People in packs can be...rabid.

Nov 04, 2001

A while back I wrote about actual partnerships (which do exist) and while having a long-overdue visit to the HB site, I find a conversation between a “control freak” and some of the staff of HB.

I do think that the writer in question has more than a few issues of his own to address. But is textual evisceration the best way to deal with people like this guy?

For one thing, it gives them more credit than they’re really worth.

For another, for new visitors, it kind of reinforces a stereotype of man-hating bitch-dykes (which is, most emphatically, NOT what Heartless Bitches is about.)

I did like their piece on the author of The Rules filing for divorce. I remember my reaction when that happened, and thought, Wow, she’ll have to eat a lot of crow — all those feathers will provide some roughage.

Keywords: | sociology | relationships |
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The more things change...

Oct 02, 2001

On 11 September 2001, terrorists flew jumbo jets, full of fuel and passengers, into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, NY, USA. Shortly later, a third plane flew into the Pentagon. A fourth, which had originally been headed for Washington D.C. (possibly the White House) crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

No one remained unaffected by these events. If you were in the US, the television and radio were full of coverage. You may have wondered, Was this real? Did this really happen? This can’t happen here. Everyone was talking about what had happened, speculating on what the government might do in reprisal, and wondering and fearing what would happen to U.S. society. If you lived in another country, you were perhaps affected less than the secretary from Akron, Ohio or the taxi driver in San Mateo, California — but you saw the news, you heard the reports, you read the newspaper headlines. You, or someone you know, may have donated money, goods, or even blood. (Thanks to everyone who has donated, and remember, the Red Cross always needs blood. Keep donating, if you’re able, even after this latest crisis passes.)

The Internet immediately kicked into high gear. Spammers attempted to take advantage of the tragedy by emailing and phoning people, asking for donations in the name of bogus groups that existed (if at all) solely for the purpose of getting a buck off of other people’s anger, sorrow, pity, and good wishes. News sites were inundated with requests, and some shut down — their hardware unable to handle the load. Blogs carried links to less-well-known, still-working news sites, photo galleries, aid groups and charities. Some blogs shut down temporarily or altogether. Some changed to a more sombre tone. Now, nearly a month after the events, some blogs have returned, perhaps with new names and faces.

The Cynic’s Tea Party is not going away. It’s not going to change. I’m going to keep writing, keep making comments, keep putting out tutorials, keep irritating the hell out of people. But I’m not going to suddenly change my way of writing, or alter what topics I focus on. If this really irks you, then I wish you well, and you’ll be able to find plenty of content on the web that you feel is more to your liking. That’s the glory of the Internet — and all of U.S. (and Canadian) society. We are free to speak our minds. We are free to question. We are free to have our own opinions and our own viewpoints.

And if we allow ourselves to change because of the actions of

bullies, then they’ve already won.

Peace, and keep on keeping on.

Keywords: | terrorism | philosophy |
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