaign.
I got a little teary-eyed, again.
To whom could I appeal to restore my good name? Well, the board admin, of course. I quickly dashed off the following email.
"Hello -I logged onto you forum under the user name "onebadclam". I posted a question asking if anyone had researched the origin of the "Obama's 400 Bloggers" rumor. I was upfront about my choice of candidate and I don't believe I was particularly rude or disrespectful to your regular posters. However, I was summarily banned and, after reading subsequent messages on the board through an anonymizing server, discovered I was accused of being a troll. Was my question so offensive? Did I deserve such abrupt treatment? Isn't it possible it was an honest question by a curious observer about the perceived hysteria over an unconfirmed rumor? This type of behavior I would expect from a neocon or conspiracy forum, but I had hoped to find more adult behavior on a Democratic board. Could you please explain why I deserved to be banned?Regards"
The admin replied thusly:
"As stated in the forum rules, this is a pro-hillary forum. It's not a"democratic party" board. We are inundated with so many abusive Obamasupporters that the only strategy is to stop them all. Understood? Maybeyou should check out DU or most likely that is where you have come from. Isuggest you direct the accusations below to that lovely site which is themost vile, undemocratic board about! Please, no more emails."
So here i am. In the public's eye a banned troll, a paid provocateur. This must be how Chuck Connors felt in "Branded". And on top of that I still don't know if there actually are 400 other provocateurs slaving away in Obama's blog mines making nice with Hillary supporters
Update #2 - Banned Again 7 PM 5/18/2008
Is it my breath? Do I leave cigarette butts lying around peoples blogs? Why do I keep getting banned?
During my sojourn among the pro-Hillary blogs there was one that didn't seem to object to my quest to find the source of the 400 Bloggers rumor. The Real vs. Spiel blog. Just prior to opening my account here I posted a condensed version of my adventure there. I was happy to see my comment still there as of last night. Maybe someone would answer my question. Perhaps the hysteria of the other blogs was not as pervasive as I had first thought.
Then a commentator named Robert chimed in with
I knew it. nobama 08! Robert | 05.17.08 - 11:48 pm |
Ummmm...ok. This is interesting. What did he know? Did I know it, too? Would he tell me what he knew or would he taunt me with some secret knowledge like a nightmarish replay of high school?
You knew what?onebadclam | 05.18.08 - 3:12 am |
OneBadClam is a paid Obama blogger with a blog over at Barry's campaign site. A simple GOOGLE search brings it up. Hint, there, pal--if you want to play the clueless newbie, you don't use your "Barry" name--it's too easy to trace you and find out where you're coming from. So long as you're here, a question. How much are they paying Onebadclam to play the wide-eyed innocent? After you respond, ya may as well take off, ya hoser. I'll vote for a dead dog before I vote for Barry. And it's all because of women-hating, insulting vicious little twerps like yourself. Change we can believe in, my ass. Go change your diaper and put on another layer of clearasil, ya punk. Tired of Bullshit | 05.18.08 - 4:40 am |
I'm getting paid for this? Wooohoo! Gasoline for everybody!
Seriously. Who in their right mind would read this blog and think someone pays me to write this way?
Anyway, I posted a reply comment to the blog explaining why I resorted to using an Obama blog, what my intentions where, that I was not being paid to do so, and a challenge to just point me in the direction of the rumor's source. It was a sweet comment. Pithy without being insulting. Direct and to the point. Secure in the knowledge that, at last, someone would address my question I went to bed anticipating the morrow like it was Christmas Day.
First, thing in the morning I was summoned to my brother's house to help plant a tree. Damn! I'll just have to postpone the scratching of this itch that has been tormenting me for three days. I can do it. I'm an adult. I don't need instant gratification, damn it!
At long last I get back to my computer and find an email notification that someone had replied to my comment. Huzzah!
Banned by webmaster. Your comments will not be added
Huh? What's all this, then? Not only am I banned but my refutation of being a paid Obama blogger has been deleted as well. In it's place is an invitation to participate in some pro-Hillary, anti-Having-Things-Shoved-Down-Our-Throats event. What the hell?
So I am again falsely accused of being a paid troll. Or paid blogger. Or something - I'm not really sure at this point. How will this look on my permanent record?
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