Lying on Blogs Petty and Otherwise

A lie is often a minor detail to most people except the one who the lie is told about.  It's easy for other people to discount their importance but, when it's not them, that's easy for them to say.  I've collected a number of examples of lies or distortions and harassment concerning named individuals of the kind that I talked about yesterday.  Of course if I posted those here it would risk giving the lie feet so I can't do that.   So, I'll use one told just the other day about me.  But, first, and most importantly in this,  "Moonbtootica" is an innocent bystander and I am not implying that she had any part in lying about me, she's not the one who accused me of  approving of the assassination of a  Canadian politician who, probably unknown to the liar, I'd seem to share a number of ideas with, including the independence of Canada.

  

• 3 days ago

the only British PM to ever be assassinated was Spencer Perceval in 1812

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• ReplyMoonbootica
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    Freki  Moonbootica 
    • 3 days ago
    D'Arcy McGee was the only one here. 1868.
    anthony thoug ht it was a good thing
    
    
    
    

Needless to say, I haven't been favorably commenting on the assassination of 19th century Canadian nationalist - also, perhaps unknown to Freki, Irish nationalist - politicians.  "Freki" who formerly was known at Eschaton as "JR" has been riffing mendaciously for several years off of a comment I made about the 19th century author Charles MacKay's writing against 19th century Irish nationalism.

I could go into detail about that including charges that in addition to the posthumous approval of the assassination -allegedly by Catholic nationalists but there are those who suspect it may have been members or allies of the Orange Order who killed Thomas D'arcy McGee, and the man hanged for it, Patrick Wheelan, was certainly railroaded - but I won't;  Freki has also turned that comment into claims of my approval of the killing of the race horse Shergar - who was indisputably stolen and killed by members of the IRA, a group I've never considered anything but organized criminals.  I will point out that I've been a vegetarian my entire adult life in favor of animals rights while Freki is an enthusiastic carnivore.  Though until she brought the horse up, I'd never so much as typed the name.

But you really, really don't want me to go into the details.  Just let me say it's been an ongoing thing for years on Eschaton.   Which may seem petty unless you happen to be the one being repeatedly lied about.   Worse lies have been told and, apparently, believed by a number of Eschatonians but I'm not interested in giving those an extended life, either.   Needless to say, others at Eschaton, not to mention other popular and influential blogs,  are indifferent to such things.  A few even manage to stay above that kind of thing, to tell the truth of it.  But that kind of thing, unsurprisingly, has brought down the tone considerably.

If lying is considered unimportant or, idiotically, granted the status of a right by the Supreme Court, people who get lied about are frequently going to pay some price which can look insignificant to casual or indifferent onlookers but which cumulatively can ruin someone's reputation.  It also empowers liars.  If the pretensions of the blogger are that they are an alternative to the corporate media, on even a small scale, but their content is as reflective of reality as the check-out stand tabloids or low grade radio call-in shows, then they are really no different from them. Bloggers who don't go to the bother of attempting to remove Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them on their blogs when those are pointed out shouldn't be surprised when people point that out as well, those lied about having the largest stake in that exposure.  Tabloids at least make an attempt at the appearance of editing.

Update:   They Write Snark.

OK, you think I'm being really mean to Eschaton, Eschatonians and the blog's owner and petty as well.  Here's an example of what Atrios was writing in his early days as Atrios,  The Hunting of the Snitch.  Instead of a complete analysis in relation to this post, I'll point out two passages.

- Snitch turned to the crowd, “Don’t worry, it’s a private feud…” 

- Did I get my man?  I will give you a hint – he told me to “Get a life.”  Remember that.  It is important.


If I had a dollar for every time someone said that at Eschaton, I could have made a bid for The Washington Post.

See Also:  "An MWO Reader tries to bring down The Nation  (sort of) By Atrios".

I remember that Atrios, I read THotS on Media Whores Online.  I really liked that Atrios, even  if I had a bit of a problem when he went after Pollitt instead of the idiotic publishers who hired Hitchens - who I thought was a total jerk from the first time his "Minority Report" appeared in  The Nation (I'd subscribed for decades).  I was never a Hitchens fan.  Where did Atrios go?

Update 2:  You do understand the incident Atrios was writing about back then, don't you?  How he came to call Christopher Hitchens "Snitchens"?   It was when Hitchens lied about his, about to become former, friend Sidney Blumenthal, ruining his reputation and causing him all kinds of other trouble as well.  Hitchens' lies had all kinds of support too.   You see, getting lied about in public sort of puts an end to a friendship.  So does being told to get over being lied about.  Take my word for it.