Jacob, There's no legitimate way to draw a dividing line between "good faith" speakers and "trolls": it's a spectrum, highly subjective, and the basic terms themselves are too vague for institutional application: "reason" will run in circles if it tries to use them. But using informal language, the prime directive when it comes to trolls…
Jacob, There's no legitimate way to draw a dividing line between "good faith" speakers and "trolls": it's a spectrum, highly subjective, and the basic terms themselves are too vague for institutional application: "reason" will run in circles if it tries to use them.
But using informal language, the prime directive when it comes to trolls is that you do not feed them. The Stanford Federalists were "trolling the libs" and the libs did their bidding. Once that's happened it's too late to bemoan the defective narrative of good-faith vs. illiberalism--the illiberals have already framed themselves in it. I don't think we should in any way be excusing them for this outcome or blaming others. If the type of progressives who perform this sort of self-destructive political theater listened to anyone but themselves and liberal enablers they'd know to stop.
Jacob, There's no legitimate way to draw a dividing line between "good faith" speakers and "trolls": it's a spectrum, highly subjective, and the basic terms themselves are too vague for institutional application: "reason" will run in circles if it tries to use them.
But using informal language, the prime directive when it comes to trolls is that you do not feed them. The Stanford Federalists were "trolling the libs" and the libs did their bidding. Once that's happened it's too late to bemoan the defective narrative of good-faith vs. illiberalism--the illiberals have already framed themselves in it. I don't think we should in any way be excusing them for this outcome or blaming others. If the type of progressives who perform this sort of self-destructive political theater listened to anyone but themselves and liberal enablers they'd know to stop.