From the blogosphere:
As an observer to this blog controversy, I am reminded of many similar incidents over the past six years of my blogging. I can certainly remember posts that I authored that (1) were taken the wrong way; (2) really upset folks in an unpredictable way or to an unpredictable degree; and/or (3) prompted personal and quite vindictive attacks. I remember the awful way I would feel for a day or two, afraid to even look at my email for fear of comments that felt like knives being thrown my way. The feeling (let’s call it “bloghorror”) is hard to describe. First, bloghorror is in part just a reaction to being attacked, but it’s also a shame at having hurt someone else, even unintentionally, and it’s also an anger at the completely unfair nature of the response. But most of all it’s this feeling of being misunderstood. And unfortunately, there’s no way to cure this. In 2005, my first reaction would be to explain myself, so that the blog audience would say, “Ah, I understand now.” It took me a year or two to learn that once your audience has concluded that you are the devil saying devil things, any effort to explain will just add to the arsenal of the ammunition that will be hurled back at you.
As I read this, I was filled with a mix of incomprehension, amusement, and scorn. Needless to say, an AWCA feels no shame at the idea of having hurt someone else, intentionally or unintentionally, because sometimes an emotional evisceration is the entire point of a post. As it is said, no pain, no gain. By inflicting pain, I am merely helping others to grow. The humiliation that is felt by an interlocutor whose arguments have been methodically carved up by remorseless logic is my gift to them.
I ask for no thanks. Artistry is its own reward.
And there is no shame in being misunderstood. Being misunderstood is the norm. It is to be expected because it can be no other way in a world where Most People Are Idiots. Millions of people genuinely believed that Barack Obama was going to bring hope and change. Millions of people genuinely believe that the Republican Party has been chastened by its 2006 and 2008 defeats and will lead the charge for small government when it again holds the upper hand in Washington. Millions of people genuinely believe that America is advancing “democracy” and “freedom” by repeatedly invading and occupying portions of the Umma.
One will find no understanding on the part of these people. Their illusions must be shattered before they are even capable of listening, let alone comprehending. There is no “bloghorror”. Let the critics cavail and hurl what they will. The Dark Side is only there to be devoured.